Post by doug789 on May 3, 2011 19:03:44 GMT -1
Five brave souls went on this expedition to the as yet uncharted arctic wastes of Northumbria.
The more organised feminune party made an early start and ewached our rendezvous with hours to spare whereas the male party was delayed by the inability of a nameless person to get up.
An easy drive up the A1 to our first point of interest was rewarded with the double delight of missing some wedding down in London and arriving at the magnificent site of Bamburgh castle. This castle really looks the part, straight out of a robin hood movie and it dominates the skyline for miles around. The village has the Grace Darling (no relative of Alistair) museum and a fine church as well. Paul though was more attracted by he pie and sausage roll shop. He subsequently recommended it to everyone he met. A stroll along the pristine beach was a delight with lots of wild life to observe.
From there we moved on to our next port of call the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. We could not cross until the tide had receded from the causeway. Odd to drive to an Island. A walk round the Island took in the castle, a bird hide where people were looking at moorhens and swans. Why they needed to travel all this far to see moorhens and swans was mystery to me but then I'm not a twitcher. We ended up at the priory which was free entry so we definitely visited. Here was a statue of St Cuthbert holding an ice cream amongst other things.
We then set off for Byrness which entailed crossing the border into scotland. Fortunately the border guards must have been elsewhere because we didn't have passports. We called in at Coldstream and had dinner at the Besom which is full of memoribila of the Coldstreams guards. It made me very proud that one of my ancestors had deserted from this regiment.
Arriving at Byrness which is a bit like what Brigadoon would look like if the council had built it we retired after consuming a few drinks from Colins cupboard.
Day 2. Copper Snout.
After a breakfast cooked by our most generous ladies we set off for the village of Alwinton. This is only 6 miles from Byrness but as there are artlillery ranges between Alwinton and Byrness we had to drive 20 miles on the road. A beautiful sunny day with a strongish easterly wind made walking conditions perfect. The scenery was amazing, especially the steep coquet valley and we eventually trudged our way to the top of Copper Snout, one of those hills where there always seems to be another summit. On the tops despite taking a slightly wrong path we settled down out the wind and basked in the hot sun before moving off, again down the wrong path. Noticing we were heading the wrong direction we soon doubled back and found the right path back to Alwinton. The rest of the afternoon was spent imbibing Farne bitter in the beer garden. Dinner that night was at Byrness with the obligatory sales pitch from Colin.
Day 3 Hadrians Wall.
A walk on the wildest part of Hadrians wall from the oddly named Once Brewed started off in a very confusing manner. Firstly the odd sight of putting on sun cream and sun glasses followed by layers of warm clothing. Then following the walk instructions which appeared to be taking us the wrong way until we guessed we were parked at a different car park.
The walk was tiring against a howling cold wind but we eventually reached the Roman Fort ar Housteads. Paul then thought that the walk would be best accomplished by not following the steep ups and downs on the wall but by the softee walk on the military road. I sometimes doubt his commitment to suffering. Arriving back at the visitor centre carpark we found a sheltered sunny spot and spent the rest of the afternoon consuming large quantities of alcohol. Julie and Zoe managed to lower the weight in the car by emptying the wine bottles.
Dinner at Byrness was followed by an evening stroll along the River Rede where we managed to finish off the rest of the drink.
Day 3 Return via Durham
Once again our charming lady travellers provided breakfast. We set off back calling in at Durham on the way where we visited the cathedral followed by lunch on the banks of the Wear (again provided by the ladies). Then back to reality.
All in all a great way to spend the long weekend. I will try and put up some photos..
The more organised feminune party made an early start and ewached our rendezvous with hours to spare whereas the male party was delayed by the inability of a nameless person to get up.
An easy drive up the A1 to our first point of interest was rewarded with the double delight of missing some wedding down in London and arriving at the magnificent site of Bamburgh castle. This castle really looks the part, straight out of a robin hood movie and it dominates the skyline for miles around. The village has the Grace Darling (no relative of Alistair) museum and a fine church as well. Paul though was more attracted by he pie and sausage roll shop. He subsequently recommended it to everyone he met. A stroll along the pristine beach was a delight with lots of wild life to observe.
From there we moved on to our next port of call the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. We could not cross until the tide had receded from the causeway. Odd to drive to an Island. A walk round the Island took in the castle, a bird hide where people were looking at moorhens and swans. Why they needed to travel all this far to see moorhens and swans was mystery to me but then I'm not a twitcher. We ended up at the priory which was free entry so we definitely visited. Here was a statue of St Cuthbert holding an ice cream amongst other things.
We then set off for Byrness which entailed crossing the border into scotland. Fortunately the border guards must have been elsewhere because we didn't have passports. We called in at Coldstream and had dinner at the Besom which is full of memoribila of the Coldstreams guards. It made me very proud that one of my ancestors had deserted from this regiment.
Arriving at Byrness which is a bit like what Brigadoon would look like if the council had built it we retired after consuming a few drinks from Colins cupboard.
Day 2. Copper Snout.
After a breakfast cooked by our most generous ladies we set off for the village of Alwinton. This is only 6 miles from Byrness but as there are artlillery ranges between Alwinton and Byrness we had to drive 20 miles on the road. A beautiful sunny day with a strongish easterly wind made walking conditions perfect. The scenery was amazing, especially the steep coquet valley and we eventually trudged our way to the top of Copper Snout, one of those hills where there always seems to be another summit. On the tops despite taking a slightly wrong path we settled down out the wind and basked in the hot sun before moving off, again down the wrong path. Noticing we were heading the wrong direction we soon doubled back and found the right path back to Alwinton. The rest of the afternoon was spent imbibing Farne bitter in the beer garden. Dinner that night was at Byrness with the obligatory sales pitch from Colin.
Day 3 Hadrians Wall.
A walk on the wildest part of Hadrians wall from the oddly named Once Brewed started off in a very confusing manner. Firstly the odd sight of putting on sun cream and sun glasses followed by layers of warm clothing. Then following the walk instructions which appeared to be taking us the wrong way until we guessed we were parked at a different car park.
The walk was tiring against a howling cold wind but we eventually reached the Roman Fort ar Housteads. Paul then thought that the walk would be best accomplished by not following the steep ups and downs on the wall but by the softee walk on the military road. I sometimes doubt his commitment to suffering. Arriving back at the visitor centre carpark we found a sheltered sunny spot and spent the rest of the afternoon consuming large quantities of alcohol. Julie and Zoe managed to lower the weight in the car by emptying the wine bottles.
Dinner at Byrness was followed by an evening stroll along the River Rede where we managed to finish off the rest of the drink.
Day 3 Return via Durham
Once again our charming lady travellers provided breakfast. We set off back calling in at Durham on the way where we visited the cathedral followed by lunch on the banks of the Wear (again provided by the ladies). Then back to reality.
All in all a great way to spend the long weekend. I will try and put up some photos..