Why go abroad?

 

Lady of the House, and I have just returned from a marvellous weekend …and under 3 hours by car! I have blogged before about Northumberland, the wonderful scenery, and the endless stretches of empty sands.

This time we stayed at the miniature port of Craster, with a tremendous view over the harbour both from the bedroom and dining-room of our lovely little Bed and Breakfast. ‘Harbour Lights’ looks over the port and is within sniffing distance of the famous Craster Kipper Smokehouse.

Mine host and hostess were in education and both retired to this little haven of tranquility…..so the kiddies’  loss is the tourists’ gain.

But with the wonderful weather we went off to see the massive National Trust property, Cragside House, Gardens and Grounds, with a seven-mile drive round. It had been built by a Lord Armstrong who was a very successful engineer, and who had put electricity into the house using water power. A full-day visit, which includes a labyrinth.

Barter Books is a great place for book-lovers. It is a second-hand bookshop par excellence, and is built in what had been the old railway station for Alnwick.

It’s amazing what you can do in a few days in one small corner of England!!

To relive our weekend, and get some more details about the above, click on…   www.harbourlights–craster.co.uk 

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-cragsidehousegardenandestate

www.barterbooks.co.uk/

www.kipper.co.uk 

‘I KNOW MY GEOGRAPHY’ AWARD!

So I gave you a few extra days to rethink, but I have to  congratulate the last commenter, Daffy, on being right. It is the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, and not Lindisfarne (lovely as it is) as it is further north. We have never been over to Lindisfarne as we have always just missed the tide, which covers the causeway.

One place (plaice) worth visiting near there is Craster, a tiny fishing port with a marvellous smokery and fish restaurant. The above was a simple offering we had one day….no bottle of vinegar available!

We stayed at the old coaching inn, the Mason’s Arms, in Rennington, again quite close,….well worth the journey to stay in the marvellous outhouses converted into suites.  British accommodation and catering can be tremendous!

So I award DAFFY a personal driver to Northumberland, a slap-up meal at Crabster, and a weekend at the Mason’s Arms….and off course, a framed photo, on the wall, of her favourite Angel!

Where is it?

My photo, showing the Green Park Hotel in Pitlochry, suddenly disappeared!…..leaving me headerless. So it gave me the chance to put up this new one, which I still use on my computer desktop.

I’m not looking for an answer as to where my old Header went, but let’s see who knows their geography. All I will say about this new one is that it is off the Northumberland coast of England.

So go on, face the challenge….who can win the ‘I KNOW MY GEOGRAPHY’ award.

P.S. If anyone has stolen my old header, could they please return it!