Our Trip To England, March-April 2005

CARLISLE AND GRETNA GREEN

This was a military fortress, dark and austere.

The rooms are sparsely furnished, and the dungeons have holes in the walls where prisoners were shackled.

Mary Queen of Scots was a "guest" here for a time.

The upper floors look out on the walls...

...and Carlisle Cathedral, imposing on the city skyline.

Being so close to the border, we decided to invade Scotland ourselves.

Gretna Green, a popular place to elope when the age of consent was lower in the north than it was in the south.

The gardens and grounds were gloriously in bloom in early spring.