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.

I awoke good and early but drifted off to sleep again and the next thing I knew it was 9.20am. There was no sign of Mr C and no sign of a cup of tea so I leapt out of bed, at which point Mr C, having been distracted by something on his computer, realised what time it was!

After making a cup of tea Mr C packed his bag and we set of on our journey to Newcastle, slightly later than intended. Our intention had been to have lunch in the delightful town of Kirkby Lonsdale which we had accidentally found on a detour on a previous trip. The SatNav was predicting that we would arrive there to late for lunch so when we spotted a suitable tea shop in a garden centre near Sandbach we decided to stop there instead. I opted for an egg sandwich which was delicious.

The SatNav in Mr C’s car seems to have a mind of its own and shortly after lunch we arrived at Crewe which should have taken us about an hour from where we live but by this time we had been travelling for two hours. We hastily reprogrammed the SatNav to a different route type and continued on our way arriving in Kirkby Lonsdale in time for afternoon tea and a cake.

Unfortunately Mr C nipped into the cafe and was almost seated when I arrived through the doorway. It would have been a lovely cafe for lunch but it didn’t do cake so I settled for a cup of tea. As we left Mr C noticed next door another tea shop (with a window full of cakes) and realised that this was where he had been aiming for, having seen it as we drove past. I was reminded of our recent trip to Elan Valley when a similar thing happened. I see a theme emerging…

We ensured that the SatNav was programmed for the fastest route and continued towards Newcastle. We drove through some delightful Yorkshire countryside and were taken off our normal A66 route onto the A67. This took us past Barnard Castle and Raby Castle, both impressive, which we intend to go back and visit when we have more time. On our final approach to Newcastle the Angel of the North revealed itself as if by magic, one moment it is quite hidden from view before appearing as if out of nowhere.

We checked into the hotel then made our way to our room where gentle music was playing and on the dressing table there was a lovely note welcoming us back and wishing us a fantastic stay. As we had arrived later than intended there was no time to chill out on the roof terrace before dinner.

The restaurant was busy due to a couple of large groups and our food, although delicious, didn’t arrive exactly as ordered. The steak arrived with fries rather than chips and my fishcakes arrived without the salad that was advertised on the menu. I did query this but was told that the fishcakes only came with fries (not fries and salad). On checking the menu again later, I realised that I was right and the waitress had been wrong.

We had a well earned nightcap in the snooker bar before retiring for the evening.

All too soon I am back from my most recent travels…

Whilst I am sorting out the photographs from my Northumberland travels I will share a few more posts about my stay in Stoberry House.