Low Newton & Holy Island - 16th Aug ‘24

Another perfect weather day - about 18 degrees and high cloud giving about 80% sun / 20% shade. 

Another lie in until 9.30. The plan was to go to Holy Island / Lindisfarne but by the time I checked the tide times on-line we were going to struggle to get to the causeway before it shut at 11.10. The teenager in the group was certainly not up for a rushed start to the day!

So, we had a leisurely start following the exact same routine as the previous 2 mornings. There is a lot to be said for routine/ process when you are sharing a small 3 berth caravan with 3 grandchildren!!

We had 3 or 4 hours to kill while we waited for the causeway to re-open at 3pm. We decided to leave the car at home and take a walk from the site over the fields to the Low Newton by the Sea and the pub on the beach.

Finn lead the way on the 2 mile hike down onto the coastal path and then along to the beautiful Ship Inn. We grabbed a snack and a drink as we played Room 101 - the Twinnies and Charlie have quite an eclectic selection of things they really don’t like and would like to banish to Room 101!!?

The sun was still shining so we walked the 25 yards to the beach. I got another swim in while the Twinnies played football. I stupidly thought the tide was going out so I left my tea shirt by the water line. It must have been coming in as, while I was in swimming, it got soaked! Meaning I had to walk back to Brunnehilda in a soaking wet tea shirt! The North Sea was still blimin’ cold but I’m sure it was a little warmer than Wednesday. It was very calm as well - like a mill pond!

As soon as we got back to the van (about a 40 minute walk) we jumped in the car and headed up the A1 to Holy Island - or as Harry kept calling it, Holly Island!

There was loads of space in the car park as loads of folks had been waiting for the causeway to reopen to get back to the mainland. We walked through the car free streets of the village and along the long path to the Castle. It would have been rude to have passed the ice cream van without purchasing one - so we didn’t!

Lindisfarne Castle did not dissapoint - wow! I’d been there so many times but always had the dog(s) so had never been inside. It’s a Tudor Castle remodelled in 1900 by Luychens into an impressive and totally unique family home and OMG, what a place. Such a wonderful atmosphere and the guides were all fantastic. A proper NT property- nearly as good as Canons Ashby!!

We tackled the long walk back to the car park after a brief rest up on the headland at the foot of the castle.

Charlie was desperate for some more fish and chips so we went home via Neptunes at Seahouses. And they were truly magnificent - again!

We took them back to Brunnehilda and ate them on the grass. The boys then played football before we played a few games whilst listening to the Man Utd commentary. They went to bed happy - their beloved Man U won 1-0! 

Early start for home in the morning. I would like to get on the road for 8! The Nintendo Switches and iPhones are all fully charged up and ready for the journey. How did we manage 6 hour journeys with kids before electronic devices??? That said, we won’t be leaving too early - Charlie is insisting on his shower first thing while the rest of his 3 travelling companions are now onto their 4th day without undertaking this particular activity!

The Twinnies and Charlie have been immaculately behaved from start to finish. No agro, no dissent and very little arguments. 

So ends another wonderful trip to one of my favourite places on Earth - the Northumberland coast - with my most favourite people on Earth. I’ve already booked the next one - in October, just a bit more than 2 months away.

Hopefully this will be a happy and important milestone for me - as I won’t be on my own! And I don’t mean grandsons or Tilly! As a lot of folks will already know … I’ve been “seeing” someone for the last 3 months and I’m really excited about sharing my love of this beautiful part of the world with her. 

Alnwick Castle - 15th Aug ‘24

After a glorious weather day yesterday we paid the price today. Raining all morning, grey and cool all afternoon and then a beautiful sunny evening from about 6pm. 

We chilled in Brunnehilda for a couple of hours late afternoon/ early evening before the sun drew us out to the local beach - Dunstan Steads - for a game of foot golf. To avoid any Twinnie incidents we played doubles! I’m turning over a new leaf - no, I’m not letting my grandsons beat me but I am resisting gloating / boasting about my glorious victories!! 😉

At 7.30 pm it was as warm as it’s been all day. The forecast bodes well for a good day tomorrow. 

The rain this morning meant we had a very leisurely and relaxed am. We lied in until well gone 10 - the result of another late night blogging / watching DVDs. The teenage shower went well (again!). Charlie and I had eggs and bacon the boys had cereal / toast. Charlie is like his Grandma, he likes his bacon crispy and black with all the meat flavour burnt out of it!!

By 1.30 we were parking up in Alnwick Castle car park. The lousy weather had driven all the tourists from the beach / coastline, in land to the quant town of Alnwick and its impressive castle. It was very busy and we were lucky to get a car parking place!

The Twinnies were a little disappointed. Someone had told them that the Harry Potter films were shot here. Well they were, but only a couple of specific (Quidditch based) scenes. 

We had a good look round. It’s all very grand / pompous compared to my beautiful Canons Ashby. Finners and I went on the children friendly guided tour - it was very good. Harry and Charlie didn’t want to partake (probably a little too grown up to partake?!). 

We had some chips and churros (now there’s a healthy balanced diet?!) from the cafe before heading back to the car. We then spent a bit of time looking round Alnwick for DVDs and a newly launched football sticker album. We were unsuccessful with both!

Pizza and Lasagne, courtesy of Mr Sainsbury, for tea and then more DVD and blogging to end the day. 

I kid myself that I manage the grandkids better now than I did before. Of course I miss doubling up with Kim on the duties and the fun but I actually don’t think it’s that I’m getting better on my own, rather that they’re getting older and easier to herd / manage / persuade.

I’ve missed Kim loads today. Spending holiday time with the boys always does that but then factor in the rubbish weather, which gives much more time for thinking and reflecting ….. 

Bamburgh - 14th Aug ‘24

I realised today that a day in Northumberland with the Twinnies (and Charlie) is very different to a day with Tilly the dog!!

No debate with Tilly about what to do - although to be fair, the boys accepted the suggested days activities without a hint of decent!

After breakfast we headed out to Seahouses. After filling up with petrol we parked on the sea road, just outside the village, and walked over the dunes to the beach. 

Another difference was noticeable here - Tilly and I would have enjoyed a 3 mile walk along the beautiful beach to Bamburgh. The boys weren’t up for that but wanted to spend some time messing about on the sand / dunes before getting in the car and driving to Bamburgh.

Charlie went on his phone, the Twinnies chased around in the sea and on the sand and I went in for a swim.

Gee, I forgot how cold the North Sea is. Normally when you get in you get acclimatised relatively quickly and your body warms up. Not in the North Sea, I remained freezing for the whole 10 mins I was in!

The beach was busier than I’d seen it before but still very sparsely populated considering it was a sunny day in the middle of the school holidays. 

After the 45 mins on the beach, we drove on to the car park just outside Bamburgh. It was quite a long walk over the dunes and then a short walk along the beach before the climb back over the dunes and upto the castle entrance. 

We paid our entry and had a lovely couple of hours. Walking round the site, playing games on the grass, visiting the cafe and then a tour of the inside of the castle.

Another difference - dogs weren’t allowed into the castle. A visit to the cafe is less stressful with Tilly though. Harry wanted a ham sandwich. We got a round of ham and mustard. After I spent 10 mins scraping every grain of mustard off the sandwich, Harry refused to eat it saying he could still smell the mustard on the ham!!!

The visit was great fun though leaving us with another trek over the dunes to get back to the car park. Then onto Seahouses to buy fish and chips from my fave restaurant-The Neptune. 

It didn’t disappoint. We took the grub home to Brunnehilda and ate it alfresco on the grass. Gee it was good - 4 very empty / clean plates.

After a bit of a rest we headed to our local beach at Dunstan Steads for a game of football golf. After that we went back to Brunnehilda for a games tournament - Cluster / Penalty Shoot Out / Sevens / Itchy Feet. Now what sort of grandad would I be if I won both the beach golf and the tournament? What sort of monster would beat his 3 grandsons and then boast about it in a blog? Well, I bloody well did - and enjoyed every moment!

The other main difference between Twinnies and Tilly are the questions! Not too many from Tilly but so so many from the 9 year olds. A lot of them very obscure and left field! Being deaf (as I am) you try and predict questions - that’s not something you can do with Twinnies as they don’t seem to follow any sort of logical thinking and can be as random as they are obscure!

The good news - the teenage shower went well. Charlie managed on the 3 minutes of hot water with no complaints. He also cooked himself some egg and bacon for breakfast - very impressed.

Less so with the Twinnies! I decided, being that they are nearly 10 years old, it was time they learnt to butter their own bloody toast. 25 years ad a trainer didn’t equip me for this challenge!! After a lot of watch and try, they did eventually butter and jam/ Bovril their toast - although they did go through half a slab of butter!

Another DVD after games night. It’s going to rain tomorrow! 

Northumberland with the Boys - 13th Aug ‘24

Embleton again - but this time with my 3 grandsons rather than Tilly. 

I was a little bit apprehensive about this one - not least that we are going to my normal CL with no washing / showering facilities! Not sure how the 16 year old Charlie will cope with the 2 minute maximum shower that Brunnehilda will allow him!!

I was also a wee bit apprehensive about the 6 hour journey. I shouldn’t have been as the 3 of them were perfectly behaved. And unlike with my canine companion, I didn’t have to take them for a walk when we stopped at Wetherby. They cost a lot more to feed though than Tilly would have done. 

We arrived at Wetherby (half way) after a 10.45am start from Welton Lodge Farm. It was a good run with just a short hold up going through thy roadworks at Newcastle.

The weather got progressively colder and wetter as we pressed northwards. The temperature dropped by 8 degrees from getting on the M1 at Crick to getting off the A1(M) 5.5 hours later. The rain also kicked in as we drove past Scotch Corner. 

Thankfully the rain stopped for the set up. I backed on without the need for the motor mover and was all set up in about 30 mins while the boys played football. I felt like a real proper alpha male!! Not sure if I had an audience for this impressive display but there are 2 vans on site. Surprisingly for summer holidays, there are 2 spaces empty.

We headed out to the beach at Embleton Bay. Paddling, football and playing in sand was fun in the evening sunshine.

We walked towards Dunstanburgh Castle and then back to the car over the golf course. As always up here, there were very few people to spoil our fun our crowd us during our walk.

Back home to Brunnehilda for tea (snacks) and some games before watching Hot Fuzz in bed and getting a relatively early night.