We surprised ourselves by being ready to set off on our holiday adventure early. The Satnav took us on a delightful route through Hodnet, Whitchurch and Tarporley. Just before we joined the motorway south of Warrington, we stopped off at Hollies Garden Centre in Little Budworth, Cheshire for a late breakfast. I chose a danish pastry and a refreshing cup of tea. The wasps were out in force so I had to keep my pastry half wrapped in its bag to keep them at bay.

Our lunch stop was Kirkby Lonsdale. After struggling to park we found a sandwich bar where I chose chicken salad and watched the chicken being freshly sliced. Whilst the sandwiches were being made we chatted to the lady serving us. She mentioned that she often had customers who were cycling from Lands End to John o’ Groats. We ate our sandwiches sitting under the town’s market cross and enjoying views of the distant hills.

After lunch we rejoined the M6 before travelling through Kirkby Stephen where we realised that we had mixed our Kirkbys up (again) and this was where we had intended to stop for lunch. Our journey took us past Brough towards Scotch Corner and  Mainsgill Farm Shop where we stopped for a cup of tea. It has changed a lot since our previous visit a few years ago so we took the opportunity to browse around the shop. I enjoyed seeing the resident camels, although I still miss Kevin who was such a character, often wandering over to customers and posing for photos.

Later, we arrived at the Vermont to find that the hotel carpark was full and we had to pay to park the car overnight. After checking in and unloading the car we headed into Newcastle. Whilst in town we spent some time in Waterstones both ending up with a purchase, mine being a cookbook ‘Simply Raymond’ which I had had my eye on for some time.

Back at the hotel we freshened up before dining in the hotel restaurant. We found that the menu had become more down market than on our previous stays, although when the food (Haddock and Chips for me) arrived it was both excellent and delicious. We had a nightcap in the hotel bar before retiring for the evening.

Over the years I have stayed in many hotels in Newcastle. I first encountered the Hotel Vermont in 2013 and, although on that occasion I only stayed there for one night I immediately fell in love with it. Now it is my choice of accommodation when I stay in Newcastle.

From the hotel website:

The Vermont Hotel offers a host of facilities and services designed to make your stay in Newcastle as enjoyable as possible.

If you are looking for a Newcastle Hotel then few hotels can boast a more enviable city centre postcode than the Vermont Hotel, for this imposing structure is located in the heart of the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, not only next to the Castle Keep and opposite the historic Moot Hall, but also just two minutes from Newcastle’s Central Station.

Combining old character in the form of 1930s grandeur with contemporary elegance and four-star luxury, the landmark building is your base from which to discover the many bars, shops and attractions of the town centre and wider area.

If you searched for hotel Newcastle and found us you will be pleased you did. Look outside your window and you will see such sights as the River Tyne, Millennium Bridge or stunning cathedral.

The five of us were able to sit at the same breakfast table that we had the previous morning. I opted for eggs Benedict but found that there was a little too much hollandaise sauce for my taste. One of the lifts was out of order, delaying progress to and from the hotel rooms to the amusement and frustration of the guests due to it stopping randomly at some floors and not at others. This meant that we set off for Tynemouth more than half an hour later than we had intended. The concierge shuffled the cars around on the car park and parked mine next to the Ferrari that is always parked outside the hotel.

On arrival at Tynemouth, we were lucky to find two convenient car parking spaces. Once the cars had been parked we went for a walk past the Spanish Battery and the Life Brigade Watch House before making our way into town to find a tea-shop. Mr C’s first choice of tea-shop, which was the last one we came across, proved to be disappointing. As we arrived, a table became free and we made our way to sit down at it. Whilst we were making ourselves comfortable the waiter told us to go away for five minutes whilst he reset the table. After such a rude reception there was no way I was going back and the others felt the same. We made our way back along the street and entered a small (almost hidden) tea-shop that I had spotted earlier. It was very full and busy but we were squeezed onto a table and made very welcome.

Our next port of call was Tynemouth Castle and Priory which we all enjoyed for different reasons. By the time we had finished exploring the grounds it was time for a late lunch. We chose a cafe near to the seafront and sat in a corner table overlooking the castle remains. We lingered for quite some time, talking about history, philosophy and the current migrant crisis including the view that many migrants probably have no intention of observing the culture of the countries that they are migrating to. Eventually it was time for my brother and his fiancée to return home and for us to make our way back to the Vermont.

As we arrived back in Newcastle the traffic was queued up for a long way past St Nicholas’ Cathedral and we could see lots of policeman, police cars and an ambulance directly opposite the Cathedral.  We struggled to find a restaurant that was open on a Sunday evening, but eventually settled on Cafe Rouge where we had an enjoyable meal. Whilst walking back  to the hotel after dinner, we noticed another police car and ambulance in the same spot as we had seen the earlier incident.

Back at the Vermont, we noticed a lot of security guards outside its Livello Cocktail bar area. One of the security guards got into the hotel lift with us and we got chatting to him. He told as that the security guards had been drafted in because there was a private function taking place in the Cocktail bar. We had a nightcap in the hotel lounge area and arranged to have breakfast at an earlier time the next morning.

We had set the radio alarm to wake us in plenty of time for a 10 am departure. I awoke to hear the breaking news that ‘Talk Talk’ (our email/web provider) had experienced a cyber attack and that users details had been downloaded. I lay in bed considering logging on to change the passwords to the accounts as advised. There was an additional problem in that all the account details and passwords were in an encrypted file on Mr C’s computer which had experienced a fatal disc crash a few days previously. Between us we remembered a few of the passwords and then I had a brainwave and remembered that I had a printed copy somewhere and quite surprisingly (to me) I remembered exactly where it was.

I logged onto the Talk Talk website and found that the members accounts page had been taken off line which meant it was impossible to change the passwords as advised. We could have done without the hassle but as there was nothing more to be done I filed it away as, there is nothing I can do to change what will happen, so whatever will be ‘will be’.

Despite the unexpected hassle we managed to set off on time, picking Mum up before we set off on our long journey to Newcastle. We broke our journey for a drink in the motorway services. Then later we had intended to stop in Kirkby Lonsdale for lunch but there was not a parking space to be had so we carried on driving to Brough where we knew there was a nice tea shop next to the ruined castle. After lunch we continued on our journey to Newcastle, arriving mid afternoon. On arrival at the Vermont we checked in and dropped our bags off in our rooms before taking a stroll along the quayside.

After the walk we returned to the hotel to unpack our bags and freshen up before dinner in the hotel restaurant. After dinner we retired to the hotel reception/bar to wait for my brother and his lady to arrive. As we were sitting enjoying a glass of wine we overheard an American asking at reception, if he needed a passport to travel from the UK to Scotland…

My brother got a little lost in Newcastle, but he eventually turned up and we sat chatting until well after midnight.

I returned from my early Autumn break yesterday with around 700 photographs. I had a wonderful time and visited many interesting places. When I have gathered my thoughts and photographs, I shall share my holiday journey with you.

A few minutes after I had settled down into the warmth I spotted JD arriving and being intercepted by the Concierge who, from conversations the previous night, I had realised had a wonderfully dry sense of humour

JD and I sat and chatted for a while and he gave me his painting of the ‘Cherry Pie Tree‘, which was inspired by a photo I had taken near to Flodden Field in 2009 ( I love the painting ).  We then ventured out into the sunshine, which had overcome the sudden drop in temperature that had hastened me back to the hotel.  We took a leisurely stroll through the town to the frame shop to take his  latest painting in to be framed.  After careful consideration and with assistance from the  lovely Becky a suitable frame was chosen.

We then strolled back through town to the Cathedral for a cup of tea and more conversation.  The Cathedral tea shop closed so JD and I made our way back to the hotel and its temporary reception area to wait for Mr C to return from his day at work.  I enjoyed our pleasant afternoon together.

Eventually I had to start my long trip back to the Midlands.  Mr C and I decided to have a slight detour for a cup of tea rather than chance Leeming Bar again.  We headed for Mainsgill Farm which also gave us the opportunity to say hello to Kevin the camel!  He wasn’t immediately visible but then he was spotted inside and cosy with his back to us.  Then suddenly when he sensed our presence, he started parading around his accommodation, what a poseur he is

After the welcome cup of tea we continued on the long journey south accompanied by the alarming alert “Severe weather forecast tomorrow” on the neon signs displayed at regular intervals on all the motorways as we traveled home.

After the long journey back, take away fish and chips and a glass of wine were quite welcome and refreshing.

And then it started to snow…

PS: Thank you JD I had a wonderful afternoon

The fact that the Public and Commercial Services trade union had called a strike on Wednesday gave me the excuse to take an extra day off and accompany Mr C to Newcastle where he was delivering a training course on Thursday.  I have fond memories of business trips to Newcastle a number of years ago and I was long overdue another visit.  Those of you who read me regularly will know that Northumberland is one of my favourite parts of the world.

I got my bits and pieces ready in the morning and set off for the north just after lunch.  By the time we reached Leeming Bar it was time for a refreshing cup of tea at a motorway service station.  It was distinctly chilly when I stepped out of the car, but on setting foot inside the service station I realised that it was even more chilly inside!!  Then I sat on the wooden chair…  Needless to say I didn’t take my coat off and I drank my tea quickly before it went cold.

Once in Newcastle we drove a couple of circuits trying to spot the hotel and then as every good photographer knows to do I looked up.  I could just see the neon  sign of the Hotel Vermont peeping out from behind another wall and luckily there was one last space on the car park.  As I entered the hotel I noticed a Ferrari and a Rolls Royce flanking either side of the entrance door.

The hotel reception is currently being refurbished and a temporary reception was set up at one end of the dining room.  Booking in was a little cramped. The reservation had been for up to two people but they never did ask who the second person was and there was none of the usual signing a registration document…

There was just enough time to unpack before going down to dinner.  The weather was a little bit iffy so we stayed in the hotel for a meal.  For some reason we got free veg and free drinks at the end of the meal although we did have to retreat to the other side of the dining room for the drinks, it had dropped decidedly chilly outside and there was an avalanche of cold air coming off the windows!

As you can see from the photo I dropped lucky and got a ‘room with a view‘ again