Northumberland and Beyond

Our annual holiday with the usual suspects, less the Bulgarian contingent, was in Alnmouth. This is an area we visited ten years ago and we loved it so much we felt it was time to revisit.

Our friend Sue found a wonderful house just up from the estuary mouth and within walking distance of several pubs and restaurants.

We ate at The Sun Inn which served quality pub food and later in the week we tried to eat at the Red Lion but having been told we couldn’t book but just turn up and there would be a table for the eight of us it turns out they misled us and we were turned away – nil points for service there but we went over the road to the Hope and Anchor where we had an excellent meal with mainly Italian food with a good choice of other dishes.

After much debate about whether we’d walked around Bamburgh castle ten years ago and having undertaken a six mile stroll along the beach it was agreed we hadn’t been here before. It’s an imposing castle and the tea room in the village made a great pot of Earl Grey and teacake – the stuff holidays are made of.

We’d promised ourselves a trip to the Farne Islands to see the Puffins and so we found ourselves on board the Golden Gate and heading out on choppy seas to see the birds.

The numbers of birds was truly astounding and it is difficult to imagine how these thousands cling to the cliffs, lay their pear shaped eggs (stops them rolling off the edge) and bring up their young

There were guillemots, razor bills, cormorants and shags but no puffins – the nuffin puffin! The captain said he’s seen one flying by on our side of the boat but he was the only one to see it so we think he was making it up because he’d promised we would see puffins.

We stopped for half an hour on one island that had Longstone lighthouse on it. This is the island from which Grace Darling made her heroic rescue in a dinghy. This is a piece of rock two miles off the Northumberland coast. There’s no soil to grow vegetables or keep animals so it must have been very bleak for the inhabitants. We’d had enough after 30 minutes.

This gannet was very happy sitting on a rock close to the lighthouse so we were able to approach it and get several close ups of this magnificent bird – the largest seabird in the north Atlantic.

Before we left we had time for a photo. Four happy sailors.

Another day and the tides were right for us to cross the causeway to Lindisfarne. What a strange life for those who live there where they are dictated to by the tides – thirteen hours every day the causeway is closed by the tide and they are physically cut off from the rest of the country. Interestingly BT Superfast Broadband has reached here so possibly the children on the island do their schooling on the internet – wouldn’t that be innovative.

Inside Lindisfarne Castle there are rooms set out as they would have been when they were last lived in during the early 1900s when it had been renovated and styled by Lutyens.

We ate our lunch in bright, warm sunlight on the village green after walking around the island and had the pleasure of seeing some beautiful owls on display. This one caught our eye or did we catch his eye?

Midweek and we caught the train from Alnmouth station to Edinburgh. It was great for Jane and I because we missed going to the Fringe Festival last year as Jane was in hospital. We had all visited before but Edinburgh has something for everyone so we spilt up and enjoyed the city.

We had never been to Leith so we caught the bus down to the dock area. The old dockland area is in the process of being refurbished and there are some wonderful areas. These areas would not look out of place in any capital in Europe – we were impressed with the whole ambience.

We all met up again at the Slug and Lettuce at the top of Leith Road for dinner before catching the train back to Alnmouth. This was our first visit to a Slug and Lettuce chain pub and it will be the last. Jane’s chicken was served uncooked and when asked to cook it properly they responded by saying that the chicken looks uncooked because it is fed on beetroot – don’t ask!

The final day and we visited Amble. Another lovely seaside village with the first vestiges of touristy type places (pods) being developed. Another beautiful day giving us an opportunity to join the café society. We also walked to the castle at Warksworth.

No holiday would be complete without making friends with the locals. This chappie was so friendly, he stopped by our front door whenever we were sitting outside in the sun. He would rollover and just loved a tummy rub.