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.

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.

In the morning we visited Alnwick Castle which was labelled a ‘must do’ on Mr C’s list.  We both enjoyed revisiting the castle and were rather relieved that we were English Heritage members, which allowed us discounted entry to the castle which normally costs £14.50.  After I bought up yet another book from the gift shop, we lunched in the cafe before driving along the spectacular coastal route towards Bamburgh Castle.

We stopped in Bamburgh so that we could visit St. Aidan’s Church, a place I had never even noticed let alone visited before.  In the graveyard there is shrine over the grave of Grace Darling who was famed for rescuing survivors of a shipwreck in 1838.  Opposite the church is a museum dedicated to Grace Darling, which we have penciled in for a visit next time we are in the area. The church itself was very interesting and well worth a visit. I was quite fascinated by the shadows cast by the Angels that top a recently installed commemoration to St. Aidan.

After which we made our way back towards Crookham so that we could experience the ‘Flodden Drive’ as described in ‘The Battle of Flodden Why & How’ by Clive Hallum-Barker.  Along the way we called in at the Chain Bridge honey farm for a cup of tea in their tea shop which is a converted red double decker bus.  I eyed up the cakes but resisted temptation.  The tour around the battle field was very interesting and gave us more insight into the battle and the Scots’ difficulties due to the contours of the land.  We then returned to the Coach House where I packed my bags before our last dinner of this trip.

When we retired to the guest lounge for after-dinner coffee, Leona commented that she wouldn’t pop over later (to lock up); she needed an early night.  But to our surprise as the last of the other guests were leaving the residents’ lounge, both she and Toby turned up for a quick drink with us on our last night. Suddenly it was 1.45am!!!

Preparing breakfasts and long journeys back home sprung immediately to our minds…

Needless to say I went straight to bed after I entered my room