Walking the Freedom Trail

The Boston Freedom Trail is simply brilliant.

The Trail is a walking track that snakes through central Boston past all the major historical sites. In itself that’s not unusual – the thing that  makes it different is that the trail is marked out by a red line on the footpath and road. The red line not only means you cannot get lost, but also means your don’t have to risk frostbite while holding a map in your hand.

We would have been hard put to get lost anyway because Cal has a disturbing level of knowledge about the geography of central Boston and was an excellent guide as long as you could put up with phrases like: “Ah yes, we turn left at the pond where we shot a giant orc.” or “These stairs were easier to climb in power armour.” I’m not knocking Cal, I was saying the same stuff; I just couldn’t remember the geography to go with it. 

Boston has a lot of interesting stuff to see but our favourite was the old State House, simply because it was where so many pivotal events took place. The Boston Massacre took place just outside, the argument that there should be no taxation without representation was put in the main room, and the Declaration of Independence was first read aloud from the balcony.

The Bunker Hill museum and Monument came second. But the Monument’s 294 steps in the freezing air just about did my lungs in. Luckily, we found a cute local tea shop to recover in, or I’d still be sitting gasping by the side of some Boston street.

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