6 Comments CherryPie on Oct 10th 2021
7 Comments CherryPie on Oct 8th 2021
The good news was the bread for the continental breakfast was not stale. The bad new was that there was no bread at all. Leaving breakfast slightly underwhelmed, we put our luggage in the car and checked out of the hotel.
Our first stop was Barnard’s Castle to visit the ruined castle which we had found impressive as we drove past on a previous visit to Newcastle. Once inside we found the castle footprint impressive, the ruins and history less so. We enjoyed the town of Barnard Castle as we walked to and from the car park. I have added it to my list of potential places to stay when we next travel up north.
The guidebook for the castle listed a couple of nearby sites, including Egglestone Abbey which shared a family connection (Bowes) with the castle. We decided to visit, although we got a little lost on the way taking an unplanned detour through wonderful countryside. We found the abbey more captivating than the castle.
Continuing on our homeward journey, we stopped for lunch at the ice cream parlor in Brough. Everything is home made and served by the owners of the farm where it is situated. I chose a delicious blueberry scone and the lovely weather allowed us to enjoy our lunch sitting outside with views of the ruined Brough Castle. After lunch I couldn’t resist walking up to the castle to experience the wonderful view over the countryside.
Our next stop was Wheelock Farm for afternoon refreshments then, as we neared home, we called in at a supermarket to buy some ingredients for our evening meal. This brings us full circle to day one of our holiday and my book purchase ‘Simply Raymond’ from which we chose the simple and delightful dish ‘cod cassoulet’. A perfect way to end our holiday.
9 Comments CherryPie on Oct 6th 2021
When we arrived at breakfast I found to my disappointment the bread that accompanied the continental breakfast selection was stale and inedible!
We had booked tickets to visit Auckland Castle, the former home of the Prince Bishops of Durham. We arrived with plenty of time to spare so we used the opportunity to book tickets to visit the Mining Art Gallery. The gallery exhibits paintings from prominent artists of the area using art as a medium to portray the life of a coal miner and the social history of the North East mining community. When we arrived we were given a brief history of the gallery and how it came into being before being left to wander through the gallery at our leisure. I was blown away by both the presentation and story that the gallery tells.
We stopped for refreshments in the delightful Fifteas Vintage Tea Room in Bishop Auckland square before making our way to the castle for our allotted timeslot. The chapel at the castle is amazing, from its wooden carvings to its stained glass windows, all with stories to tell of the former Bishops of Durham. It is a shame that there is not a guide book that collates all this information. We had lunch in the tearoom before taking a walk round the extensive grounds. We had hoped to find the historic deer house but we failed to find it on our walk.
Before we left Bishop Auckland, we visited St Anne’s Church and then walked a little further to see the Stan Laurel statue that had been shown in one of the art displays in the Mining Art Gallery. It took us a little longer to find it than we expected but we got there in the end.
We returned to the hotel to freshen up and relax before a return visit t0 Marco Pierre White for our evening meal.
8 Comments CherryPie on Oct 5th 2021
After breakfast which was almost back to normal, we headed off to the National Railway Museum. Our second attempt at visiting was successful and we arrived before the museum had opened. The museum is interesting, telling the progressive story of ‘Locomotion’. One of its prized exhibits is the original Locomotion No. 1, designed by George Stephenson to work on the Stockton and Darlington railway. It was the first steam locomotive in the world to pull a passenger train on a public railway.
Another delightful exhibit is the moving mechanical sculpture from 1984 named ‘A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley’, designed by Rowland Emmett who is better known for the inventions of ‘Caractacus Potts’ which starred in the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
We had lunch in the museum café before heading off to Darlington to visit St Cuthberts Church and the Head of Steam museum. Whilst checking the post code for the church, I found that it was only open until 1pm so it was another church with its doors closed for us. Destination No.2, the Head of Steam, was open and ready for visitors. As we were paying for our tickets, somehow the card machine slipped out of the hands of the man who was serving us, crashing onto the floor and falling apart. The machine proved difficult to reassemble so we agreed to pick up the receipt when we left the museum. In the event this wasn’t necessary, the gentleman caught up with and gave us the receipt as we were viewing the first exhibits.
The museum explores the history of the Stockton & Darlington railway. One of the main exhibits being a replica of Locomotion No. 1, the original having been relocated to National Railway museum at Shildon. The museum site also includes a number of historical buildings including the old goods shed which can be seen outside from the back of the museum. There are plans to expand and include these buildings as part of the museum experience.
We had time on our hands so before we headed back to the hotel we made our way to Binchester Roman Fort, stopping for refreshments at Bishop Auckland. At Binchester we were given an introductory talk about the site. We had the fort completely to ourselves. The Roman bath exhibit is exceptional. A unique aspect is a Roman child’s tiny footprint (with a slightly less distinct adult footprint) imprinted in the flooring.
As we were leaving, we were told that a fire had broken out near Durham city center and the roads there were affected. Our SatNav suitably navigated us past the problem roads and the town seemed undisturbed by the emergency. It turned out that a fire had broken out in a cavity wall of a new development causing a lot of smoke in the immediate area but it had been quickly contained. This was good news, our restaurant for the evening (Bistro Italiano) was near to the site of the fire.
Our meal was lovely. The fish I chose was succulent and delightful. The restaurant was quiet and, as we got chatting to the owner, we found that this was because people had cancelled due to reading news reports about the fire. As we were about to leave a couple arrived on spec, asking if they were too late. They were informed ‘no you are not too late, your table is being prepared’. How lovely is that 
4 Comments CherryPie on Oct 4th 2021
We arrived at breakfast to find that most items were in short supply, causing us to hurry through breakfast rather than tarry a while.
We walked to Durham Town square to see various features including the History time line that is featured on the pathway across the square. We ventured into the market to see its architectural features before visiting the Town Hall where I knew there was a hidden gem behind the unimposing frontage, the Medieval Guild Hall built in 1665.
Sadly the church of St Nicholas was shut. This seemed to be an emerging theme with churches in Durham so we decided not to venture further to St Oswalds’ church which was also on our morning ‘to visit’ list.
Instead we drove to Shildon to visit the National Railway Museum. We arrived to find it shut on Mondays and Tuesdays…
Plan B came into operation, a visit to the Bowes Museum. We arrived just in time for lunch so we joined the queue for the tearoom. When we were seated we realised why there was a long queue, the system they operate is not very organised. The food, when it arrived, was delicious. The French chateau styled building and the collections within are a delight. I enjoyed the galleries of paintings, in particular those showing biblical scenes and figures.
Despite the earlier chaos in the tearoom, we decided that afternoon tea and cake was in order before heading back to the hotel. The queue was shorter and the tearoom less full but the service was just as chaotic as it had been at lunch. We shared a delicious slice of chocolate and orange cake.
Later we dined in Restaurant 17 followed by our now customary night cap in the Swan before retiring to our hotel.
6 Comments CherryPie on Oct 3rd 2021
We arrived at breakfast to find that we had missed the rush and as a bonus we were seated in a quiet area well away from the buffet table.
Our destination for the day was Hartlepool, but before setting off we took a stroll along the river starting from a point next to our hotel. I found that the pathway is part of the Hidden Heritage Trail which passed by the Durham Cow Sculpture to represent the legend of a roaming cow leading monks to the final resting place of St Cuthbert, Durham Cathedral. Retracing my steps back towards Durham, I was treated to lovely views of Durham landmarks.
Our first port of call at Hartlepool was the Heugh Battery Museum, the site of the only First World War Battlefield in Britain. Before visiting the museum we took a stroll to the seafront and found a plaque marking the place where the first shell from a German Battle cruiser landed in December 1914 and also commemorating the first soldier killed on British soil by enemy action during the Great War 1914-18.
The museum (although currently not fully open) tells the story of the Bombardment of the Hartlepools, which took place on Wednesday 16th December 1914, when the guns of the battery were engaged in ship-to-shore combat with the German navy.
After our visit to the museum, we followed the Hartlepool Headland Trail from a leaflet that I had picked up at the museum. The walk was interesting and engaging but some areas along the trail are a little grim. We had hoped to visit St Hilda’s Church but our morning adventures had taken up a lot of time so we missed it out and drove to our planned major destination for the day; The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Hartlepool where HMS Trincomalee is showcased within a recreated Historic Dockyard.
We had lunch, in my case Apple Shortcake, and took a tour around the Historic Dockyard before embarking on HMS Trincomalee.
Back at the hotel, after a detour through the village of Hart, we chilled out before dining in the Marco Pierre White restaurant in the hotel across the road from the one we were staying in.
8 Comments CherryPie on Oct 1st 2021
