Warkworth Castle

The sun was out this morning and it was very warm with beautiful blue skies and hardly a cloud in sight. It looked like this might be the best day so far. We set off for Warkworth Castle. Unfortunately by the time we got to Warkworth it had clouded over and was a little chilly.

Warkworth Castle has an extremely well preserved, cross shaped keep, built mostly in the fourteenth century. It was here that most of the Percy family, earls of Northumberland lived during the fourteenth sand fifteenth centuries Unfortunately it turned out that the Warkworth Hermitage is only open on Sunday and Monday's. We decide to go in search of it for future reference. It lies about half a mile from the castle on the banks of the River Coquet and can only be reached by the rowing boat ferry. On the way back we called in at Amble and Alnmouth.

Farne Islands

Quite a nice day again this morning. We cycled the 3 miles into Seahouses to catch one of the boats out to the Farne Islands, a rocky archipelago of islands, just a few miles offshore, owned by the National Trust, and maintained as a nature reserve. We decided upon the Serenity II, Fifteen pounds for a two an a half hour cruise, with a one hour landing on Inner Farne.

Firstly we sailed out to Longstone Island whose single attraction is the lighthouse where Grace Darling used to live, and from where her daring rescue was launched . The catamaran’s double hull meant the captain could get really close to the rocks.

Although it was coming towards the end of the breeding season, there were still plenty of Kittiwakes, Shags, Puffins, Turnstones and Terns.

He then took us to see the colony of seals that inhabit the islands. Every year there are around 1600 seal pups born in this colony. Then he took us to Inner Farne where we landed for an hour. On Inner Farne is the restored 14th century chapel built in honour of St Cuthbert who spent most of his life and died here.

We then headed back to Seahouses where we tried some of the seafood from the stalls around the harbour, before cycling back to Beadnell Bay, where we stopped off for some chips for Tea.

Afternoon Tea in Alnwick

We had afternoon tea booked at The White Swan in Alnwick today courtesy of a birthday present bought for Maddy. We spent a couple of hours looking round Alnwick before heading for tea.

After tea we sat in the market place and watched some of the acts performing at the 40th Annual Alnwick Music Festival, before heading back to the caravan for a relaxing evening.

Cragside

When we woke this morning it was very windy indeed. The bikes had blown over in the night and we had a few spots of rain. Decided on a trip to Cragside today. The home of Lord William Armstrong - Victorian inventor, innovator and landscape genius. Cragside house was truly a wonder of its age. It was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity and is crammed full of ingenious gadgets – most of them still working. The gardens are incredible. One of the largest rock gardens in Europe leads down to the Iron Bridge, which in turn leads to the formal garden.

After a look around the impressive house we walked down to the old power house, where the electricity was generated. The house is still lit using hydroelectricity, but the power now comes from the Archimedes screw installed in 2014.

After a walk around the formal gardens we spent some time in the animal hide where we saw an array of birds,with the highlight being several Bullfinches, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Nuthatch.

After a nice Cream Tea in the visitor centre we headed back to the car and drove home via Alnwick and the Coastal apart from a couple of brief showers, it was another lovely day, although the wind didn't die down until late evening.

Berwick Upon Tweed

Nice blue sky this morning, 14 degrees. The sun was out, although it was a bit windy. Showered early and they were pretty good, despite their initial appearance. Decided on a trip to Berwick for the day. Filled the car with diesel on the way in and parked near the ramparts for free all day. We walked up to the ramparts and walked around them towards Berwick Barracks. These massive defences were built between 1558 and 1570 in the reigns of the Tudor monarchs Mary I and Elizabeth I. The ramparts were designed to mount guns to defend the town at a time of great conflict between England and Scotland.

When we got to the barracks, we went to have a look around. Managed by English Heritage, Ravensdowne Barracks were completed in 1721. An adaptation of a design by architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, they were one of the first purpose built barracks in the country. Up to 636 soldiers were accommodated here in the 18th century. The last regular soldiers left in 1964, it now houses the museum of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers.

We went a little further around the walls before dropping into town for a drink and a bowl of chips. Very good value for money. After a walk around the shops for a while, during which we partook of a nice Thornton’s ice cream, we headed back to the ramparts for a steady walk back to the car. Although the rain threatened a couple of times, it never materialised and overall was a very nice day. We headed back to the van, calling in at Tesco for a bit of shopping on the way.

Beadnell Bay Caravan Park

It rained most of the night, but by the time we had breakfast it had stopped. We chilled for a while before packing up the van and leaving, around 11:30 for our 66 mile trip to Beadnell Bay. We had a little trouble finding it and ended up having to unhitched the van to turn it round after we ended up driving down a dead end.

We did eventually find it, but the office was closed. The blackboard outside said we were on pitch 18 near the toilets. We had a drive down but there were no vacant pitches so we had to give them a call. Turns out we should have been on pitch 20. Tom met us down there and helped us site the van. We were pitched amongst the static caravans just near the sand dunes. Unfortunately during the drive up to the pitch we smashed the caravan electrics on the car and had to make a few running repairs.


We got the awning up and the kettle on before a quick nip to the toilets. They left a little to be desired but I have seen worse. After a nice cuppa in the awning we had a walk over the dunes, only a few yards away and onto the beach. Mad had a paddle and we walked across the sea front to the harbour. It was a little chilly in the wind.

On the harbour were the Beadnell Bay Lime Kilns, now managed by the National Trust. On the way back to the caravan it started to rain and set in for the night on and off. We had tea and settled down for the evening.

Finchale Abbey Touring Park

We left home about 8:00am and were hitched up and on our way for about 9:00am. The sun was shining and we stopped at the Dodworth Valley Toby Carvery for breakfast. We were back on the road for about 10:30am and arrived at Finchale Abbey Touring Park around 2:30pm. Finchale Abbey is a family run Touring Park set in the heart of the beautiful County Durham countryside, just 4 miles from Durham. The park lies within a meander of the River Wear and overlooks the ruins of Finchale Priory.

Because we weren't putting the awning up it only took about 15 minutes to get everything set up and get the kettle on. I had a nice cuppa, Maddy had a cider before setting off for a walk around the Priory ruins. Finchale Priory dates from the twelfth century and was founded on the site of the hermitage of reformed pirate, St. Godric and dedicated to John the Baptist. Part of the monastery later served as a holiday retreat for the monks of Durham Priory.

Afterwards we had a nice walk along one of the woodland walks by the River Wear. Then back to the van for tea and chill for the rest of the evening.