Bamburgh

We arrived at breakfast to find that we were seated next to the couple who dined next to us in Lilburns the previous evening. A coincidence that led us into easy conversation with each other. After breakfast we headed to Alnmouth where we  hoped to stop so that we could wander round the small town. There was no parking available in town and the beach parking meant quite a long walk. We thought this would take up too much time so we continued on our journey along the Heritage Coast towards Bamburgh and the Grace Darling museum, stopping for some photo opportunities along the way.

The museum was interesting but only required a brief visit leaving us to decide what we would do next. We deliberated on whether or not to carry on up the coast to Berwick or not.

Grace Darling

In the end we decided to have another attempt at finding some rock carvings. We located one of the sites which is near to Doddington and climbed over a style where a signpost directed us to a track up a small slope. I negotiated the nettles which were overgrowing the pathway and we emerged in a field full of cows.

I stopped to draw breath and Mr C carried on up the hill. A cow followed him, then got bored as he disappeared over the brow of the hill. The cow stood across the pathway blocking my way.  Cows are normally timid but they can get aggressive if threatened so I waited for her to move out of the way. Whilst I had been walking up the hill a brown speckled cow had been watching me intently. Due to my inactivity she must have thought I was no threat so she strolled down the hillside and stood next to me. She snorted, then sniffed before proceeding first  to lick my handbag, then my arm and then my leg. I was covered in cow slobber… Eventually she too got bored and moved away.

Doddington

I proceeded up the hill to find Mr C, who had explored the many rocks but couldn’t see any markings and, when I got there, neither could I. Either the light was wrong or we hadn’t gone far enough to find what we were looking for. We gave up and on the way back down the hill I forgot about avoiding the nettles…

Manderston House

This became another day when rock carvings were off the menu so we drove to Etal for lunch in the Post Office. I had a lavender scone which was delicious. We checked the time and decided that we had time to visit Manderston House which is just over the Scottish Border. Along the way we slowed down to check out a hotel that I have my eye on for a future visit to that part of the world.

Manderston is an excellent place to visit and we were lucky enough to be given additional information by the chief guide of the house. We noticed her photograph on one of the tables and were surprised to see it was a picture of her with the current owner of Manderston on the occasion of her 80th birthday. It was her age that was the surprise and it was obvious from newspaper clippings around the house that she is highly regarded by the family.

Manderston Formal Garden

After the tour of the house we enjoyed a tour of the formal gardens and a cup of tea before heading back to our B&B to get ready for dinner at the White Swan Hotel. We dined in the Olympic Room, the walls of which are lined with wood panelling reclaimed from the Olympic, a sister ship of the Titanic. The food and service was good but it was not quite meal of the week. As we were paying the bill at the end of the evening and discussing the panelling and were given an information sheet about the Olympic. Before returning to our B&B we called in at the pub we had visited on our first evening in Alnwick.

12 Comments CherryPie on Sep 27th 2016

12 Responses to “Newcastle & Alnwick – Day Six”

  1. Ayush says:

    amusing anecdote about the cows although the slobber part was probably not too nice. i admit about their timidity. some nice shots here, CP.

    • CherryPie says:

      Thanks Ayush :-) The cow slobber wasn’t too bad, her tongue was rather raspy on my clothes. I have no idea why she had taken such a liking to me, but she had been watching ever since I came into view.

      • Ayush says:

        :)
        i remember once in my boyhood, i came across a calf with large, soft, lustrous eyes and i remember wanting to scratch/stroke the forehead of the calf. my parents warned me though, that the cow (presumably the mother) was nearby.

  2. HELENA says:

    Just been catching up. So many lovely photo’s! You have such a great eye. xx

  3. lisl says:

    Quite a day, Cherie, including the fond encounter with the cow!

  4. Mandy says:

    Ewwww, cow slobber! I love the photo of the graveyard and those gardens are beautiful!

  5. I just love their sunken garden!