ENGLAND'S UNIQUENESS

                              Just so You Know

            Nearly everywhere I‘ve traveled I have found something totally unique, some more than others. England seems to have a fair number of interesting  things that are pretty much English.

Maybe we should start with a few common words. Fell=mountain, beck= small stream, dale=valley

weir=small dam, Brits don’t phone but ring up,  free house sells a variety of a brew, not the only one of the sponsor.              

In the lovely Lake District the fells and meadows are dotted with a patchwork of shoulder high slate fences. Some of these fences go right up over the fells disappearing into the sky—picturesque.

I learned The Enclosure Act passed in the 1700s allowed for fences on the fell. The walls are dry set in a double line maybe 18-24 inches apart.  Then the space between is filled with rubble. Periodically a stabilizing stone is placed all the way through. It is quite a knack to successfully build these walls. No mortar here! Most of the fences were in as good a shape as they were when built 250-300 years ago. Really amazing.

A bank barn  is literally built into the side of a bank. The top level is easily driven into as it is level with the hill and the hay and feed are stored on the upper floor. The cattle are kept on the lower level. These barns almost always have a winnowing door which really is a window opposite the double- wide barn door.  The window is opened with 3-4 horizontal slats. When the big barn doors are open these winnowing doors allow the air to circulate.

A hole in the wall is an ATM machine.

We saw many and crossed over a couple of pack horse bridges. These arched stone bridges are very narrow.  Many are still standing 3-400 years later and are in good condition.

Mushroom management—being kept in the dark with stuff coming down on you. I love that one!

Few roads have shoulders. Many roads are alley wide.

The Mountain Rescue teams are kept busy as there are many mountain accidents, often because people are ill prepared and weather changes can be quick.

In areas where barns are not bank barns, but regular buildings and are not used any more, they have become stone tents for hikers and backpackers.

Celtic crosses are found intermittently on the moors and serve as direction finders as it is easy to lose a sense of direction on the moors as it is in the desert.

We found ripe raspberries on two different hikes and had great fun indulging!

Waddle and daub refers to wood and mud construction, the mud being used as mortar.

English clothing tends to be in dark colors--tough for me who likes shades of red, cranberry.