Saturday 6 September 2014

Annual Trip to Northumberland 2014





Although we usually visit a little later in the year, we decided to bring the holiday forward to take advantage of the forecast for good weather.

We have been here countless times and always seek and find something new to see.  We used the village of Seahouses as our base, with wonderful views of the harbour and Bamburgh Castle enhanced further by the binoculars which came with the room.  My husband even spotted an Oystercatcher.



On the way to Seahouses, we visited Alnwick Gardens.  We enjoyed the visit and there was a pleasant ambiance with live music, the sound of the water features and the ornamental gardens.  However, it cost £3.00 to park the car and the entrance for the ground only (not the castle) was expensive as I had thought RHS members could still go free. 

 We had an interesting tour of the poison garden

 One of the ever changing water features

 The tree house for grownups is a restaurant


We have visited the picturesque, model villages of Ford and Etal before, but this time we visited the Standing Stones to the north of Etal.  It’s a mystery to me how the stones were transported to this place in the Bronze Age, also how such a setting from which you can see for miles around was found. The stones were a circle (a henge) but a couple of them have disappeared over the years.
Pub in Etal with its picturesque thatched roof

 Etal Castle


 The standing stones at Duddo


We continued to Berwick-on-Tweed, a town surrounded by ramparts on the Scottish border, wondering if we would need passports to travel further North in future!  We went to see an exhibition in a restored granary of L S Lowry’s work depicting this area. 
 

All too soon it was time to leave but not before we stopped at various other places en route.
 Early morning sun coming through the mist at Alnmouth

 Warkworth Castle

 Morpeth



I can thoroughly recommend this beautiful part of England and guarantee that you will be smitten by the dramatic scenery, the like of which my camera cannot really capture.

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