Thursday 11th

As we come towards the end of our holiday now, we must try to make the most of the remaining time here. Today we went to Bamburgh Castle and have to say that we were rather impressed with it.

The main entrance is somewhat odd - there is no indication of the entrance prices until you are actually in the very sparse room where you pay to get in, and at this point you do feel somewhat obliged to pay up. The entry cost was less than i was expecting (£8 each), and proved to be very good value for money.

The view from the ramparts across the beach to the rolling waves is very impressive and not one i would tire of easily i think. Inside the castle itself, there was plenty to see in the public rooms, although the information about the rooms and the exhibits was sparse compared to a lot of National Trust properties we have been to. The staff seemed very knowledgeable and eager to impart information if you wanted it though.

There were some very old oil paintings going back for centuries, including some of the largest portraits i have ever seen. There were also plenty of clocks among the exhibits, most of which seemed to be in good working order - that must be a good job for someone!

We had some lunch in the cafe at the castle, the corned beef and potato pie tempted us both, and it was rather nice - the pastry being particularly good, although we did expect it to be hot rather than cold. It came with hot baby new potatoes which i thought were delicious, and a nice salad too.

One final part of the castle that we looked at was the Armstrong and Aviation museum. It turns out that the castle has been in the Armstrong family for some time now, and they have done a lot of renovation work. Apparently Armstrong himself was a right old clever clogs, and came up with many inventions, including many aviation ones. The museum contains lots of his work plus plenty of aeroplane parts.

We moved on to Holy Island/Lindisfarne after this. We had checked the safe crossing times, and it was safe to go just after 2pm. A short drive up the A1 is the turn for the island, and it was further across the causeway than we expected. In my mind, the island itself was very small, mostly containing just the castle, and i imagined the whole town would be within the castle walls. How wrong was i?

The roads across the “sea” to the island is hard to imagine underwater, but having seen some photos while on the island, it is clear that a good length of the road does indeed vanish at high tide, and attempting to cross is very unwise.

The island, as i alluded to, is a lot larger than i expected, and is a large village with both old and new buildings. The carpark is at the edge of the village, as they want to discourage too many cars going into the narrow centre of the town/village. It is about a quarter of a mile walk to the centre, and there are very few shops - mostly gift shops, and a visitor centre geared up around the Holy aspect of the island. There is also a visitor centre for their own mead, which has been brewed at the priory for centuries.

The castle itself is almost a mile out of the centre, and was closed at the moment - we are simply here a few weeks to early. I took some photos, but we decided not to up to the castle, seeing as how we couldn’t actually get into it!

We bought some fudge at a gift shop, and we are sure that the owner was trying to sell us the shop as well! I asked her what it was like living on the island, and she was saying that because it is such a small place everyone knows everything about everybody, and that if we bought the shop we could find out for ourselves.....

In another shop - the “Local Store”, we overheard a conversation that led us to believe that it was up for sale too - a slightly worrying thing - do any of them actually earn a living? Overall, i have to admit that i was left a bit disappointed in Lindisfarne - it wasn’t quite what i expected.

Back at the ranch, we watched the last of the Wallender DVDs, and now i’m typing this. It almost doesn’t feel like we are on holiday - i put it down to the fact that we are staying in a “proper” structure, rather than a tent of some weird contraption like last year. It’s almost as if we have moved house and haven’t gone back to work yet.......

Murder at the Priory?????

I forgot to tell you about something that happened on Sunday......

While we were walking around Alnmouth with Julie & Pete, we were stopped from going up a path towards the Priory as they would normally do on this particular walk, by Police Incident tape.

There were a couple of Police cars at the side of the road, and the path up to the Priory was blocked by the tape. We couldn't see anything untoward, but as the path was quite winding, that was hardly surprising.

Obviously, we all speculated about what it may have been about, but didn't think much more about it.

BUT.........later, while walking along the beach, Pete came across one of his sailing friends, who asked if we had heard about "the murder".......he proceeded to tell us that one of the Friars had been found dead, murdered in fact........before bursting out laughing and saying that that was his theory at any rate!!!

When we got back to Julie & Pete's house, they were telling their daughters about this, and one of them commented that one of the Friars HAD died suddenly a few months back, and that maybe this was connected................it may even be that Friars TWIN................the other daughter speculated that it could be his EVIL TWIN..........at this point the whole conversation got totally out of hand and much laughter ensued.

So far, we have yet to hear what actually has happened at the Priory, and the mystery remains...............

Fuel shortage up't'north!

We awoke to glorious sunshine and pretty clear skies. Yes, it was cold, but the day looked promising. I was first up for a change - I thought I should show willing.

After a bit of discussion, we decided to visit Craster and walk up to Dunstanburgh Castle. This plan was quickly scuppered when we discovered from the National Trust Guide that the castle isn't open on a Wednesday! So, a quick change of plan, and we headed out through Alnwick to Rothbury. Because it was a clear day, the views were wonderful. Across rolling valleys to snow capped hills in the distance, with the vistas only spoilt by the pylons and power lines.

We stopped at Rothbury and had a quick wonder around this quaint old town. Typical stone buildings, independent shops and the odd cafe made up the majority of the town centre. We couldn't find anything to hold our interest for long - the biting cold wind helped see to that, but we did get some books in the RSPCA shop. I took a fancy to a snooker table they had in there too, until it was pointed out that we really don't have anywhere to use it.

We had realised that we were running low on petrol, so out came the satnav and we asked it to find the nearest petrol station. Low and behold, there was one less than a mile away! Except there wasn't. It was a garage, but it didn't sell fuel. We asked a local, and she looked shocked at the question, and couldn't think of where there was a petrol station this side of Alnwick.

Thankfully, that was only around a dozen miles away, and we had enough to make that with no problem. Unfortunately, the garage the satnav sent us to was now a building site with flats being built on it. The next one on the list was already houses, and the next one was not only on the wrong side of the road, but also deserted. It had closed down! Aaaaargh!! The next one on the list was 7 miles away.......

Two hundred yards down the road, near the new Sainsburys was a BP station not on the satnav. Phew. Just when we were beginning to think we were going to get stranded in the fuel forsaken north, we were able to quench the engines thirst for amber nectar!

After this little escapade, we decided to head for Low Newton-on-Sea for a proper visit there after yesterdays quick "peek a boo" at it. We parked up in the only carpark which is about 200 yards from the "village" itself. Actually, to call it a village is a bit overstating it - really it is just a couple of cul-de-sacks and the "main road" is a no through one. At the bottom of the hill, just yards from the beach is the famous "Ship Inn", which we had heard so many good things about.

We had a long walk along the beach, and were able to take some good photos of Dunstanburgh Castle up on its hill, before doubling back to the Ship Inn for a spot of lunch. Sally had the leek and potato soup, and i had a bacon, mushroom and tomato stottie. For those of you who don't know what a stottie is, it is a type of bread roll peculiar to northern England.

Seahouses beckoned to us yet again after lunch, and we had another wonder around the town, looking in the most amazing gift shop - it holds a HUGE amount of stock of a HUGE variety of things - many totally unconnected to each other. Despite their enormous stock levels, we failed to find a single thing we wanted to buy, and moved on to the only amusement arcade that we could find that was actually open. We limited ourselves to £1 of 2ps in the machines there, plus a game of air hockey (which i won 7-0.....yessssssss!!!!!)

The National Trust shop was about to close, but we made them stay open for just a bit longer while we had a look around. The joys of being in retail eh? Those pesky customers...... ;-)

By 4pm, most of the town seemed to be closed - it is all very odd around here - either they don't open at all or only briefly - i know it is "out of season", but do they want our money or not? You wouldn't find it quite so odd if the shops we were talking about were particularly touristy ones - but it seems to be everywhere that behaves the same.

Back at base camp, we had a pot of tea and some toasted fruit bread - the closest we have had to a cream tea on the holiday so far! Watched another episode of Wallender on DVD, and chilled out.

Here's hoping for more good weather tomorrow.........

Barter Books

Just to give you a vague idea how big it is....

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Tuesday 9th

An early start to the day, as we had to get the keys to The Pantry where we collected them from for the Tourist Board annual inspection. We got there just after 9am, but there was no sign of life in the cafe or the house next door, which is the alternate point of contact. I tried phoning, and could hear the phone ringing but there was no reply.

We went back to the flat and phoned the letting agents HQ. They couldn't understand why there was no reply at the Pantry, but the TB assessor had just arrived with them, and they would come straight away.

Sure enough, they were with us within ten minutes. As it was only going to take half an hour we elected to stay with them rather than let them drop the keys back at the earily deserted Pantry - after all, would we get them back?!

As it happened, we were able to help in the assessment because we knew where most of the kitchen utensils were, so speeding up the ticking off of the checklist.

Once they had finished the check, we got back to our plan for the day, which was a trip to Alnwick. First of all, we decided to get something to eat, as we had planned to have breakfast out, and it was now 11am and all we had had was a cup of tea. We went to a cafe that Julie had recommended to Sally, and it was a very good tip. Sally had homemade mushroom soup and a sandwich. I tried her soup and it was lovely. I had my usual burger, and it was pretty good.

We had a wonder around the town and looked around some interesting shops. Sally bought a new handbag at under half price. We then made our way to Barter Books. This claims to be "one of the largest second hand bookshops in the country", and I have no reason to doubt them. It is huge. Set in the old railway station it has room after room full of bookcases. It is fairly well set out, so you have a reasonable chance of finding what you are looking for.

The snag is that they have so many books (they claim over 300,000 and I don't doubt it) that my mind went a bit blank, and I struggled to think of anythink that I would want!! I did have a look for any of the Wallender novels by Henning Mankell, but didn't find any. I also failed to find anything about coastal navigation. I did however find an interesting sounding book about the history of espionage.

They have a couple of roaring coal fires in the building, and plenty of seating, coupled with the gentle jazz playing in the background, this gave the whole place a very inviting atmosphere, and you get the feeling that it is treated more like a library than a shop. I could have spent the whole week there quite happily!!

Their cafe is also well worth a visit. We had a drink and a cake each by one of the fires (which was a bit too hot for my liking) and it was all very pleasant.

Another quick wonder around the town in search of a loaf of bread (surprisingly difficult!) Before heading back to the flat. We took a slightly scenic route via Craster and Lower Newton on Sea, both of which we plan to visit properly while we are here.

Once back at the flat, we decided to take a walk on the beach here in Beadnell. It was virtually empty, with just a couple of dog walkers also braving the bitter cold wind which quickly numbed my fingers despite the fingerless mittens I was wearing. We wondered over to the disused lime kilns and took plenty of photos.

Back at the flat, warmed up by a mug of tea, we put the radio on to keep up with the news on Radio 4. Tonight is the second leg of the ice hockey Challenge Cup Final, with Nottingham holding a 4-2 lead over Cardiff from the first leg. I know I will be in the minority of Coventry fans in hoping that Nottingham can hold onto their lead and lift the trophy. They don't get to win many trophies these days! ;-)

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Day 3 in the Beadnell house

Just say the title to this blog in your best Geordie accent.......

A dull day - so much for the cold, frosty but clear weather forecast. After a breakfast of toast, we headed out towards Bamburgh in the vain hope that the sky might clear up. It didn't. So, we decided to move on and head inland to a couple of places we had been told about that might be worth a visit.

First up was Belford, which is a tiny town that looks as though it could be from The Last of The Summer Wine. We elected to not stop, but carried on through the narrow country lanes to Wooler. The journey there would have been spectacular if the weather had been clearer. The view as we climbed higher into the hills should have been awesome but the low cloud meant that we simply couldn't see very far.

When we arrived in Wooler, it again was a classic old town with small independant shops and a charm that makes you just want to look around. We found the free car park (always a worry - free parking can mean a disappointing place in our experience!) and headed into the town.

It appears that Mondays are an unpopular day with shopkeepers around here, and about half the town was shut. About a quarter of it was simply closed down for good, and the few remaining shops that were actually open were not exactly exciting. There was one "curio" shop which seemed to be full of old nic-nacks and ancient books, but with Barter Books in Alnwick to look forward to later in the week, i was reluctant to venture inside.

After a short stay, we moved on to Berwick Upon Tweed, which was some way, but we felt would be worth the effort. Once again, it seemed that a large part of the town was either closed for the day, or closed-down. It was also not particularly well sign posted, which meant it was "interesting" finding the car park.

We did find their branch of "Home Bargains", which is a lot bigger than Coventry's one, and it had some really great things at amazing prices. We treated ourselves to "sumfink nice" and got a few provisions. We then found a little cafe which surprisingly was empty even though it was lunch time. We liked the look of the place and had a hot chocolate each, while enjoying the jazz the owner was playing on his CD player. The chocolate was very nice - and so was the jazz.

The rest of Berwick was a bit of a let down to be honest, and apart from a quick run around Somerfield's we didn't stay for much longer.

The weather had still not brightened up, so we headed back to Bamburgh and then on through Seahouses back to Beadnell. We are hoping that the sun comes out over the next few days as Bamburgh Castle looks well worth a visit.

A very late lunch of soup & salad (not as wierd as it sounds - give it a try sometime!) was followed by a doze. I had a headache, and was pleased of the snooze, which made me feel much better.

After listening to "Just a Minute" on Radio 4 (mmmmm, Radio 4 - you know you're getting old when you love listening to that!!) we investigated some of the games on the bookcase in the corner of the living room.

Besides a good selection of books and DVDs, there are some games - mostly kids ones, but Kerplunk brought back memories of childhood for us both, and we just had to have a go. (The memories it brought back for me were of being grumbled at because it was such a noisy game!)

You know what? They have changed it since we were kids!!! It's nowhere nearly as well made as it used to be (why is that a surprise to me?), the tube is in 4 parts now, two actual tube sections and the bit with the holes in is made up of two saucer shaped sections that fit very badly together. It took about 20 minutes to get the darn thing assembled! After two games where most of the time was spent trying to get it to stay in one piece we gave up, and instead played "Shark Attack" which is a game with a sharks mouth open, and you take it in turns pushing his teeth down until you get the wrong one, and the mouth closes "biting" you. Obviously, each time it is a different tooth that sets it off, otherwise it would be a bit pointless, and we found it hysterically funny. Little things please little minds eh...............

We hope for a brighter day tomorrow, and the chance to take some photos.

Sunday 7th

What a lovely day we've had! The weather has been superb, dry, sunny and surprisingly warm. Had a good nights sleep and a nice lie in while Sally finished off her work.

Brunch was mushrooms, bacon and eggs, and then we headed off to Alnwick to meet up with a couple Sally knew years ago when they lived in Derby.

Julie and Pete turned out to be a really lovely couple and we got on well. They took us out for a tour of some of their favourite local spots including Alnmouth where we did a very pleasant walk along the beach. Then they took us on to Amble where their yacht is moored. "Tina Louise" is a 32' sailing boat, and I am glad to report that we both got on and off it without falling in the water!

They have certainly helped us to choose a few places to visit during our stay, time and weather permitting of course.

Home made pizza for dinner and now we are watching Dancing on Ice. It is nice and warm in the flat now that we have sussed out the heating. We like it here!!!!!

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