Dating from the late 1600s this gun was affectionately named the Armada Gun as it was believed to have come from the Spanish Armada vessel after the fleet was driven up the North Sea Coast. It was later confirmed as a Dutch trading vessel that was transporting cannons amongst a payload of other weapons. It was dated from 1660 and 1715 after the cannons and other artefacts were dated by experts.

The wreck was discovered to the east of Gun Rocks, part of the Farne Island group. It was so named because a ‘pile’ of cannons first found there in the 1700s. Archaeological work was carried out in the 1960s when sword hilts and a small brass cannon were recovered. It is believed that this cannon had been given to the castle by 1737.*

*From a signboard next to the cannon

A brief history from the Bamburgh Castle website:

Spanning nine acres of land on its rocky plateau high above the Northumberland coastline Bamburgh is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country.

Bamburgh’s written history begins in the times of the Anglo-Saxons with one chronicler citing Bamburgh as probably the most important place in all of England. But even before this there were people living here, there is archaeological evidence that as early as 10,000 BC there were people here. There are Bronze Age (2,400 -700BC) burials nearby and pottery sherds dating to the Iron Age (700 BC – 43AD). With little evidence of their occupation only the name Din Guayrdi gives us a hint that Romans were sometime between 43AD and 410AD.

It was during the early medieval period between 411AD and 1066AD that Bamburgh grew in stature and importance. With the arrival of the Saxons, the creation of an important Christian site and the coming and going of the saints Oswald, Aidan and Cuthbert, it was a pivotal time. Following this period we saw the arrival of the Normans and the construction of our Great Tower, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses with the siege of 1464. The arrival of the Foster family, gifted the ruins by James 1 with the subsequent acquisition by Lord Crewe and the formation of the Crewe Trustees. A resurgence in stature as under the guidance of John Sharpe the castle became a leading surgery and dispensary for the poor and sick.

Finally the castle passed into the hands of the First Lord Armstrong, with the intention of creating a respite home he passed away before its restoration was complete and became the Armstrong family home. It is still owned by the Armstrong Family who opened it up to visitors in the mid 1900’s and remains to this day an icon of the North East of England.

Rain was gently falling when I woke up so there was no chance for a last linger on the roof terrace, although when the rain stopped I went outside and could almost smell the fresh air (I have no sense of smell). The service at breakfast was quicker than it had been on the previous day. Mr C decided not to ask for brown sauce on this occasion.

After breakfast, as we checked out, we gave feedback on the restaurant service. We then set off along the coastal road to Bamburgh Castle, detouring to Alnwick for a quick browse in Barter Books.

At Bamburgh Castle we took in the breathtaking views over the North Sea sea before making our way to the tea shop for lunch. I opted for a toasted sandwich but had my eye on cake for later in the afternoon. The weather was sunny so we decided to tour the rest of the grounds before the castle interior in case there was a change in the weather. As we did so the wind started whipping up; it was the tail end of Storm Ali and there were some pretty fierce gusts.

As we made our way from the castle grounds to the state rooms the wind took my breath away and threatened to blow me over. Inside the castle we heard loud booming noises as the wind howled down one of the chimneys. In some of the rooms I could feel the stone floors rumbling. As I looked out of the windows I could see tall tufts of grass blowing out of the lawn and over the castle roof. We went back to the tea shop for cake but the Lime & Fennel cake that I had had my eye on was sold out so I chose raspberry and coconut cake instead.

The weather was a mixture of sunshine and shade as we drove through beautiful Northumberland countryside on our way to Cornhill-on-Tweed. Once in the Collingwood Arms we unpacked and had a pre-dinner glass of wine in the hotel’s library before freshening up for dinner.

Dinner was enjoyable; I opted for haddock and was given the choice of batter or breadcrumbs. I opted for the latter, although when it arrived it had been served with fries rather than chips. One of the other tables was occupied by loud, opinionated fisherman who at one point, were discussing medical details that were not what I wanted to be hearing whilst I was dining.

We retired to the bar area out of earshot of the loud voices. The duty manager chatted with us about many subjects including local properties and places of interest. We even touched on ghosts and potential witch markings in some of the woodwork in the hotel. Witch markings are carved into many old buildings to ward off evil spirits, you can read more about the fascinating subject here. Apparently the ghost could sometimes be heard on the stairs and, it is said occasionally moves things around.

The photo above shows the coble in which Grace and her father launched in atrocious weather to rescue survivors from the steamship Forfarshire which had struck the Big Harcar rock on the Farnes. The photo below shows St Aidan’s church as viewed from the Grace Darling museum with rather calmer seas in the background.

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

Within St Aidan’s churchyard stands an effigy to Grace Darling:

Grace Horsley Darling was born on 24th November 1815 in her grandfather’s cottage here in Bamburgh.  She was the seventh child of nine.  At only three weeks old she was taken to live on Brownsman Island, in the Farne islands, where her father, William was lighthouse keeper.  In 1816 the family moved to a new lighthouse on Longstone.

At four in the morning on 7th September 1838 during a violent storm, the steamship Forfarshire struck the Big Harcar rock on the Farnes, and over 40 lives were lost.

Grace saw the wreck, half a mile from the Longstone, and at 7 a.m. spotted survivors.  William Darling thought the conditions would prevent the launching of the Seahouses lifeboat, so together he and Grace launched their coble in the atrocious weather.  The strength of the tide and wind forced them to row nearly a mile to avoid the jagged rocks and reach the survivors.  Here William went ashore while Grace alone kept the coble in position.  Rowing against the tide and the gale, they took five survivors back to the lighthouse.  William and two of the crew then returned to fetch the rest.

National Heroine

Numerous newspaper articles reported the rescue and Grace soon became a national heroine.  The times asked the question, “Is there in the whole field of history, or of fiction even, one instance of female heroism to compare for one moment with this?”

Books and poems were written about her, portraits often painted and offers of marriage made.  The publicity she received was overwhelming.

On 20th October 1842, only four years after the famous rescue, Grace died of tuberculosis.  In 1844 the public raised money to build a monument in St. Adain’s Churchyard overlooking the sea.  Queen Victoria being the first to contribute to it’s cost.

The effigy of Grace with a coble’s oar was sculpted of Portland stone which weathered very quickly.  In 1885, at a cost of  approximately £100, it was replaced with a replica sculptured in local stone, and the original moved into the Church.  In 1893, the stone pitched canopied roof was destroyed in a violent storm.  This was replace with a canopy of a new design.

To this day Grace remains a national heroine and Nothumbria’s most famous daughter.*

*From a signboard next to the effigy.

St Aidan’s memorial:

According to the Venerable Bede, St Aidan Bishop of Lindesfarne died near this place in AD. 651.

This memorial was dedicated in 2013 by John Sentamu Archbishop of York.

One of the churches stained glassed windows.