Bamburgh and Holy Island - 29th September ‘21

Another busy day - just the way I like them! The weather was perfect today. Sunshine all day but with a nice crisp cool air - between 10 and 14 degrees.

As yesterday, an early rise and off the site by 9.30. A better breakfast this time. I cooked a bit of bacon and the bagels, with butter this time, made a pleasant start to the day - no Kimbo cheese and mushroom omelette but …

Tilly was keen to begin the day with another beach walk and I didn’t want to disappoint her! We made the 30 minute journey up the coast, through Beadnell and Seahouses and on to Bamburgh and it’s castle. What a place? It’s an impressive site at the best of times but with a beautiful clear blue sky as a back drop it was quite literally breathtaking.

We walked along the beach in the Autumn sunshine - 40 mins south and then 40 minutes north and back to the beach car park just north of the town. The beach was busier than yesterday - partly down to the weather but mainly as this place is such a draw for locals and tourists alike. Tilly had a lot of fun barking at the birds and splashing through the surf.

I drove up the hill to the Castle Car Park. Unlike Alnwick Castle yesterday, Bamburgh seemed much happier to welcome four legged visitors. So one man (that’s me) and his dog (that’s Tilly) paid our £12 and stepped back into history. Bamburgh Castle has had a number of owners over the last 14 centuries. Turns out it’s main claim to fame was that it was the first castle in history to fall to gunpowder based attack during the Wars of The Roses. Every day’s a school day, eh?

Tilly and I walked round the whole site taking in the magnificent vistas. Well to be truthful, Tilly was more interested in eye balling the many other dogs and for no apparent reason, taking a dislike to about 1 in 6 of them! As yesterday, we shared a sausage roll and I had a rather nice coffee which Tilly managed to knock out my hands during one of her aggressive “Billy big bollocks” moments!

Dogs weren’t allowed in the state rooms so I popped her back to the car and went back on my own to have a look around. Given that the castle had stood ruined for many centuries there wasn’t a lot of relevant history inside. All the rooms were restored by a wealthy industrialist (family name of Armstrong) in the 19th century. They had some interesting pieces but it was no Canons Ashby!

By 1.30 we were about done and headed north again to Holy Island. I had checked the tide tables and the causeway linking the island to the mainland was open between 10am and 8pm so perfect timing for the visit. We parked up at the edge of the village and walked in. It was very busy but thankfully Matilda was now behaving herself. I walked around the priory before heading off towards Lindisfarne Castle. 

Russell, Nicky, Simon (old Volvo amigos) and I have a regular monthly catch up on WhatsApp.  This month’s one was scheduled for 2.45pm today so Tilly and I made ourselves comfortable among some old boats in the boatyard with a stunning view of the Castle and enjoyed our 60 minute catch up. Simon joined the call from Watford Gap Services car park - no prizes for who had the best view?!

After the call we headed up to the Castle. I thought I might go in but it said pre-booked only. Tilly and I weren’t too disappointed as the views from the edge of the island were fabulous and definitely worth the walk. We headed back to the car picking up an ice cream on the way.

I was planning another trip to the village pub for dinner but I had the thought of local fish and chips in my mind so that’s what I did. After checking Trip Advisor I settled on Neptune’s in Seahouses - a proper fish shop, 100 yards from the quay the fish were being landed on! I took it back to Brunnehilda to enjoy in front of an episode of The Wire. Not the best fish I’ve had but very good nevertheless.

More episodes of The Wire,  phone calls and, to my shame, 2 bars of Wispa Gold before going to bed to blog.

Today has been ok but not as easy as yesterday. I had a moment on Bamburgh beach. I kept thinking how much better it would be if Kim was experiencing everything with me. Just to hold her hand, give her a cuddle and have a discussion about where to eat and what to do next would have been wonderful and would have turned a nice day into a memorable one. Interestingly I wasn’t sad for Kim that she wasn’t there to experience it but sad for myself that my experience was not as wonderful as it could have been. Nice eh? Tilly got a bit flustered with my sudden change of mood and jumped up at me. A smelly damp dog covered in cold North Sea water is a very effective way of knocking you out of a melancholic mood! I’ve got to say, having Tilly in tow has made a huge difference. I’m not sure how the last 2 days would have gone without her.

For all the times I’ve missed Kim today there was one good thing to report on … She would have never let me walk around among the public with my beanie hat on - Tilly didn’t seem to mind!

Early start tomorrow. Heading south to Harrogate and another Volvo colleague reunion. 

Beadnell Bay, Seahouses & Alnwick - 28th September ‘21

The weather forecast dictated the order of play today. A dry morning with heavy rain spreading in from 1pm.

So every excuse for getting up and about early. Tilly and I were in the car by 9 ready for our 10 minute drive to Beadnell Bay. The normal Brunnehilda couple of lazy hours in bed with a cup of tea followed by a magnificent Kim cheese and mushroom omelette was unfortunately just a pleasant memory. In fact, breakfast was awful! I realised I didn’t have any butter when the bagels were toasted. I really didn’t fancy bovril on bagels with no butter, so I had coronation chicken. Not a culinary success, nor a nutritious start to the day. 

I was first car in the car park this morning. My plan was to walk the couple of miles along the beach to Seahouses. I must admit I started off with some trepidation - my dodgy left foot / ankle, the impending lunchtime rain storm and an unpredictable dog in company! In fact, I suspect if the much more sensible Kim had been with me, we may not have even started. I never really regained her trust after the infamous 8 hour, 12 mile round trip at Weymouth that my map reading skills had suggested was an easy afternoon stroll!

The early walking was quite hard as the tide was well in. Beadnell Bay is just a wee fishing harbour with a very attractive bay and view looking south to Dunstanburgh Castle. We headed north and it wasn’t long before we were on the large expanse of sand (even with the tide in) that stretched about a mile upto Seahouses.

As you would expect, there were not many folks on the beach. There did however seem to be a high percentage of bird watchers. Tilly was doing her normal thing and barking like a mad thing at all the sea birds as she chased them manically spreading them like butter on a slice of toast. 

Kim would have been horrified and would have been reaching for the lead. I just kept smiling at the folks and explained to anyone with a pair of binoculars that she’s never caught one yet. They all seemed to be ok. In fact, folks seem to be a lot more smiley up here. 9 times out of 10 my smile is returned - it maybe the dog (there’s nothing scarier than an old man on his own smiling at you!) or it could just be that people are much friendlier up here. 

Seahouses is a busy wee place. A nice Main Street of shops and then a very busy working port with lots of fishing boats and plenty of charter boats too. 

I bought a couple of sausage rolls to share with Tilly and a cup of tea. We ate them above the harbour as the promised rain started earlier than scheduled. In fact Tilly had more to eat than me as she polished off a scotch egg I had in my bag as well.

It drizzled for most of the return walk home. It was slightly quicker walking back - maybe the drizzle hurried us up! So we were back in the car after about an hour - at about 12.15. The beach was still quiet but noticeably full of couples - not bird watchers! Given the time of year, most of the couples were my sort of age - empty nesters / grandparents enjoying a break out of season. Seeing couples of a similar age to me sets off the sadness followed by the anger emotions mentioned in yesterday’s blog. I have a new strategy to counteract this … as they approach I convince myself that feeling jealous of them is pointless as one of them may have a terminal disease and the other one may have dementia. By the time our paths cross I have a lot of sympathy for them and I greet them with a smile full of sorry and compassion for their situation! Not a very sustainable or particularly nice strategy but it seems to work?

By the time we got back to the car the rain had stopped and we  saw the days only sun - for about 5 minutes. Tilly and I headed back to Brunnehilda. We got back at about 12.30 which incidentally is the time that Kim and I would have been heading out for the day after a wonderfully relaxing morning. A cup of tea and an episode of The Wire as the promised rain storms really kicked in.

I fancied a trip to Alnwick. I thought that would be a good idea for a wet afternoon. We made the 20 minute trip finding a parking spot on the high street at about 2.30. With Tilly on the lead we had a look around. We had a few aggressive moments with a couple of dogs she didn’t like the look of and she did that annoying sheepdog thing where she looks like she’s trying to round up the passing cars. 

We did have a nice hour or so walking round though- what a lovely historic town. The biggest disappointment was that both Alnwick Castle and Alnwick Castle Gardens did not allow dogs - so Tilly and I didn’t partake.

On the way out of town I passed 2 fuel station both fully open and no queues. At the third one I filled up - again no queues. The conclusion… northern folks are a lot more community spirited, generous and sensible than their selfish, paranoid southern cousins!

I enjoyed a MacDonalds drink at a wee lay-by overlooking some wild Northumberland coastline. I went back to Embleton via the really cute fishing village of Craster. 

What a lovely place. I know it’s late September but it seemed very unspoilt by tourists and had a very genuine look and feel to it.

As I drove up the hill out of the harbour, the eerie mist from the rain was added to by the billows of smoke coming from a fish smokery. I parked up and hurried back up the hill from to buy some - big disappointment, they had shut 20 minutes before!

Back to Brunnehilda for another cuppa and chilax before heading out to find something to eat at about 7pm. I went to the next village - High Newton by the Sea. The Drovers Arms is a self proclaimed “gastro pub” but I didn’t let that put me off. Certainly not as friendly as last night but they did a rather splendid steak frites - very French! In and out very quickly tonight, as I’m finding out, eating out on your own is all about speed. Get it ordered, get it eaten and get out!

Back to Brunnehilda for more tea, more Wire a couple of episodes of This Country and a nice chat with Bobby. Tilly is very stiff - all the sea water and exercise has caught up with her. More tomorrow as well but hopefully better weather.

Off to Northumberland - 27th September ‘21

So, another Brunnehilda trip without my True Companion. This time the Norse Valkyrie and I have headed northwards.

I left the Shire at 9.30 having loaded the car in the pouring rain - the first we’ve seen for a month. Glad that somethings remain constant - Brunnehilda’s magical effect on the weather will forever remain a frustrating reality.

I’m hoping that this will be a better trip. It’s only 2 1/2 months since Kim passed but this trip is to a place with no joint memories and I’ve got a dog packed to keep me company.

The first challenge was getting the car full of fuel. After a bit of queuing and a very expensive trip to Watford Gap Services yesterday afternoon I had a full tank of diesel. I can’t explain what a wonderful feeling that is. The brave new post Brexit post Covid world that is 2021 Britain is surely a strange place. I still don’t think the bozos that voted for Bojo get it - this is what we wanted!

The 260 mile to Embleton Bay Caravan Park took about 6 hours with a 45 minute stop off at Wetherby. The Services were really busy but at least the gentleman on car park duty kept the white van men from pinching the caravan spots and I was ushered into the last remaining spot. Huge queues not just for the fuel but also for all the eateries. I ended up with a coffee and a Cornish Pastie that I shared with the dog. It has to be said, Tilly was not too happy about Costa’s no dog allowed inside policy!

I arrived at Embleton at about 4pm. A pretty good run apart from some roadworks going through Newcastle. The sun is out but it’s pretty chilly. The set up didn’t take too long. Although only a small 5 van CL, every pitch has water as well as electric hook up. The site is full and the other campers, as usual with CLs, seem quite friendly. I treated my self to a quick cup of tea and then headed out to find the nearest beach.

Turns out that was about a 5 minute car journey through the village of Embleton to Dunstan Steads. I parked up in a little car park and walked across the golf course to the beach. Turns out the car park is the official parking for the ruined and evocative Dunstanburgh Castle. 

Tilly and I walked along the beautiful beach for about 45 minutes. I was hoping to walk as far as Low Newton by the Sea and then find a route back to car following the coastline. However, at this time of year it gets dark very quickly so I didn’t feel confident enough to find my way in the gloaming. I choose to retrace my steps back down the beach. 

There were a few folks out enjoying the Autumn evening but not many. An oldish couple appeared from the dunes and went for a swim. I was very jealous but, even though I had my trunks in my bag, I chose not to follow them in. The funny thing was their Labrador went in with them and then turned round  and sat on the shore watching his/her crazy owners in complete disbelief!

I got back to the car at 7 and it was quite dark by this stage. And I was blimin’ hungry.

I headed for Greys Inn in the village. Greys was the family name of one of the castle owners. It was a very pleasant village pub full of locals and holiday makers and lots of well behaved dogs. Tilly stayed in the car as she can’t be trusted on a lead in canine company! The food was good - I had a burger. I sat next to a very friendly old couple from Sheffield. I had a bit of a chat to them as I munched through my burger. Although as they were on my deaf side the conversation was a bit like a Two Ronnies sketch. I answered some questions but I’m not sure they were the ones they asked me!! Turns out the old boy was from Leeds and a big Rugby League fan.

Home to Brunnehilda. A cup of tea, an episode of The Sopranos and an episode of The Wire and then off to bed to write the blog. 

Today has gone ok. I’ve managed pretty well. As always it’s silly little things that set me off - putting out all the cups that Kim had bought from all our travels, pouring a single cup of tea, passing a middle aged couple walking on the beach holding hands. I’m ok feeling sad when these things trigger a memory - what I hate is that feeling going from sadness to anger and self pity. I must have passed 8 to 10 couples walking on the beach tonight- many of them a lot older than Kim. It really isn’t their fault that they’re still here and Kim isn’t! When I’ve got so much to be thankful for (my wonderful family being top of the list!), what right have I to feel sorry for myself!

Cranked up the heating and settled Tilly down on the towel - she’s still very wet from the beach. I glanced at the wee ornament on the wardrobe door - it made me smile and gave me my last memory of the day as I climbed into Brunnehilda’s big old bed!