Summer hols :: Buildings and Books

If you were to ask me what I love best of all about visiting Northumberland I would say without hesitation, the beaches, harbours and coastline in general, because for me, nothing beats the feel-good-factor of being by the sea. But there are other things about Northumberland I find captivating :: the accent of the local people, the oh-so-quiet roads where you can drive along for miles and miles and miles on an August Bank Holiday weekend and not see another car, and the unpretentiousness (is that a word?) of the Tourist Attractions because they are magnificent in their own right and do not need to be lit up and turned into theme parks.

I think out of all the places we visited, Alnwick Gardens is the most commercial, and after this years visit we are unsure if we would go back. Or maybe I should say we would not go back during an August Bank Holiday weekend. It is Popular and it was absolutely mobbed when we visited this year. I don't know about you, but I find it hard to really relax and enjoy a place when there are hundreds of other people clogging up the views. It felt a little bit mental at times with sooooooooo many people about, most especially in the The Treehouse.

Now the Little People adore this building, it captures their imagination and causes much excitement because they remember it from our previous visit. So the whole time we are walking round the gardens, all they really want to do is go Right Away to the Treehouse. They go on and on about it :: through the formal gardens, the fountains, cascades, mazes, rose gardens and woodland walks. The anticipation is Huge.
But the truth is, as wowy as this building looks, there is not a lot to do in it. The inside of the Tree House is in fact a rather pricey restaurant, so it was kind of off-limits for the likes of us who go everywhere with homemade sandwiches and a flask of coffee. There are some scarily high and wobbly bridges/walkways suspended through the trees, but quite frankly this unexpectedly caused my knees to shake and my stomach to resemble jelly, which was not very nice. And we had to queue to go across, which made me quite cross for some reason. It was noisy too :: lots of rowdy other-peoples-children running across the bridges, making it hugely scary for my Little Ones trying to cross gently and quietly. Oooo don't I sound grouchy and bad tempered??!! Not like me at all!! However, I am only one quarter of our family, and the other three quarters did really enjoy "the Wibbly-Wobbly bridges" as I don't think their knees wobbled in quite the same alarming way as mine did. And even I have to admit that as buildings go, this one is quite spectacular looking, even if it is lacking in substance. Just saying.

When i was a child, my parents never had much money, nor did we have the luxury of owning a car. So consequently we didn't often venture far from home and I can't ever recall going on day trips to visit houses or castles or gardens or estates. Maybe that's the reason that I've never really developed a love for these types of places, unlike J who has many childhood memories associated with grand old houses and the such like and absolutely adores them with a passion. But I have to admit that this house at Cragside is an absolute gem, and I enjoyed looking round it very much.

 You aren't allowed to take photos inside, but if you follow this link, you should be able to look through some photographs of the rooms. I loved the details :: the hand painted windows, the collections of things (shells, plates etc), the kitchenalia, the old patchwork quilts on the beds. It was grand but cosy at the same time, luxurious but homely. What surprised me most of all was how much the Little People enjoyed it, and how they listed Looking Round The Big House as one of their "Bestest Bits" of the whole holiday.

This is one of the lakes on the Cragside Estate and up to the right there is the tearoom, with picnic benches on the grass overlooking the water. Every day when we were out and about visiting places, we traveled with a picnic lunch. As a family, we adore picnics, and we enjoyed some very picturesque ones whilst in Northumberland. But after lunch we allowed ourselves a little treat and wherever we were we would locate the nearest tearoom/cafe and enjoy a  cappuccino with a slab of something, preferably something sweet and homemade. Ooooooo we did enjoy it!!! We sampled delicious Victoria sponge, damn fine chocolate cake, humungous raspberry and white chocolate muffins, tangy lemon cake and luscious carrot cake. Mmmmmmmmmmm :o) So I would have to say, my "Bestest Bit" of Cragside would be a close toss up between the Dahlia Walk and the Lemon Cake. Both were utterly delicious.

Have you noticed I'm a bit more long-winded today, I've remembered how to write again (brain went West yesterday)...are you still with me?? We are still going with the Buildings here, hope you're not yawning. This is Bamburgh Castle, and was Little Man's choice for his 6th Birthday outing. Its a mighty fine castle, in a mighty fine location, with mighty fine views.

I think I preferred the views of Bamburgh beach to the actual Castle itself, but I was happy enough plodding round the rooms looking at suits of armour and more weapons than you could shake a stick at. We had a mighty fine picnic lunch up here on the battlements of the castle with a view to die for, and I can report that the Clochouse Tearoom does indeed serve a mighty fine slab of chocolate cake.

Ok, one more building to go, then a few books to get through. This is Holy Island, and Lindisfarne Castle. I absolutely love visiting Holy Island, there is something quite magical about consulting tide timetables to see which hours of the day you can cross the 3 miles long causeway. Something enchanting about being cut off by the sea for large chunks of the day. Something childishly exciting about knowing the road we are driving on will end up underneath the sea in an hour or two.

We start our day here by buying chocolate and heading down to a tiny beach where we know it be A1 for beachcombing. Due to the fact that in the olden days there used to be a rubbish tip a little further down the coast (so a local lady walking her dog informed us), the beachcoming treasure extends beyond shells and pebbles and into the realms of old sea washed pottery, tiles and glass bottles. The Local Lady walking her dog also shows us how/where to look for "St Cuthberts beads" and we aere totally entranced. All four of us proceed to scour the beach, bent double, searching for these tiny little prized fossils. Actually, I am hugely rubbish at spotting them and find only one, while the Little People (being closer to the ground), noisily and excitedly find dozens. We wrap them carefully in the kitkat wrapper and bring them home :: they are now proudly displayed on the mantel with bits of sea washed pottery, snail shells, a broken birds egg, a heart shaped pebble and a pheasants feather. Holiday Treasure.

When I can finally straighten my back and tear my eyes away from fossil-hunting, we head round the little bay. I love the fishing boats here, the bright colours and the rather ramshackle nature of it all. Just look at this little fishermans hut, isn't it just so appealing?? I could imagine myself living in there (well perhaps for short spells, in clement weather).

We are walking up to the castle, past the icecream van and the shack selling fresh crab sandwiches. It feels like it might rain, the sky is so low and grey, but in fact it stays dry all day and later when we are waiting for the tide to retreat and let us back onto the causeway, we get to enjoy coffee and cake (Victoria sponge, a big slab of it) in the garden of the little village cafe. We were so jammy with the weather during that week, and I remain thankful (*thank you*)

This little castle is lovely inside, take my word for it. Only ten modest rooms, but all lovely.

The view from the top, looking out across the island is fabulous. I never tire of looking at the sea and sky, it fills me with joy in much the same way that Good Cake and Dahlia Walks do.

Ah now, here at last are the books. These are to be found in the most wonderous second hand bookshop in Alnwick :: Barter Books.
This is second-hand book selling on a very large scale, the place is huge. Housed in the old train station, there is a fabulous model railway that runs around the tops of the bookshelves. It keeps Little People entranced and sitting still for a remarkable length of time.

It smells Booky in here, and J is doing his version of me in the Dahlia Walk and going all giddy in the aisles. He goes off in search of booky goodness and I am left to supervise the Little People.

I gaze longingly into the Old Waiting Room where adults without children are browsing leisurely through books and drinking coffee. It  looks peaceful, cosy and out of bounds for the likes of me with two offspring tugging at my coat and demanding to be taken to the childrens section where there are ride on wheely-bugs and a toy train to climb in. Sigh.

The childrens section is a lot of fun actually :: amongst other things, there's a whole section of nostalgic ladybird books for 99p each. And joy of joys, my Little Man manages to find a beloved Little Grey Rabbit book for me, which he presents with a flourish :: he knows me so well, knows I will love the book, and him for finding it, and he is right. There's something about those dear little blue and white checked curtains in Little Grey Rabbits house which makes my heart skip a beat.
Have you ever come across anyone as nutty as me??
On second thoughts, don't answer that one.

Comments

[driftwood]

oh how I love Barter books!

[Alva]

These photgraphs are great! I've never heard of Cragside before, and such a shame that is! You couldn't be more right, it is indeed very grand and yet very cozy and somewhat comfortable in a warm and soft sort of way. What a lovely holiday!

[kitschen pink]

Dahlias and Lemon cake! you have found heaven - and taken some fantastic photoes whilst you were there! Accomodation list please! t.xx

[Gill]

Please can I come with you on your next holiday?? It all sounds delightful, my kind of vacation. Wonderful pictures, fab descriptions. Thank you!

Gill

[French Knots]

I still have a stack of my Little Grey Rabbit books from when I was a child, so sweet!
We visited Barter Books years ago (pre children!) and spent hours mooching there. Looks like a splendid holiday.

[Rachael Rabbit]

The fisherman's hut literally looks like an upside down boat - is it? Little Grey Rabbit obviously makes my heart skip a beat ;-) Wonderful photos - I love the look of the tree house!

[Anne Bebbington]

Lovely, lovely, lovely pictures - my favourite is the upturned boat/shed with Lindisfarne castle in the distance - brought back happy memories of by-gone holidays - thank you

[Jen]

I love England! Though I haven't ever been there I long to visit. While I want to see London, my real goal is to visit little villages and the coastline. Someday...

Holy Island is mesmerizing to me. SImilar to another in France (can't remember the name)? I've seen time-elapsed film of the tide coming in and it's neat to see.

Thanks, Lucy!

[Rosepetaljam]

oh I am so pleased you found barters! I sometimes take a sneaky half day out of the business and drive up there (takes me about 40 mins) and just potter, buy boos and eat their lovely homemade cookies! Its fab isn't it? Just wonderful. Lucy chick, send me an email to sarah@theraads.com and I'll share my pancake recipe as requested on my blog.

reading all your exploits has made me want a little northumberland break myself. we stayed in a nice b&b in Bamburgh once and I have been spending so much time at cottage in n yorks had sort of forgotten how lush Northumberland really is - thanks for reminding me!

S xx

S xxx

[Joanna]

I looked at your photos and tried to decide wher to run a way to? I thought the bookshop looked a fab palec to hide in but then decided it would be in the boat/house thing!

[Anna]

Oh how I enjoyed your trip- it may be the closest I get to a holiday for a while. I read your cake tour with some fascination! Raspberry and white chocolate muffins eh? Interesting...
I know exactly what you mean by the booky smell as well. Have you ever been to Hay on Wye? You must! Book paradise. Thanks for the tour Lovely Lucy x

[Lisa]

Another enjoyable reading foray into your holiday in a snatched quiet 10 minutes complete with a cuppa and home baked biscuit from your recipe! Sometimes escaping into someone else's lovely world is just the boost I need, especially when such fab photos are there to be shared.
Lisa x

[Lynn]

I've enjoyed all of your posts about your holiday, but this one struck a particular chord. Such beautiful scenery, and that book shop!! Some of my ancestors came from Northumberland, and I'm rather fancifully thinking maybe this is stirring something in my DNA! Also wanted to say it meant a lot to hear about your humble upbringing and how it obviously didn't "scar" you, as my children are living a similarly no-frills childhood. My hope is that they grow up with the capacity to find beauty and delight in the simplest of things. I think you have mastered that ability, and I so admire you for it!

[simone]

St.Cuthbert's Beads, coffee cake and castles, books, fishermans huts, sea, a big house, a tree house etc. Your holiday sounded delightful! Thanks for letting us have a glimpse of the wonderful days that you shared with your family.