Blogs from Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 16

Thom -We left York on Wednesday for Durham driving up through the Yorkshire Dales. During this drive we saw some really random stuff. In one village we drove past this huge cross on a hillside. Another random sight was a white horse on a hill in chalk. We also stopped at an abbey. This is turning into quite a religious and historical trip without it meaning to be. I forgot to say that we had visited Marson Moor where there was a battle during the Civil War and also Stamford Bridge where we defeated the Norweigians in 1066 whilst in Yorkshire. During our jouney we have also seen Rivaulx Abbey. Whilst in Durham we went to walk around the cathedral and castle but there was not much else there. At the cathedral there was the Sanctuary ... read more

Weather Report Overcast with occasional light rain. Virtually no sun. Prompt start and made my way to Morpeth which is the county town of Northumberland. Spent an hour wandering around taking photographs in poor light with rain threatening. Headed west from Morpeth and about two miles out of town found Mitford Castle which I had last visited as a student - a long time ago. Little remains of this medieval castle. From there I wandered through the Wansbeck Valley and made my way to Otterburn where I had a shprt break. Continued on to the small market town of Bellingham on the river North Tyne where I bought some food and headed for a quiet picnic spot. In the afternoon I explored the moors north of Bellingham and in particular found my way to Black Middens ... read more

Weather Report Wind, wind and more wind ! Very rough night - surprised tent still in one piece. Encountered quite a few showers although some sunny spells. Apparently the campsite experienced frequent showers so I made the right decision to go inland. Set-off about 7:15 and found my way to Chillingham - home to the famous wild cattle. Unsurprisingly the grounds were not open at that time and despite peering under / through / over a number of hedges could find no sign of the beast. Continued onto Charlton Moor which is a small upland area north of Alnwick between the A1 and the A697. Very attractive barren landscape with some gorse in flower. Saw one hare and a Sitka close to the road. It disappeared into a mass of gorse so I parked and crept ... read more

Weather Report Dry with prolonged sunny spells - surprisingly good. Wind increasing later. Headed north along the coast past Bamburgh and its majestic castle before dropping down to the attractive and little visited Budle Bay. From there headed west of the A1 and explored the little known Kyloe Hills. Very attractive with sensational views east to the coast and west across central Northumberland to the Cheviots. Continued north west and made my way to Ford where I took some pictures of the castle and then drove via Heatherslaw Mill to Etal a pretty village with the remains of a medieval castle. Wandered around the ruins and then headed north east towards Berwick before returning south west along the parallel road that follows the Tweed valley. This led to the extreme north west of the county - ... read more

Weather Report Well it started off mediocre, deteriorated by mid-afternoon and by late afternoon the rain, wind and low temperature would have done justice to winter. Really miserable. Decamped and set off from Barnard Castle shortly after 8am. Made for Hamsterley Forest and took some photographs in that area. Then came the nearest I have been to an accident. Fortunately descending a winding hill at snails pace I came around a blind bend to find a vintage car coming towards me on my side of the road with horse and rider on the far side. The vc and I managed to come to a halt separated by a whisker of paint. Could not really blame the former as horses always cause a problem on winding roads. The rider gave a sheepish grin - fortunately she could ... read more