Emily Wilding Davison's grave, Hadrian's Wall and Kielder water

I have got into a routine of bath and book every night and finished 'March women, march' last night about the history of the suffrage movement. Oh my gosh, what a great book. One chapter was dedicated to Emily Wilding Davison who died under the Kings Horse at the Derby in 1913. Around her waist was the white, purple and green 'votes for women' ribbon. It's unknown what she intended to do, but she sadly died as a result of going under the racing horse. I read the story of her funeral and the thousands in the procession, Then Emily was taken to Kings Cross to be taken to her family plot in Northumberland! What a coincidence. So our plans for today changed and Morpeth was going to be one of our scheduled stops.

We arrived at St Mary the Virgin church in Morpeth while a funeral was on. We walked to the grave and I had goosebumps when I saw the purple, white and green ribbons hanging from the fence around the grave. A plaque reads 'Deeds not words' and posters with the same quote adorned the fence. It was an incredibly humbling visit. The book goes through the difference between suffragist and suffragette. Something I hadn't known before. I just can't imagine the passion of the women fighting for the vote. Some may wonder why I get on my soapbox every time we are asked to vote, but today is why. One woman died, many were in prison multiple times, many went on hunger strike and many died from the effects of force feeding. That's why I vote and will continue to vote.

Our next stop was less political and more historical. We drove to Homesteads which is the biggest roman fort in Europe. It is really impressive. Thankfully an English Heritage sight but I resented the £4.40 car park charge when you are a member. It's quite a climb to the fort at 1:4 gradient. We walked around the ruin, seeing the communal latrines, barracks, commanders house, granary and gates. Our main reason for visiting was a great view of Hadrian's wall. I have to admit, there are very many lovely stone walls around this area so on the drive to the fort, I wasn't sure which one was Hadrian's. At the fort though, it's the huge thick wall either side of the fort that has lots of ramblers walking by the side of it.

On to our next stop and this time was a place for Sailor. Penny loves history, Sailor loves a wood. So we visited Kielder water and forest park. £4.40 again to park but a beautiful walk along lakeside view. We decided to avoid the tourists at the visitor centre and instead we drove over the dam to a less populated part of the late. On such a glorious day, the trees gave some much needed shade.

Our 1.5 hour drive home went through the Northumberland National Park which was stunning. It reminded me of Dartmoor. We passed Otterburn ranges which is an MOD site. It did make me wonder about the Estates team in MOD. The Otterburn range is huge! What do they do on the site and how do they manage it? The bit we saw had sheep and cows on it..MOD have sheep?