The Collingwood Arms is a grade II listed Coaching Inn built during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. On first appearance there are tell-tale signs of the hotels Georgian roots with its archetypal centred entrance and the somewhat symmetrical frontage including the grand single paned sash windows that flood the hotel with natural light.

It is plain to see upon entering that the Hotel draws upon its nautical ancestry, illustrations and paintings of Vice Admiral Collingwood and even the porthole clock hanging in the main entrance steer you toward the conclusion that we have a close tie with Horatio Nelsons second in command. Currently with all 15 bedrooms being named after the Galleons that sailed under the Vice Admiral many believe that we must have been a favoured spot for Lord Collingwood or even owned by him at one point or another, unfortunately this is all too good to be true.

What many don’t know is that the hotels name and rich heritage comes more from the merchant family that owned the property up until 1955. Although there is some correlation between the Vice Admiral Collingwood and the Hotel through a very long and confusing lineage, little is still know about the Collingwood family that once resided here, however we do know that many of the passed family members ar memorialised just across the road in St Helens Cemetery.*

*Information from hotel room information booklet

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.