Jesmond Dene House

After one last sit on the roof terrace I went down for breakfast where I chose French Toast which I don’t often see on the menu. We checked out of the hotel and put the cases in the boot of the car before having a quick look at the hotel garden. We then caught the Metro into Newcastle centre. First we visited the Cathedral Church of St Mary where I picked up a couple of books from the Cathedral book shop.  I noticed that the nice tea shop we visited last time we were there was shut and I overheard someone being told that it was a family run tea shop and they were currently on holiday. It is a good job we hadn’t arranged to meet JD there!

Jesmond Dene House

After the book shop we went to the Laing Art Gallery because Mr C wanted to see the Alice in Wonderland exhibition but he was slightly disappointed by it. Whilst we were there we had a cup of tea and went to have a look at the John Martin son et luminaire entitled The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. When we left the gallery the bright sunshine had turned to rain and as we neared the hotel (and our car) there was a sudden torrential downpour. We sheltered under a tree to see if it would ease up but eventually Mr C left me under the branches of the tree whilst he went to pick up the car. As soon as I got in the car it stopped raining and the sun came out again.

We headed away from the city to a pub where we met JD for lunch; he came bearing mini gifts. The pub had a Tapas menu which we elected to try but the food that arrived I wouldn’t really class as Tapas. We chatted for a while and then JD took us to see his gallery of paintings, which Mr C and I enjoyed seeing. All too soon it was time to head off to the Courtyard Garden in Alnwick so that we could book in for our stay there. We arrived a little too early so we had a cup of tea in Barter Books whilst I looked at a book on Northumbrian prehistoric rock carvings. I decided not to purchase the book and put it back on the shelf as we left.

A Room with a View

At the Courtyard Garden our hostess provided us with a cup of tea and some cake. She then proceeded to suggest some places we could visit and said she could help us with suitable places for evening meals. When we told her we were meeting friends in the Alnwick Tree House for dinner, she told us the best route to get there. It was lovely to meet Leona and Toby again and we spent all evening chatting and reminiscing over old times. They used to run the guest house that we have always previously stayed at when we visited Northumberland. All of a sudden it was midnight and they had a forty minute drive to get home after they very kindly dropped us off at our B&B (which was welcome as it was quite a trek and uphill!!)

Church View

14 Comments CherryPie on Sep 21st 2016

14 Responses to “Newcastle & Alnwick – Day Three”

  1. Oh have you heard of the Landmark Trust before?
    I visited one of their properties in London just this weekend. :)

  2. JD says:

    It was very nice to see you both again :)
    You’re right about the tapas not being real tapas. As I said at the time they need to start selling Morcilla de Burgos, that will go down a treat! I must have a word with them :)
    https://tapastalk.wordpress.com/2007/09/09/tapa-of-the-week-12-morcilla-de-burgos/

    • CherryPie says:

      It was lovely to see you too :-)

      I must admit that I am not sure about Morcilla de Burgos. Sometimes I am OK with black pudding and sometimes I am not. But I am sure you can introduce me to other fine tapas dishes that might tempt me to try them :-)

      As soon as we got back home I started planning our next vacation to Northumberland. I have a hotel in mind which is near to where we used to stay. But I am still in the middle of my research finding just the right home from home place.

  3. lisl says:

    You pack a lot into your days, Cherie

    • CherryPie says:

      I think the schedule sounds a little bit more hectic than it was. Although some days later in the week we did not find enough time to relax. I think that might have been because we were staying in a town rather than the countryside.

  4. james higham says:

    Eventually, Mr C left me under the branches of the tree whilst he went to pick up the car. As soon as I got in the car it stopped raining and the sun came out again.

    Aw, that’s romantic.

    • CherryPie says:

      :-) It obviously sounds more romantic than it was, it must be my whimsical way with words…

      We were both irritated by the sudden downpour and wanted to get back to the car so we could make our way to our lunchtime destination without being late. Mr C making a short dash for the car was the practical and logical solution.

      We did however laugh about the sun coming out just as I got into the car :-)

  5. Ginnie says:

    I think you and Mr. C are as bad as Astrid and I are when we’re out traveling, Cherry. But we sure have fun, don’t we. :) Good for you. And to think that today we fly to your fair country for 10 days!

    • CherryPie says:

      It certainly is a lot of fun :-)

      I hope you enjoy your stay in England, let me know if you visit anywhere near me. It would be nice to see you and Astrid again.

  6. ....peter:) says:

    i am jealous of all the wonderful old architecture in England Cherie… you had a beautiful room with an old brass bed….peter:)

    • CherryPie says:

      The bed was huge! Every morning I found I had migrated down towards the bottom of the bed and away from the headboard. Normally I am nestled up at the top of the bed :-)