Blyth/Amble

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9^thMay

Hartlepool to Blyth – 31nm

Happy Mother’s Day!! Good start to the trip, had dolphins for a while, then watched them fishing, jumping out and splashing the fish. Nice start. Had to motor to begin with until the wind filled in. Blyth not such an interesting marina so to speak, but an interesting clubhouse. It’s an old lightship. Been restored and floating, but not moving. Has bar and saloon, so very nice. Very tired by the time we got there, but there was a fundraising afternoon tea. WE paid our 5pounds each and enjoyed some nice English cakes etc. Met Paul – must have been in charge on the night or something and he was a wealth of information. Gave us some info on Caledonian canal and the trip up there.





10^th May



Blyth to Amble – 17nm

Just a short amble up to Amble today. We knew the winds were coming in strong in the afternoon, but also knew it was a short trip. We also had to be in by 12 anyway in order to have enough water in the river and over the sill for the marina. So we departed at 0800. It was raining as we left, but that soon cleared up and the sun came out…as forecasted. We were motoring to begin with and then all of a sudden, the wind changed direction and came in stronger – gusting up to 20kts. We were expecting this, but I kind of thought it would come in gradually. But no…all of a sudden, no warning, boom…there it was. So we were able to sail in the last half of our trip. Then of course we also had some tide assist, so were doing 6 – 7kts easily…on just the main. So many crab traps to avoid. Came into Amble and got a great vibe about it straight away. The ladies shower block is just fantastic!! IT has large cubicles with changing area included, glass screens around the shower, then has a normal shower head, but as well…..a big soaking one like Bren and Eliza’s. Got to be happy with that. BUT…that’s not all….wait for it…..it has a BATH!!! Happy Happy, Joy, Joy!!! Now I just hope we get stuck in this marina for a week!!! Had to laugh, I said to Phil…wow how good are those showers!!! Hmm ok was his response. Men’s only have small cubicles and no soaking showerheads, no changing areas and certainly no bath!!

12^th: Went for a long walk to Warkworth today. Very old town, a bridge over 600 years old and a church with records of the Priest dating back to 1110. Strange day for a walk – very windy, but still sunny most of the time so all was fine. Had a great dinner out at a very nice place in town.

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