Once Brewed

After a leisurely start and with everything in its place in the van, I began my journey northwards to a place called Once Brewed in Northumberland. In case you're wondering, there is also a place called Twice Brewed and it's pretty much next to the other one and yes, beer is involved in the naming of these places.

Near Once Brewed, and not far from Twice Brewed of course, is Sycamore Gap where a single sycamore tree can be found ... in a gap. What you may not know about this tree is that it is probably one of the most photographed trees in existence because it grows perfectly placed between a dip in the landscape along the line of Hadrian's Wall. It's a perfect composition really.

I've never been to see any section of this Roman wall so I was pleased to finally see it. Having parked the van it's about a 20 minute walk to the gap but if you take the route alongside the Wall, there are some steep ups and downs on the way which is why some people take the alterative route that isn't so steep.

The photos here show the kind of terrain and photo 5 is the classic photo taken by thousands, if not many thousands more. The final photo was taken on my way back to the van along the lower route, which was much quicker and far less effort. It was the safest choice too, because the light was almost gone and I didn't have a torch with me.

Having arrived safely back I then went to find a pub for my evening meal and then found my place for the night. Though I'd bagged my photo of that famous tree I wanted to get something slightly different to the standard shot, so I decided I'd revisit the location tomorrow, so my mission wasn't over yet.Read more