Many places visited within a few days

Our final destination for this trip was Edinburgh but, en route, we stopped off a various places including an overnight stop in Northumberland.

It was an unusually hot and sunny day when we started our journey so we had a picnic lunch in the beautifully maintained South Park in Darlington.

After checking in at the dog-friendly Amble Inn, we took advantage of the good weather to visit Alnmouth and Amble Harbour. 

The next day we called at Seahouses, but skipped Bamburgh which is always heaving with tourists since it has been voted UK’s favourite seaside town in a recent Which survey, and took advantage of our Historic Houses Association membership to visit Paxton House   on the English/Scottish border near Berwick-on-Tweed where we had lunch.

After a quick look at the picturesque fishing village of St Abbs, we drove on to Edinburgh. In heavy rain the SatNav directed us to our hotel via Holyrood Park which is closed to traffic on weekends. We then had to make a detour in heavy traffic and the pouring rain and eventually arrived at our hotel. The Britannia Hotel is situated across from one of Edinburgh’s 144 parks which houses a famous art gallery.  These green spaces are a blessing, especially for dog owners, as few of the residences in the centre of the city have gardens.

The hotel restaurant was closed so we drove in the pouring rain to a dog-friendly pub, fortunately with underground parking nearby, where we ate a pleasant meal. On returning to the hotel, we found guests had order food through Deliveroo and Uber eats. Why didn’t we think of that? Maybe it’s a generational thing.

The following day the weather had improved and we made our way to celebrate the birthday of my daughter who was staying at Mortonhall Caravan Park. The traffic was heavy with many sets of lights which allowed us to take in some of the sights and appreciate the architecture. While they were visiting Arthur’s Seat, we took advantage of the caravan site with its walks, garden centre and  Stables Restaurant   

We spent the afternoon at Portobello, which had re-invented itself from the tired seaside resort we had visited decades ago. The beach and promenades were thronging with holidaymakers and the bay was busy with small sailing vessels from the Portobello Sailing, Kayaking and Rowing Club . The food at the   TheBeach House (thebeachhousecafe.co.uk) adjacent to the beach was delicious.

On the return journey we stopped Noses Point on the Durham coast at Seaham with its interesting history where we walked along the cliff top and watched a pod of dolphins in the bay.

So, we managed to visit many places of interest in just a few days away.

Sunk Island

The trip to Sunk Island, near Withernsea in East Yorkshire took us down winding roads so the approach to Sunk Island being a straight road lined by trees resembling a French avenue took us by surprise.

Sunk Island is neither sunken or an island but was formed by sand bars from the Humber Estuary in the 1500s and now is 8000 acres of farmland and marshland. The land is owned by the Crown estate and comprises the red brick Holy Trinity Church with graveyard, now a Heritage centre open to the public just three days a year as the insurance would be too high for more openings, a phone box and the Old School House now B and B selling wild garlic paste and chutneys. It is also the part of the coast-to-coast Way of the Roses Cycling route.

A resident told us that after a war, perhaps the Crimean, Prince Albert arranged for senior members of the military to be sent here and thus the V&A brand can be seen on some buildings designed by Samuel Sanders Teulon, a renown architect of the Gothic Revival style, to which he gave his own idiosyncratic interpretation, characterised by the use polychromatic brickwork. The military personnel did not stay long and now some of the 220 residents are farmers. A radar station was sited there during WW2.

A walk along Stone Creek gives views to Hull and large tankers can be seen on the Humber estuary, as well as parts of boats which have been washed up there. We saw someone collecting something in large bags which turned out to be driftwood.

The marshland and fields are a haven for wildlife with a multitude of resident and visiting birds and seals have been spotted.

It is fascinating to see land reclaimed from the sea when, not so far away up the coast, serious erosion is taking place.

Holiday in Lanzarote

After weeks of cold and rain in the UK, it was a pleasure to feel the warmth of the sunshine of the Canary Islands.

The two previous visits to Lanzarote have been in December, both times to the same hotel, Beatriz, in Puerto del Carmen, but this time we stayed in a hotel in Playa Blanca.

The hotel had everything we wanted for our visit with three generations. We made good use of the pool, tennis courts, chess and naturally the restaurant and bars.

The sparrows were quick to clear any crumbs from the pavement and even a heron and hedgehog appeared while were sipping our coffee.

The promenade leading one way to the port, the other to the marina plus beaches and shops were a stone’s throw away. We saw lots of big, red crabs resting on the rocks.

We saw many cat refuges with food and water

It was my birthday during the trip and we hired a car to visit the spa at Hotel Beatriz. It may have been a long journey for a spa but, as well as the sauna, jacuzzi and Turkish bath (Hamam) there is a fabulous hydrothermal circuit which massages different parts of the body with warm aquatic jets, a variety of waterfalls and micro-bubble beds leaving us feeling refreshed and invigorated. We then had lunch at a cafe by the sea.

On our return to the hotel, the management had delivered a bottle of champagne and chocolates to our room

A large market twice a week at the marina

Some of the area retained its old world charm

Time passed much too quickly, but we have our memories.