Hadrian's Wall - High Hesket - Airbnb In A Stable?

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We had some good stays, but as we said in the past, Airbnb has fallen quite a bit over the last few years.  We are now checking Booking.com.  I prefer their filter system better.  However, you cannot always contact the host for questions.

Our Airbnb for High Hekset was a rare exception.  The host sent us directions, but it was only a postal code and a picture with a red line drawn to show the way from there.  As you can see from the pictures below, it is a spacious one-bedroom and reasonably priced.  We arrived at the postal code and couldn't identify the place.

We parked and walked around.  Just about that time, here come three people leading horses down the road.  I jumped out of the car and asked for help.  He said that it was the right place inside the stable.   We hit a winner.  Buildings dating back a couple of hundred years, the stables, animals, and peace and quiet.

This is the outside of the apartment upstairs.

Around the back of the stables.  A real treat for us.

Here are a couple of horses and the gate to the street.  The only thing in town is an antique store.   The parish is made up of three small villages with a total population of 2588.  There is the church, a pub, and a primary school.

Roman emperor Hadrian began building a wall as a sign of force.  Began in 122 AD, it. took 15,000 soldiers six years to finish the 73-mile-long wall.  Over the centuries, the wall as well as its use would change.

For the first three hundred years thw wall was maintained as a military base to keep out unruly and barbaric tribes.  It provided a psychological barrier as a way to create subservience among the local tribes.

This section is one of the commanders' living quarters.

Around 500 years after it was built, Roman's had pretty much decimated their strength and money throughout most of Northern Europe.  Little by little, locals began to slowly dismantle parts of the wall, repurposing stones and gates for other projects, including castles.  In the Brougham Castle we visited, tombstones of Roman soldiers were used as roofing pieces on stairwells.

Along the 73 miles, there are five different structures apart from what you see here.  It wasn't until the 1800s that it caught the eye of archeologists, and soon digging and investigation began.

Next to our Airbnb in the stable is St. Mary's Church.  It was built in 1530.  Amazing that for 500 years people have gone to this small church for worship.

The cemetery in the back belongs to the parishioners.  During the great plague, the bishop granted High Hexket the right to use the land for that purpose.  I suppose to help reduce the spread of disease.

We went to the church on Holy Thursday.  Women in the back set up a table to offer mass goers tea, coffee, and homemade fruitcake.  They were very nice and told us a bit about the church.  The altar section is original from the 1500s and over the centuries more was added and updated.

It was a great stay and a very interesting three days in the area.  As always, there is so much more to tell.  We are leaving Edinburgh, Scotland, today and heading to Newcastle Upon Tyne.  Edinburgh has been one of the highlights of our trip.  I'll post about that trip in the next day or two.  The weather is looking up.  Today it will be 24 °C in London and 16 °C in Newcastle.  A bit warm for us on this trip.  We