Seahouses, Bamburgh & Holy Island - 22nd Feb ‘25

A gorgeous weather day was forecast and it didn’t disappoint. We were treated to coffee in bed with the glorious sun shining through the bedroom window. 

As we were getting ready to get out, Di noticed the owner of the camper van next door - and his dog. It was only bloody Ernie - again! We would have popped out to say hi but he and his owner seemed very busy getting ready to pack up and leave. 

We timed our leaving to get to Seahouses for lunch from my favourite fish and chip shop - Neptunes. We took advantage of the one hour free parking and ate our haddock and chips overlooking the sleepy harbour. A quick walk around the town and then forced an ice cream down on the way back to the car park. 

Our main destination of the day was the beach and town of Bamburgh. I had spent all week trying to teach Di how to say Bamburgh. She had been saying Bamber (as in Mr Gascoigne, the 70’s University Challenge host) all week and my tip of it being spelt and pronounced the same as Edinburgh only had a limited effect!

We parked at a spot Di had parked up with her camper van a few years earlier. It was up by the golf club and avoided paying any parking charges - yippee. We then had a wonderful walk along the gorgeous beach. The sun was out and the wind had dropped. I don’t know who of the 3 of us enjoyed it most? I also managed to join Tilly for a paddle - gee it was cold!!

We headed up to the town passing by the entrance to the castle. Unlike Dunstanburgh and Alnwick, this one was open. But at £18.75 and no dogs allowed in the actual castle, we decided that Baron Armstrong could do without our money and we’d go and spend it in the pub!

That said, we both had a soft drink in The Lord Crewe Arms on the pretty High Street with a lovely view of the incredibly imposing castle! Then a walk along the coastal road and beach back to the golf club and the car.

After checking the tide tables, it seemed rude not to head off to Holy Island for a quick walk / drink. We arrived in the car park at the edge of the village at 5.15. So the walk around the village, bay and priory was done in the gloamin. 

Of course we ended up at another dog friendly pub - Manor House Hotel. This time we did partake in alcohol - well it was well past 5 o’clock! And talking of dog friendly … we headed home to the Dunstunburgh Castle Hotel in our village (Embleton) for dinner. The steak I had was magnificent but the setting was even better. We were in the dog friendly lounge. Including our table, there were 5 couples and a guy all with at least one dog each sitting peacefully under their respective tables. Tilly was impeccably behaved. Although to be fair, she was absolutely knackered. 

It’s been lovely finding dog friendly places to eat. It’s not something I would have always bothered with - especially with Benny in tow - but Di is such a dog lover and would rather leave me in the car than leave Tilly alone while we eat!

More Sopranos and a decision made to not think about packing until tomorrow morning. We are aiming to leave at 10.30 to get home (via Melbourne) for 5.30. 

What a lovely holiday. Di is a great travelling companion and was right at home with 2 of the other girls in my life - Matilda and Brunnehilda.

Although Northumberland is not an area I went to with Kim, it was so nice to make new memories with Di whilst regularly thinking back to happy memories travelling with Kim.

I left 4 days ago wondering whether this might be one of Brunnehilda’s final trips. I’m travelling home looking forward to our next trip out in my Teutonic home on wheels. Both Di and I are very fond of Suffolk so maybe Brunnehilda will travel East next time?