Heading North for a 'Little' 36 Night 'Holiday' Day 21 - 26

Heading North for a 'Little' 36 Night 'Holiday' Day 21 - 26 

Wednesday 7th July 2021⛅⛅⛅🌧️ 🌧️ 🌧️ 🌧️⛅⛅

Happy Birthday Vicky (and John M) xx

Well, we started out well today but things got a bit soggy along the way!!  We went to Alnmouth's stunning beach where we parked the car on a puddled rutted beach front carpark, and from there we walked into the the very pretty village and then along the coastal path to the traditional fishing hamlet of Boulmer that is said to have changed very little in the last 100 years!  

Alnmouth Beach where the River Aln Meets the North Sea

The weather was warm and sunny so when we explored the picture postcard village with it's colourful flower bedecked cottages, pubs and eateries we saw it at it's best, and that could also be said for most of the coastal path where there were loads of wild flowers to admire as we went!  

The path on which we were walking was part of St Oswald's Way which is a long distance walking trail (95.7 miles) that starts in Kirkwhelpington and finishes on Holy Island, and we learnt that St Oswald was a Northumbrian King in the early 7th Century who played a major role in bringing Christianity to his people!  So with this knowledge in mind maybe we'll have to come back soon to explore more of it at a later date.

Eventually we got to Boulmer were we found a sea facing bench to rest on to eat our picnic while watching the waves wash up on the shore and the fishermen returning from their excursions out to sea!  And the enjoyment of our corned beef cobs and crisps  was  much enhanced when a passerby stopped to chat and told us that a crab sandwich in the village would have cost 9 quid 😋

But as we sat something was going off behind our backs 😲 and when we turned around we could see huge dark clouds gathering and clearly threatening us with a soaking!  And that was exactly what we got as we walked back along the sands!  Initially we didn't bother with rain coats because we thought it might only be a few spots but as we gazed back the way we'd come we could see the downpour coming rapidly and despite our brisk pace it easily caught us up - we were absolutely drenched in seconds 😂😂😂!   Then when we got back to the car the little puddle that John had parked in had taken on the proportions of a lake so we ended up having a paddle as well!

Thursday 8th July 2021 ⛅⛅⛅🌞🌞⛅⛅

Today we'd planned to park behind the dunes that run between Bamburgh and Seahouses and then walk along the beach into Seahouses and a bit beyond and that is exactly what we did.  While we were walking the tide was well out so a huge width of fine white sand was set out before us thus making our walk quite spectacular, and even when we had to leave the beach just before Seahouses our views from the cliffs continued to hold our attention especially because there was plenty of bird life fishing about in the many rock pools. 

Once in Seahouses we found it to be incredibly busy but that didn't really bother us because we were soon out of the town and toddling along the headland towards the golf club.   However, from there the coastal path turns landwards so we about turned and found a bench overlooking the harbour were we sat and sipped coffee and munched cake while watching the many pleasure boats departing for the Farne Isles.

Seahouses' Harbour and you can just about see Bamburgh Castle on the upper left of the pic!

An old Gun Power Shelter that must be submerged by the sea twice a day!

After our return stroll to our car our plan had been to go into Bamburgh and participate in a bit more coastal bird watching but if we thought Seahouses had been busy it was nothing to what we found when we got to Bamburgh and parking was absolutely impossible.  Therefore, we gave that up as a bad job and headed for Budle Bay where, when the tide is out, a huge area of mud and sand flats are exposed, all of which is a small part of the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve.  Unfortunately we didn't spot anything particularly unusual but we passed a good bit of time trying to 😂😂😂.

The Light House on Farne Island taken from Budle bay with lots of Zoom!

The Viewing Platform at Budle Bay

Friday 9th July 2021 ⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅

Today was moving day and we set off at about 11.15 for our next destination which was a Camping and Caravan Club Site near Barnard Castle.  Now I thought Barnard Castle was just a castle but in fact it's a market town in Teeside, County Durham that is named after the castle around which it's built.   We made the 90 odd miles in a little over two hours, and it only took that long because of a 2 mile car park on the A66.  But after that there was another challenge - for the last three quarters of a mile we were required to traverse along a very narrow track and we were very relieved not to have met anything coming in the opposite direction.

We were soon settled in on the site that is a bit in the middle of nowhere but after some investigation John says he can find plenty for us to do to fill the 14 days of our stay here, but for the rest of the today all we had planned was to do not a lot!

The 'Castle' of Barnard Castle was mostly built in the 12th and 13th Centuries, so as you would imagine, it has had many many claims to fame in it's time but one of it's most recent involved a certain political adviser to our 'esteemed' Prime Minister, so John keeps telling me that if it was good enough for him (the adviser)  he (John) might go and test his 👁️ eyes 👁️there as well 🤣 🤣🤣!

Saturday 10th July 2021  ☁☁⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅

A Very Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Husband John - I've always known how lucky I am to have you but without all your help, patience, research, and driving ability we wouldn't be able to maintain our fantastic lifestyle!  I'll always be eternally grateful that because of you we've been able to achieve so much  😍💗💕 

So what have we been up to on this special day?  Well, the weather 'fairy tale' told us not to expect much in the way of a lovely summer's day, and when we drew back our curtains we were greeted by lots of mist and murk!  However, by the time we'd dawdled over a birthday breakfast it looked much brighter and by lunchtime the sun was often breaking through.  Therefore, we donned our walking boots and set off along a path from our campsite that would lead us down into the town of Barnard Castle and in so doing we found lots of interesting features along the way.  

At the start of our walk we had to pass through an equestrian centre that also had a large smelly piggery attached - there was lots of squealing and plenty of unpleasant whiffs but not a sign of any of the animals that were responsible 🐷🐖🐖🐖🐷👃🦨.  However, there were lots of beautiful horses and a few cute  donkeys grazing 

Then it was into the ancient woodland of Deepdale Nature reserve where we found lots of old gnarled trees along with plenty of pretty wild flowers (which included orchids) and wild areas of undergrowth. There was also an old bridge with a young man standing on it that caught my interest🤣🤣🤣

Then as we neared Barnard Castle we passed over another bridge over the River Tees and from there we had lovely views of the old castle and also the fairly newly built weir.

The Barnard Castle weir was completed in 2014 and it's part of a gauging station that measures the depth and flow of the River Tees, and the info provided by it allows for early flood warnings for people downstream. Additionally it also contributes to the well being of the Atlantic salmon and sea trout that move upstream to breed and downstream to live their adult lives at sea.  Apparently the previous weir from 1963 had been a huge barrier to the fish migration but the new one has a fish pass😀.  

Next along our way came The Roman Picnic Site but it certainly hadn't always been as we saw it today.  In Victorian times  the site housed The Gasworks which for over 120 years supplied light heat and power to the town.

And while we were there we also learnt about The Tees Roll!  It seems that back in 1942 seven soldiers were drowned by the infamous 'Tees Roll' - a 6 foot wave of water that occasionally surged down the river after heavy rain or snow melt but this danger was brought to a halt when the Cow Green resevoir was built in 1971 (Hopefully another place we'll visit while we're here). 

The trail then led us onto the green that lies in front of the castle wall and then a little further on into the town itself where we found lots of quaint shops and dozens of eateries.  However what we couldn't find was a Bakers!  John just fancied a large cream cake but although we saw plenty of seagulls there wasn't any  'Birds' to be found so in the end he had to make do with a Belgian fancy and a bottle of pop from the Co-op 😂

Sunday 11th July 2021  ☁️☁️☁️☁️🌧️🌥️🌥️

Today the weather man promised sunshine and heavy showers but we were determined to make the most of the day so we opted for a driving tour with several short walks thrown in for interest and exercise!  So with that in mind we left our campsite (at Barnard Caste) and after refuelling we headed for The High Force Waterfall passing through the settlements of Middleton in Teesdale and Bowlees on the way.  However, what we hadn't realised was that the waterfall lies within the huge Raby Estate and as this is private land we had to pay to go and see it and to park our car.  But in the end I think we considered it money well spent as we watched the peaty waters of The River Tees tumble nearly 69 feet into a deep plunge pool and then continue on it's way through a ravine that had been carved by water over many thousands of years.

But, because of Covid distancing regulations and a lack of space on the viewing platform we could only stay a short while to admire it and after we were required to climb up over many high steps and through a dark dark pine tree wood back to the car park

Once back in the car we drove up onto the open moors where we were welcomed by bumpy winding roads that were nearly completely free of any other traffic, and where we were  treated to magnificent views over rough pasture that was home to lots of sheep who spent their time munching and roaming.  Cattle grids, high snow poles, deer fences and many miles of dry stone walls also featured highly on this section of our drive, and as well as the sheep feeding this was the place were we chose to stop and have our own feast.  

Once we got going again we crossed over into Cumbria and passed through the town of Alston which was quaint, pretty and had partly cobbled roads, and apparently, it shares the title of the 'highest Market Town in England' at about 1,000 feet above sea level with Buxton in Derbyshire.  From there we continued on our way to see the Lambley Viaduct and in so doing we crossed another county border back into Northumbria. 

The Lambley Viaduct which was completed in 1852 and was used by Alston branch trains until 1976.
The Viaduct stands 105 feet high and has 9 main arches 

During it's time the railway was also used to transport vast quantities of coal and limestone up to the Newcastle and Carlisle railway to be distributed around the country, but after it's closure (1976) it's condition deteriorated with chunks of masonry falling to the river below and trees starting to grow between the stones.  However,  this Grade 11 listed structure was restored in 1995 and the Viaduct now forms part of a walking and cycling tail that  runs from Alston to Haltwhistle. But it must have been quite a tough job to do because much of the stonework needed to be replaced and the largest individual stone used weighed 2094 lbs! 

As you would imagine it was impossible to take a pic from the lofty height of the Viaduct so we climbed down a pedestrian staircase to a foot bridge which crossed the river far below and in so doing we were able to make our way back to the car crossing open fields and enjoying the watery sunshine.  

Then we were back in the car again and heading for the Derwent Water Reservoir but to get there we needed to cross more Moor and traverse over more twisty turney hilly roads and as we did that it all looked a bit bleak because now the threatened rain had closed in and was pelting the car merrily!  However, by the time we arrived the sun was brightening the sky again so as we approached we had magnificent views over the reservoir's huge expanse of water. 

Derwent Water which lies in County Durham 

Apparently it is one of the biggest inland waters in England and has a shoreline of 7 miles.  It's construction started in 1960 and it was officially opened in 1967 but in the process of it's construction two cottages and 3 farmsteads and Millshield Mill had to be demolished.  It has a maximum depth of 100ft and holds 11,000 million gallons when full - and it looked fairly full today!   

On the banks of the resevoir we found a very convenient bench were we finished our picnic in the company of an armada of Greylag Geese and ducks with chicks .........

There were loads more but they wouldn't hold still while I took their pic😂

....... and then we walked by the side of the peaceful waters for a while.  But by now the time was getting on so we decided it was time to head for home and in so doing it was back up onto the moors as we crossed over Weardale and Teasdale.  Happily, throughout our day it only rained once and in total we covered 108 miles - and we were back well in time for the England Match😭 but at least it provided our evening's entertainment!

Monday 12th July 2021  🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️

Well, today the weather prediction seems to be right because it's mostly rained from when we got up and looks like doing for the rest of the day.  Therefore, other than going out to do a bit of shopping we're having a lazy day, and as this bit of blog is already far to long I'm going to close and I'll continue our story when we've got something interesting to write about next time.  

Bye for now 😘😘

Click here to see our present campsite.