An exhibition where magnifying glasses were supplied. It started, of course, with Thomas Bewick and his tiny, intricate wood engravings. (I recall Jane Eyre’s delight in his illustrations.) Beatrix Potter, Eric Ravilious, Gertrude Hermes stood out. Not a blockbuster exhibition, but I don’t mean to damn it with faint praise when I say that what I enjoyed most was re-reading Peter Rabbit for the first time in almost 60 years.

The Bewick illustration is a little crude, but it reminded me of some of my thoughts as I walked beside Hadrian’s Wall yesterday – wondering if people in the inbetween centuries just thought of it as a bit of ruined wall.