NORTHBOUND TO NORTHUMBERLAND

Off again, 5 nights at a site near Bambrough, years since we have been up here, this is an area of outstanding natural beauty.

We have joined the Camping & Caravanning Club hoping to use the certificated sites but everywhere seemed booked up so got a listed site, not part of the club. Arrived to find a field full of tents, caravans and screaming kids, oh what had I done.....Roy booked in and thank goodness we were on the adults field, far away from the fun and games!

BAMBROUGH DAY

First day we walked to Bambrough about a 5 mile round trip, we took a bridleway across the fields and returned along the beach dodging the incoming tide.

Due to Northumbria's history of hostility against the Scots, there are more strongholds and castles here than in any other part of England. The first major stronghold was built around 550 by a Saxon chieftain, Ida the Flamebearer. In its heyday between 1095 and 1464 Bambrough was the royal castle used by the Northumbrian knights for coronations. Bambrough Castle is so photogenic.

BUDLE BAY

LONGSTONE LIGHTHOUSE

BAMBROUGH CASTLE

LINDISFARNE & BERWICK ON TWEED DAY

Day two saw us up early to drive across the causeway to Lindisfarne or Holy Island. We had just over three hours to explore before the long narrow neck of land sank under the North Sea tide for five hours. The island was made famous around 635 by St Aidan, St Cuthbert and the Lindisfarne gospels(held in the British Library).

We had a great walk round the sights and managed to escape the crowds, we sat enjoying our lunch while waiting for the tide to cover the road and watch the crazy people who tried to beat the tide with their cars.

ST MARYS CHURCH

St Aidan 600-651 Irish missionary founded monastery at Lindisfarne

PYRAMIDAL ORCHID

TIDE'S COMING IN!

On to Berwick Upon Tweed, an interesting walled town,which changed hands 14 times between the 12^th and 15^th centuries in the wars between the Scots and English. The English won in 1482!

We walked part of the walls, there seemed to be miles of beautiful trails around the town looking over the River Tweed.

                               THREE BRIDGES AT BERWICK

ALNWICK CASTLE DAY

A sightseeing day at Alnwick Castle was quite superb! We chose just to see the castle and not the gardens. It is the main seat of the Duke of Northumberland, whose family, the Percys, have lived here since 1309. This castle doubled as Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter movies.

We enjoyed wandering round the state rooms, discovering that the Duke lives in the actual rooms during the winter, Downton Abbey was also filmed here. Heard about how they filmed the broomstick scenes in Harry Potter and laughed to see the kids and grown ups taking part in Broomstick training! A stunning Castle!

                                                      LIONS BRIDGE

BROOMSTICK TRAINING

                TREE HOUSE AT ALNWICK CASTLE

DUNSTANBURGH CASTLE

Our last day, we drove through Seahouses and Beadnell to Low Newton then hiked along the Northumberland Coast path to the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. Impressive even though there was not a great deal left, it must have been spectacular in its day. We walked back along the beach, missing the big black clouds that flew by. Ice Cream in Seahouses and ended the day with fish and chips – what more could you ask! Another perfect day.

St Mary's Church Low Newton end of 19th century purchased in kit form constructed from corrugated steel sheeting with pretty stained glass windows      

VIEW OF BAMBROUGH CASTLE FROM THE SEAHOUSES ROAD.

  

OUR NEW TRAILER & RIBBLESDALE WEEKEND

  16th July 2016

Last weekend we bought our UK caravan on Ebay by auction! A scary event as we bought it unseen, then spent the weekend driving down to Bexhill on Sea to collect it and enjoyed a couple of nights, one in Bexhill, a pleasant seaside town with great fish and chips. Sacrewell near Peterborough was our second stop where we had a wander round the pretty village of Wansworth.

Thursday 21^st July.

This weekend we took off for the Yorkshire Dales, Austwick was our campsite, having joined the Caravan and Camping Club, we stopped on a farm site, idyllic surrounded by lovely rolling hills, cows and sheep!

Sun shone with occasional showers, our first day saw us hiking up Pen-y-gent. Great walk, a first for me but Roy's done the Three Peaks walk several times in bygone years.

On Friday we hiked to see the Norber Erratics, a group of sandstone boulders which were transported from their “proper” place about a kilometre away by glaciers about 13 to 15,000 years ago and left perched on top of limestone rocks. Interesting to see but not quite as majestic as some erratics we have seen in the States, nevertheless a pretty walk. Had a look round Settle which neither of us remembered, it was heaving with bikers and hikers and people eating! So we had an ice cream!

Last day was rainy so Roy fiddled with the radio which did not work.... he fixed it, we are not sure how! We were just about to go out to see Ribblehead Viaduct when disaster struck, it felt like it at the time. The people who owned the van before us had fitted a fancy shower gel dispenser in the shower but he told us that it leaked so they stored it in a box in a cupboard. For some reason Roy did not hear the man tell us this and he took the dispenser out of the box and said as he moved it across one of the side settees, “what about this”........ at which point the damned thing leaked purple shower gel all over the seat!! After and hour of trying to sponge the soap out of the cushion I gave up and we went out to get some fresh air – it had been rather blue in the caravan! We just hope the cushion dries without a stain.

Ribblehead Viaduct was super and we enjoyed a walk around it despite some sprinkles.

 CHAPEL OF THE FELLS IN CHAPEL LE DALE