After I was dressed I took advantage of the roof terrace as the sun emerged before it was time for breakfast. It was wonderful. The breakfast wasn’t quite Fawlty Towers but the service was a little slow and the requested brown sauce arrived after Mr C had eaten his breakfast. The food, however, was excellent.

After breakfast we both enjoyed a short time on the roof terrace and a stroll in the hotel’s garden before taking a walk in Jesmond Dene.

As we were about to enter the parkland a lady was leaving with her dog. The dog was pulling after her on its lead not wanting to go home. The dog came to say “Hello”, and after we walked off towards the parkland we looked back to see that the dog, in an act of defiance, was lying down in the road. The Dene was wonderful and we enjoyed our brief walk before it was time to meet up with JD for lunch and a trip to the coast.

We had a quick chat with JD and a viewing of his gallery where I was presented with the gift of one of his paintings before we set off to Cullercoats. We strolled along the seafront taking in the views of the bay and looking at the architecture.

Next stop was St Mary’s Lighthouse which was a short drive away. We parked the car in the pay and display car park, paid the appropriate amount of money but were unable to display as the machine refused to print a ticket!

As we strolled down the walkway to the lighthouse, we noticed a car having difficulty reversing down a narrow roadway near to the lighthouse. The manoeuvrings caused people to stop so that they weren’t in the way.  Eventually the car was navigated back into relative safety and the owner checked all round to see if it had been damaged during those  maneuvers. It was only then that we noticed that it was a car dealer/salesman trying to do a photoshoot of the car in front of the lighthouse.

Mr C climbed up the lighthouse leaving JD and I to chat with the curator.

After all the excitement it was time for lunch so we made our way back to the car where we spotted a Royal Enfield motorcycle. To be fair I spotted the owner first due to his snazzy (eccentric) attire capturing my attention. We had lunch overlooking Whitley bay in Rendezvous Cafe where I made up for not having had a cake the previous day.

After dropping JD off at his house we picked up some sherry to enjoy on the roof terrace before our evening meal and some wine for later in the evening after we had dined. However instead of the sherry we opted for a glass of wine in the sunshine.

The hotel receptionist ordered a taxi to take us to the Peace & Loaf restaurant and when it arrived, we were surprised to find that it was a lovely Mercedes, a great way to travel to a special meal. The meal didn’t disappoint and I am sure we will be back again in the future. Our journey back to the hotel was in a rather more modest vehicle although the service was just as good.

The weather was warm and sunny so, before breakfast, I sat on the roof terrace planning places to visit during our stay ‘up north’. Breakfast was enjoyable and we had the pleasure of sitting in the garden room being warmed by the sun.

After breakfast we headed to the Roman site of Vindolanda and to the Roman Army Museum. Our journey took us through some lovely scenery and as we left the city we saw parts of Hadrian’s Wall in front of modern housing. Vindolanda is an amazing site. It really gives an insight into the size of a Roman garrison and town and how the buildings, walls and streets were arranged. There is a permanent team of archaeologists excavating the site and also volunteers excavating in other places on the site. We were able to talk to some of them and find out what they were looking for.

Next to the Roman ruins is an excellent museum showing exhibits of objects that have been found at the site. The main attraction of the museum however is the Vindolanda Writing Tablets which are on loan from the British Museum. They have been voted as ‘Britain’s top treasure’. They give an insight into the day-to-day lives of people living and working at Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall nearly 2000 years ago.

We had lunch in the coffee shop before leaving Vindolanda and making our way to the Roman Army Museum. This was also a good display which included a 3D film showing Hadrian’s Wall from above and what it was like to be a soldier in the Roman Army. It was then time to return to Jesmond Dene House but not before checking out Walltown Crags, a portion of Hadrian’s Wall that is next to the museum. On this occasion I chose not to walk up to the top of the hill.

One again I enjoyed the roof top terrace before we caught a cab to take us to where we had chosen to dine that evening. Whilst waiting we saw a double decker bus trying unsuccessfully to enter the hotel car park. It blocked the road until the driver managed to reverse back out into the small lane. The restaurant, Peace & Loaf was excellent; good food, good service and a good atmosphere. After the meal we found out that it had recently been voted best restaurant in the North East and that they are hoping to get Michelin stars. After this delightful experience we returned to the hotel for a night cap and to pack our bags for the next leg of our journey.