What have the Romans ever done for us?

Breakfast view.

Our final morning in Seahouses dawned bright & sunny and there was no alternative but to rustle up a flask & head to the beach for breakfast.  Not that I needed anymore sun mind you - I currently have sunburnt ankles and lips, an odd but sore combination.

We needed to head for Greystoke so decided to stop along the way and "do some Hadrian's Wall stuff".  A quick scan of the English Heritage map and Corbridge Roman town caught our eye - the site looked fantastic in the books but would it deliver?  I'm not a great lover of suspense so I'll tell you now - it most certainly does deliver - but back to the journey...

There were plenty of brown signs to the English Heritage (EH) site but as none of them have mile markers on them let me tell you it's about 2 miles west of Corbridge so don't park in the town unless you're in the mood for a walk.  There is parking at the site which is unfortunately plentiful.  Why "unfortunately"? Because this site is so utterly superb that the 15 or so spaces shouldn't be nearly enough!  This isn't a dusty old monument - you can walk along 2000 year old streets, you can see ingenious aqueducts and fountain houses and you can hear a first class commentary which brings it all to life.

Seriously - Basingstoke town centre has several hundred car parking spaces which are rammed most days of the week, and all it has to offer is the same old boring identikit shopping centre as every other modern town - how can any of that be more interesting than walking down 2000 year old streets?!

When we arrived I was worried we'd be kept away from the ruins - but no! You can walk, crawl and climb all over them to really get a feel for what life was like.  (or you could power march through the whole lot like the woman we spotted who did it all in about 15 mins but probably missed the point.) I was more like a big kid than normal as I bounded around half expecting someone to tell me off at any moment.

It was a hot day so we paused for an ice cream and pondered how the Romans had developed underfloor heating while we were still slinging mud at each other.  The guy in charge of the shop was massively knowledgeable so I only wish I'd thought to ask him while we were there instead of 7 hours later when I'm writing this blog... 

Leaving Corbridge behind (but not before we'd bought half the bookshop - the Ancient Britain OS Map is fantastic!) we continued on to Greystoke.  Over the next 2 days Steve will be making a longbow from scratch at the Quirky Cycle Cafe and I'll be lazing in the shade and reading books.  Hopefully it will give my Mick Jagger lips a chance to subside but I'll be dosing them regularly with cold beer just to be on the safe side.

My Tern!

Trust me, this will be a lot more impressive when I can upload the photos.  (see below!) Our plan today was to do the big boat trip to Staple Island and Inner Farne.  We'd heeded the advice of the skipper we met last Saturday and booked for today but sadly the sea had other ideas and a landing on Staple wasn't possible.  What we did get was a longer boat tour and 3 hours on Inner Farne so not a bad substitute at all.

The reason we couldn't land on Staple was because of the bouncy sea and that made the 90 min boat tour loads more fun than earlier in the week.  We'd nabbed a space right at the front of the boat and I was soaked in sunshine and sea spray for the entire journey. Bliss!

The terns were as feisty as ever and I soon had one sat on my head.  Given the hat I was wearing it is entirely possible that they mistook me for a nest.  There were so many birds and chicks all over the place that I didn't even need to use my carefully packed bins so if you're planning a trip to the islands don't panic if you're not fully kitted out.

All of the rangers on the island are incredibly helpful and happy to answer any and all questions, though I was disappointed not to track down @NTSteely.  It's a tiny island so I'm not sure how we missed each other - perhaps he passed by when I had a tern on my head and he mistook me for a cliff...

3 hours absolutely flashed by - we were so busy photographing the birds that we nearly missed our boat again.  I did manage to make time to see St Cuthberts church though - very tiny and well worth a peek inside.

Back on the mainland there was just time for another round on the 2p machines and an ice cream before our final paddle back to the campsite.  As we made our way along the cliff path I noticed how the curves in the rocks beautifully echoed the waves in the sea - nice bit of Grand Designing which I'm sure Kevin McLeod would thoroughly approve of.

This week has absolutely flown by and tomorrow we head off to Greystoke for part 2 of the holiday.  Steve will be spending 2 days making his own longbow and I'll be researching the case law surrounding firing longbows from our balcony at passing cars - just in case he's ever tempted...

The closes we got to Staple Island.

Seriously - are they ever pleased to see you?

Longstone Lighthouse.

Watch the birdie!

Puffins everywhere!

Birthday Blues

I announced to Steve today that, all being well, I planned on having another 50 or so birthdays.  The poor man looked quite worried and who can blame him when my approach to birthdays hasn't changed much since I was 6 - I still find them hugely exciting even though I feel as if I must be talking about someone else when I give my age.  Surely someone of these advanced years would be a bit more grown up by now?

We started by trying and failing to book a couple of boat trips (wrong type of tide) so took a walk along the beach to Beadnell instead.  Having spent 30 seconds or so exploring all Beadnell had to offer we decided to head back to Seahouses.  It was hot & muggy so I stopped to check bus times - there was one due in 8 minutes but, having no idea where the bus stop was we did what any other normal, sane, individuals would do and ran 2 laps of the nearby village green in a blind panic before leaping out in front of a rather startled looking bus driver.

Back in Seahouses lunch beckoned and we found a gorgeous beer garden with perfect sea views & polished off scampi and chips in short order.  I've never really been too sure what a scampi actually is but it looks like the sort of thing that would most likely be very healthy to eat if we didn't insist on smothering them in breadcrumbs and deep frying them.

Following a game of crazy golf on one of the best courses we've seen in a long time - The Bunker, opposite the harbour, all home made and a flurry of local landmarks to navigate - we went for a long stroll along the beach and that's when the birthday blues hit.  The sea and the sky were spectacular - the crispest and clearest of blues and perfectly complemented by the miles of golden sandy beaches with Bamburgh Castle away in the distance.  With the tide out the space stretched all around us so although there were other people around it still felt deserted if that makes any sense at all.

Poetic interlude over it was back to Delores for a quick change before meeting my big bruv and sis-in-law for dinner.  Having no idea where we were headed we set off & followed the first pub sign we saw which thankfully took us to The Joiners Arms in High Newtown by the Sea.   The food and service was utterly superb with an imaginative and varied menu all cooked to perfection - I really cannot praise or recommend them highly enough.

In fact the only thing I can possibly fault them on was the lack of blue foam for my Cookie Monster milkshake (see previous comment re not being grown up) but they did make me an albino one instead.  Another birthday over and if the next 50 or so are as blue as this one I won't be disappointed at all.

Birthday cheer(s)!

Crazy golf through Bamburgh Castle.

Blue...

Spectacular fish and chips!

Albino cookie monster milkshake.

Back to the Future

I have so little mobile signal it reminds me of life in the 1990's - but that's Vodafone for you...

Today was supposed to be unadventurous and it largely was, but you know me. We started late, awoken by the unmistakable rural sounds of tractors and shotguns and took a walk into nearby Seahouses. The bright sunny weather had lured many folks out from Newcastle so it was rather like being on the set of Auf Wiedersein Pet (sorry if that's spelt incorrectly but checking it would take an hour or so.)

We blew 82p in the arcade and came out with a number 9 billiard ball and a dice whose opposing faces add up to anything between 6 and 8. They'll be worth a fortune one day.  En route to a much needed cup of coffee Steve suggested we take a look around the RNLI shop; within seconds of purchasing a cute fluffy seal all the alarms went off and 2 minutes later the place was full of fit seafaring types in skimpy vests and shorts.  I popped a few quid in the collecting box to show my appreciation.

Lunch comprised of a dodgy crab sandwich which appeared to be one part crab, 2 parts mayonnaise and 3 parts "it's best not to ask".  Tuneful & flatulent we continued along the beach towards Bamburgh Castle. 

This really is one of the best kept secrets of the north - miles of stunning sandy beaches and spectacular views.  And not forgetting a perfect selection of skimming stones.  There maybe a million apps in the world but nothing beats an our or so of skimming stones in the sunshine.

Back into Seahouses and we took another spin around the shops and discovered a niche market just waiting to be exploited - seal memorabilia. Thanks to a previous visit here plus a recent visit to Bempton Cliffs we are replete with Puffin Paraphernalia but seal goodies are sadly lacking.

Back on Delores we broke open the wine and introduced our beautiful fluffy RNLI seal to its new home. "We need a name for it" I said, looking to Steve for inspiration. "Club Sandwich" he suggested, in honour of our dodgy crab sandwich. It's not perfect but you have to admit it's memorable.

(No photo & I'm standing in the middle of Anstead Bay just to get a signal...)

Photos now added - including one of us trying to post this...

RNLI heading out!

Shhhhh - don't tell anyone!

Better than any app!

82p well spent!

Seahouses harbour

All I need is a little bit of signal...