To be able to visit Dunstanburgh Castle I found out that you have park up and walk. The nearest you can get to the castle is Craster:
Craster is a small fishing village on the Northumbrian coast of England. It has a small and attractive harbour and offers a view northwards along the rocky shore to the spectacular ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. This is the nearest point of access to the castle and the approach must be made on foot as there is just a grassy path. The next village to the north is Embleton.
For many years, the village has had a herring-curing business: Craster kippers are well known in England. The local herrings are smoked in a traditional manner by the Robson family.
The village is quite quaint and the first port of call was the teashop for refreshments before the short walk to the castle. Well it turned out to be a round trip of 3 miles without taking into account the walking around the castle ruins, so not so short a walk after all. I have to say the castle looks far more spectacular and romantic from a distance than it does close up.
The castle gift shop was unable to provide me with a guidebook which left me a bit lacking in the history of the place.
Tags: Castle, Craster, Dunstanburgh, Flowers, Northumber- land, Vacation
The Coach House at Crookham was just as wonderful as I remembered. You can see from my new mosaic the little changes that have been made to my favourite room. It was a lovely place to sit and relax with a pre dinner Sherry before making the way to the dining room for interesting conversation with the other guests.
The delicious home cooked evening meals were always followed by coffee or tea in the residents lounge which was conveniently placed next to my favorite room. The lounge has an honesty bar which is very well stocked so there is no need to go searching for anywhere to have a drink after dinner. Probably just as well because the nearest pub went bankrupt and closed about 18 months ago.
There was also the option for afternoon tea with cakes, but I was good and resisted the temptation most days.
Leona was as welcoming as ever and I think she was as sorry to see us go as we were to leave.
Oh yes I forgot to mention what a wonderful location it is situated in. There is so much to see and do and the area is steeped with history, I left with so many things still on my to do list. Oh well there is always next time 
Tags: Crookham, Northumber- land, The Coach House, Vacation
People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don’t need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be there.
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Tags: Butterfly, Cherie's Place Thought, Cragside, Flower, National Trust, Vacation
Today I have spent a lot of time sorting out my holiday photographs, all 445 of them. I seem to have got a bit carried away, thank goodness for digital cameras!
Northumberland ranks as one of my favorite places in the world. It has everything I love; dramatic landscapes, gardens, castles and history. But most of all I love the peace and tranquility, my favorite place to stay just adds to the experience.
On my journey down (or is that up?) I did have cause to wonder if I had been transported to a foreign land… I stopped off for afternoon tea and was greeted with Llamas and on closer inspection a camel!!! Apparently his name is Kevin.
Tags: Afternoon tea, Camel, Llama, Vacation, Yorkshire
Just got back from a break in Northumberland, so I am busy catching up with everything and everyone. I managed to take over 400 photographs, so they are going to take a lot of sorting out!!!
Here is one to be going on with. It is from the ruined Etal castle, showing traces of its long gone spiral staircase twisting up into the sky. There will be a some more photos of the castle in due course with a little bit of background history.
For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.
Tags: English Heritage, Etal Castle, History, Northumber- land, PhotoHunt, Vacation
In addition to the old industries and working life displayed at the Black Country Museum there is also a traditional funfair. The swingboats brought back fond memories of Sunday afternoon walks up the Wrekin. Sorry no pictures of those, too many children on board (might get arrested). I just loved the contrast of the colourful Helter-Skelter against the sky.
Fairgrounds were as much a part of Black Country life as rolling mills, mines and trams. The collection of rides and amusements at the Museum accurately portray the Black Country travelling fairs of the first decades of the last century.
The small traditional fairground might have been operated by one of the many well-known travelling families who were based in the region.
The round stalls, swings, mirrors and coconut sheet are all authentic examples which would have been set up by fairground proprietors when the fair came to town for a few days.
Dating from around 1910, the Brooklyn Cakewalk is one of the few remaining in use, and along with the Swingboats and Helter-Skelter creates a really nostalgic experience.
The Ark was the latest thing in high-speed rides when introduced in the 1920s and the magnificent paintwork and silent running of the 1930’s Lakin built four lift Speedway Ark make a superb centrepiece to the historic fairground.
Since its creation in 1983, the ‘Old Tyme’ fair at the Black Country Living Museum has been operated by the third and fourth generation of the famous Jones family of Cradley Heath who started travelling with the fairs in the early 1900s.
Tags: Black Country Museum, Fairground, Helter Skelter
The sculpture that I posted for my Saturday PhotHunt is entitled The Wrestlers and was quite fascinating to look at.
The Wrestlers depict two heroic male figures, one black, one white, at the peak of athletic prowess pitting their strength and skill against each other. This work presents a multitude of different viewpoints and engages the spectator with the relative positions of the intertwined figures.
This picture of one of the hands shows the minute attention to detail.
Tags: Abbey House Garden, Malmesbury, Statue, Weekend away
