We interrupt this regularly scheduled Scottish programming to bring you …. England. Yes, we crept down into “enemy territory” today, joked our tour guide as we headed out on our day trip to Hadrian’s Wall in England’s far north. 

Built by the Romans about 2,000 years ago, the wall was either a raw display of power or a way to enhance the local economy, depending upon who you listen to.

Whatever its rationale, it’s still having an impact two millennia later, though perhaps not the kind originally intended. I wasn’t counting on it to protect me from heathens — but to fill me with awe. It did.