A Short Break to Northumbria

Rob, Brock and I enjoyed an overnight stay in Northumbria during the week.

We stayed at the beautiful Chillingham Manor House, where we had the best breakfast ever at a hotel: Rob had muesli, orange juice, vegetarian sausages, eggy bread, toast and homemade preserves, and coffee. I had excellent fresh fruit salad, apple juice, bubble & squeak with poached egg (laid by one of the chickens I could see out of the window!), gluten free toast with Seville orange marmalade and lemon curd, with coffee. Absolutely superb! We bought a jar of the wonderful marmalade to take home with us. Ros and David who run this small hotel are so friendly and welcoming, I would definitely recommend a stay with them if you are in the area.

[Image from The Manor House's website]

Our day had started with a walk around Wilton Lodge Park in Hawick, followed by lunch at the Damascus Drum cafe.

Next stop was at Melrose. The weather was beautiful for this time of year. Here is a view of Melrose Abbey.

Then Kelso (above), before we drove to Chillingham.

The following day, on the recommendation of our host, we went to Bamburgh beach to walk Brock.

A slightly cooler day, we took a bracing walk along the beach, taking in the views out to sea and of Bamburgh Castle.

Then it was on to Alnmouth for another beach walk, followed by coffee and cake.

Our final stop before driving home, was at the fantastic second hand book store at Alnwick Station, Barter Books. It is a really wonderful book shop, with model railway running around the tops of the shelves in one room, an open fire with sofas and free coffee in another room. There is a nice cafe, the Station Buffet, there, but it was full even at this time of year. They operate a number system for getting a table. We were lucky enough to get the table in the centre of the bookshop, where we had a jacket potato with cheese, and the day's special, Kitchari (a curried lentil and rice dish). Tasty food, but we were still a little full from breakfast so didn't do it justice.

A very nice change of scene for us all!

A Trip To Alnmouth

Rob, Brock and I had a few hours at Alnmouth, Northumberland on Wednesday.

It is a very attractive seaside village, with a marina, golf course, lots of restaurants, pubs, hotels and cafés (for its size). There are also a few gift shops and delis to browse in.

We enjoyed lunch at The Red Lion Inn: a 'starter' of crisps, followed by Stilton and red onion sandwich for Rob; omelet and salad garnish for me. (The latter was a special request that they kindly cooked for me, since they didn't have any vegetarian, gluten free dishes listed on the menu.) The food was tasty, and it was a nice place to sit and relax. I see from their website that they do Bed and Breakfast, and also have a beer garden overlooking the sea, which we didn't spot. The Inn allows dogs into the bar area and beer garden, which is useful if you happen to have one with you.

[Click on any photo to see a larger version.]

Next we had a walk on the beach, which is beautiful: wide sandy expanses and very few people, even on a sunny day in August.

Brock found a new friend to play with: Becky.

We enjoyed an ice cream and Brock showed quite a bit of interest in getting some. And succeeded.

The nearby market town of Alnwick is also worth a visit for the shops, Alnwick Garden and Alnwick Castle.