Although we couldn’t take the full time off with David & Di, we had agreed to meet them half-way from Edinburgh back to London, at Newcastle. We spent the afternoon around Newcastle, clambering around the ‘New Castle’ (which is over 700 years old and full of fascinating nooks and crannies) and checking out the bridges over the Tyne – including the ‘mini Sydney Harbour Bridge’. We had a great dinner at Bar Luga. and then headed out to Bigg Market – but only saw part of the legendary nightlife as everyone was heading out as we were heading home…
No, that's not Sydney Harbour!
The next day we headed out to Hadrians Wall country, west of Newcastle; we wandered through Housesteads Fort, and then walked a section of the wall – from there we could tell that the winding way that the Romans had chosen would take advantage of the natural features of the countryside (cliffs and all).
Hadrians Wall - you can just see it following the ridge line
Amazingly, Hadrians Wall only marks the geographic centre of Britain (despite being the northern limit of Roman Britain)
This night and the following was spent in Durham (just south of Newcastle); it is very much a student town, but the architecture and landscape is dominated by the Cathedral and Castle in the middle of the town. The Cathedral and Castle have a dominant position overlooking a bend in the river and were a centre of power and learning in the north from medieval times (the learning, at least, has remained prominent). We had a lovely time wandering around.
Durham Cathedral has a commanding position
Saturday we got up bright and early to go to Lindisfarne (or Holy Island), about an hour and a half north of Durham. Home to a castle (restored in the early 1900s) and a priory (with ruins dating from 800 AD), this site spends half the day as an island, the other half as a peninsula linked by a narrow causeway (which disappears with the tide). Our early start allowed us to get there and back without becoming another statistic – every year cars get stuck crossing the causeway. Looking at the names of places in this Lindisfarne it was clear where the planners of Lindisfarne in Hobart had found their ideas.
Lindisfarne Abbey
Lindisfarne Castle
These boats spend half the time floating...
On the way home we stopped by Alnock Castle, which was one of the sites where Harry Potter was filmed. It was a great castle - the family still live there and wandering through the inside rooms there were beautiful old furnishings, many restored at great expense, with the odd modern touch (like a foosball table). Definitely recommended.
One wing of the castle
First Place - David; Second Place - Stephen (although the coach and judge was siding with the more mature of the two)
Angel of the North (between Newcastle and Durham)
Sunday we drove south to York, a gorgeous town almost completely surrounded still by its medieval wall, and dominated by the huge York Minster (the largest cathedral in the UK). The view from the top was spectacular, but equally interesting was the view of the town from street level, with cute boutique shops and pubs in half-timbered houses (each vying to have a significant place in York’s history). Unfortunately the weather rolled in mid-afternoon, but only drove us to find new places – first the factory outlet shopping, which could have been a half-day’s entertainment at least, and then to our final accommodation at Middlethorpe Hall.
You still go through the city walls to enter York
York Minster
Guy Fawkes lived here
Middlethorpe Hall is a country house that has been converted into a spa hotel; each room has been beautifully decorated with furniture and artwork from the period, and it is set in a lovely garden and grounds. The experience was much like staying the night in a National Trust Property, complete with excellent (brilliant, in fact) restaurant. We could easily have moved in, but unfortunately after our night’s stay it was time to call our holiday to a close (so that David and Di could continue with their adventure further afield).
Like staying in a national trust property
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