Tuesday 10 September 2019

Beaches and cliffs, then ruined priory or cake?

Gosh, where to begin?

Gail and I have just returned from a truly splendiferous few days spent exploring the Northumberland coast with our Nottingham-based friends Janet and Sue.

(Geography note: Northumberland, in the northeast corner of England, is conveniently situated about half way between Nottingham and Aberdeen.)

Shall I first show you some of the beaches? There aren't many places in crowded little England that offer such open and expansive vistas.

If you like your seaside with a touch more human activity, then Coldingham Bay, just across the border in Scotland, might be the place for you.

I'll admit that, while Janet was striding ahead, Sue and I slowed down a little to consider which of the pretty painted beach huts we'd like to adopt.

Of course, when with Gail, you always end up visiting places of geological interest too.

I'm sure you've already spotted the St Abbs Head fault line, separating volcanic rocks of eastern headland from the Devonian and Silurian sediments to the landward side (!)

It's not so often that Gail and I head for religious sites, but one has to say that the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne, an important centre of early Christianity in England and only reachable via a tidal causeway, has a very, very special atmosphere all of its own.

I have promised not to let on that, after spending much of the afternoon wandering around the nature reserve in the north of Holy Isle, Gail and her philistine friends prioritised tea and cake (generous slices of Victoria sponge served with strawberries and cream). So our little group failed to make it to the ruins of the 12th century priory and adjacent museum until after the gates were closed for the day, and had to settle for taking photos from behind the fence.

Still, we did all have a fabulous time overall, and massive thanks to Janet for organising our accommodation in Berwick-upon-Tweed and planning such splendid outings. I want you to know that I walked at least twenty-five miles over the course of the weekend. I might be slowing down a bit but there is life in the old dog yet!

16 comments:

  1. oh Bertie we love that places... your land is so super beautiful and we will bug da staff to travel over da channel with us...

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  2. Hari OM
    Bertie lad, I hope one day e'er lang to be walking on Lindisfarne. Those beaches are something else too! What a wonderfurs gathering you had in a county of bounteous beauty! Hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

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  3. Wow - what a fabulous and most beautiful adventure!

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  4. It looks like you all had a great time and wonderful weather for your adventures. Thanks for taking us along on your trip.

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  5. I'm afraid I would prioritize cakes over churches too. Sorry, Bertie!

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  6. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Bertie thank you to you,Gail, Sue and Janet for taking your fiends on this fantastic journey!! WOW x 87 I might be an itty bitty jealous of this outing. Such lovely photos. I might need/deserve an entire cake if I walked 25 miles in one weekend.
    Hugs Cecilia

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  7. Bertie, we love that we can tag along through your beautiful photos and see all these interesting places you visit. We would have enjoyed running with you on those beaches.

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

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  8. What a beautiful area...and we do believe our Mama would have stopped to enjoy cake too!

    xoxo,
    Rosy, Jakey & Arty

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  9. 25 miles! We are impressed. What a great place to visit, so much to see and Victoria sponge, as well.

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  10. Bertie, we wish we could go on adventures with you.

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  11. I love your photos. A little bit of history, beauty and Bertie in each one

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  12. beautiful photos wonderful! That is a lot of miles Bertie
    hugs
    Mabel & Hilda

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  13. A fault line ~ well whose fault was the cause? Will an earthquake happen? Yep forget about that let them eat cake.
    Your Friend
    Wills

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  14. Oh, what a lovely trip Bertie!!! I didn't doubt for a moment that you were able to do 25 miles! I bets there were so many FABulous smells too!
    Thanks for takin' us along!!!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  15. Bertie, you are a very lucky boy - you get to the most interesting and beautiful places. And cake too - wow!
    What a fabulous place to have one of those pretty little beach huts. My hooman says she'd love one !

    Love,
    Inca xx

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  16. What a wonderful trip and adventure you all had! And 25 miles is nothing to sneeze at! Bet those paws and feet were a little tired!

    Kiki and Rosie

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