On a site that has seen defensive structures for 2,000 years, you might think I would come up with something more learned than what the above photo shows. But this little corner in the dungeon at Carlisle Castle spoke my lingua.
When Jacobite soldiers, trying to restore the Stuarts as kings of England, were held here in 1745-6, the only water available to the 30 prisoners, standing room only, was water dripping down the stone walls. So they licked. And licked some more until the grooves you see were formed. Stephen, our very good tour guide, said the top one tastes like strawberry. I took his word for it.
The Romans built a turf and timber fort on this site in 72 AD, before Hadrian’s Wall was started in 122 AD (a date and who started it a matter of debate). A hill and three rivers surrounding it made it too hard for the Romans to pass up. Stephen said The Guardian newspaper recently named Carlisle Castle the ugliest in the United Kingdom. That’s OK with Stephen since this castle has withstood more sieges than any other in the realm. Ten times, which makes it much different than those “Disneyland castles” down south.
We finished off our visit to Carlisle with a walk-through of the cathedral there. Carlisle has been a center for Christianity since at least 650 AD, when, according to Bede*, St. Cuthbert** visited “an active Christian community” there. Then King Ecgfrith (get that one past self correct!) of Northumbria granted land to Cuthbert to keep the Christian influence going.
This may be the beginning of what a previous traveling companion called a VAC vacation as in Yet Another Cathedral. But this is a beautiful church and a good way to start this walking journey. I could have knelt down for a blessing but was afraid my knees would not let me get back up.
*theologian and historian who wrote “Ecclesiastical History of the English People”). He died in 735.
**regarded as the patron saint of Northumbria. He died in 687 AD.
Thanks for the update. I’m relieved that you are not a prisoner in the dungeon.