Holiday In North Berwick: North Berwick

After yesterday's exertions and 4-hour-round-trip, we decided to explore locally in North Berwick today.

 
We gave Brock his second walk of the day in the Lodge Grounds Park at North Berwick, then headed to the dog-friendly Steampunk Cafe for morning coffee and cake. It was so warm that we were able to sit outside. The coffee was excellent and the staff were friendly, so I would definitely recommend giving this small cafe a visit if you are in town.

Mural at Steampunk Cafe

After a look around the town - there are lots of small independent shops, cafes, restaurants and five charity shops to explore - and lunch back at the flat, we headed out for a walk along the beach as far as the golf course.

 The Law: a volcanic plug that you can hike up, and handy landmark for locating North Berwick!

One of Brock's many new friends: Sula (left)

We had another delicious double espresso ice cream from Gelateria Alandas back in the town, and chips for dinner from the nearby North Berwick Fry.

Holiday in North Berwick: The Journey Up

We set off from home, leaving my brother, Philip, in charge of the house, Minnow Cat and Connie Chicken. The rain was pouring down, not boding well for the week ahead!

Our first stop was at Alnmouth in Northumberland. It is an attractive village with a long area of sandy beach, with a few small shops, cafes, hotels and pubs. We parked at the beach car park and walked along to the dog-friendly cafe, The Village Tea Rooms. Brock decided to jump into several very deep pools of stagnant sea water for some reason. He doesn't like water normally, so it was quite a surprise to all of us. Although it was misty, the rain had passed over and it was dry for our walk.

Brock running on the beach at Alnmouth

Alnmouth main street

Our next stop was the wonderful Barter Books at Alnwick Station. It has a cafe, and thousands of books: new, second-hand and antiquarian. There is lots of comfy seating scattered about; a train runs around the top of the book shelves in the first room, where there is often an open fire burning; and dogs are allowed in (apart from the buffet area). Parking on site is limited and very busy.

Barter Books - main room

Display of antique childrens' books

Berwick-upon-Tweed was our next stop of the day. We walked all around the city walls, enjoying the views of the sea and town.

 The allotments at Berwick-upon-Tweed

The house that L S Lowry stayed in on his visits to the town

 Views over the Tweed to the railway viaduct

We drove on to the flat we were staying at in North Berwick and were glad to have a rest after our busy first day.

View from the holiday flat's sitting room window: a minute's walk from the sea!