The Blue Ridge Parkway: E. B. Jeffress Park

We are in the North Carolina mountains this week. The weather is crisp, cool and sunny and the Rhododendrons are blooming. It is great time of year to explore the Blue Ridge Parkway. We drove along this scenic byway yesterday and took a short hike at E. B. Jeffress Park.

Melrose Abbey

Looking from the west toward the nave

Melrose Abbey was established 1136 by King David I of Scotland. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times in the struggle between Scotland and England. The spectacular ruins that survive today dates from the 1400's. The elaborate designs that include sculptures of saints, gargoyles and plants that grace the ruinous halls and walls add to the visual appeal of this sacred place. Several Scottish Kings are buried here and it is believed that the heart of Robert the Bruce is also interred here.

Melrose Abbey with Burial Marker for Robert the Bruce's Heart in the foreground

View from the southwest

Side view of the southern transept and nave

Steps to the bell tower

Bagpipe playing pig

The view of the choir area from the bell tower

Gargoyles and saints stare out from the walls

The ceiling of the nave

Ornate leaf patterns decorate the interior supports

The memorial marker locating the reburial of the supposed heart of Robert the Bruce.

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Chester's Roman Fort and Museum

Chester's Roman Fort and Museum is significant for the level of preservation of the fort and it's location along the picturesque River Tyne. The site contains the most complete remains of a Roman calvary fort and baths in Britain. The museum at Chester's contains a large collection of Roman artifacts the most significant of which are stone sculptures and inscriptions. Most of the artifacts in the museum were uncovered along the central section of Hadrian's wall by John Clayton (1792-1890), without whom, Chester's, in particular, and Hadrian's Wall, in general, would not be preserved and available to visitors today.

The bathhouse overlooking the Tyne River.

Roman Bathhouse as seen from the Tyne

Jonah and I enjoying the Sauna!

Extensive remains of the Roman Bathhouse at Chester's

Hadrian's Wall crossed the River Tyne here supported by a bridge

The walls in the main room of the museum are lined with sculptures and inscriptions mainly of a religious nature

The Edwardian era display of artifacts is significant in and of itself

Related articles

• The Wall (shannafern.com)
• Visitors to Hadrian's Wall are being encouraged to 'adopt a stone' (thejournal.co.uk)