Health status didn't quite allow for a full itinerary around Alnwick, but we did get a chance to visit its most impressive second-hand bookshop. Located in a former train station, Barter Books is incredibly quirky and charming, with endless rows of books, cozy fireplaces, and a charming cafe. You can also see the original 'Keep Calm and Carry On' WWII poster that was uncovered in the shop in 2000, and subsequently became an international phenomenon. To enter of the city centre at Alnwick, you still need to pass through the old city gates. Alnwick Castle — viewed only from the
Lindisfarne is a magical location. It is an island for about 10 hours a day, when the tide is high and it is cut off from the mainland. There is a castle and an ancient priory on the site, plus a little village with shops and pubs and cafes. Meanwhile, the Farne Islands is a collection of rocks off the Northumberland coast. There are 28 of them at low tide, and as few as 14 when the tides run high. They are famous as breeding grounds for all manner of nesting birds, as well as being home to a large
View from our window: Warkworth, Northumberland, United Kingdom. 10:24pm, 03 May 2023.
The town of Berwick-Upon-Tweed is the most northerly town in England, and thus a location for all sorts of shenanigans over the years between the English and Scots. It thus has some excellent Elizabethan fortifications that made for a perfect lunchtime break spot for our drive from Edinburgh down to Northumberland. We're pleased to repot that there were no signs of any concern about armed Scottish Nationalist post-Brexit uprisings. Manning the cannons, just in case
After so many weeks in more rural parts of the country, being in Edinburgh was bound to be a bit of a shock to our systems, and so it has proven. It's no fault of the city's — it's imposing and attractive, in many ways looking like a looming version of Bath. Add the fact that we've all been feeling less than 100%, and the weather has been resolutely Scottish, and it's not really been a fair shake. But, if our weather luck was going to run out, best that it happen in a city, where we can tour a
View from our window: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. 8:04pm, 28 April 2023.
The kids were very keen to visit Loch Ness to search for its famed monster, so we all bundled into the car to make the 45-minute trip up the road to Fort Augustus at the south end of the loch. Because we had someone in sick bay yesterday, it was all a bit spur-of-the-moment. Just as we arrived, there happened to be a boat departing that very minute for a scenic cruise around the lake, so we hopped aboard. We lucked into a gloriously sunny day and had a lovely, informative tour. Amongst other tidbits, we learned that Loch Ness
With one child somewhat under-the-weather, it was a smaller than usual walking party that headed out to visit Steall Falls, the second-highest waterfall in Britain, in the shadow of Ben Nevis. Looking back down the valley at Ben Nevis Compared to the Hidden Valley, it was a pretty easy path, but there were still enough scrambles to keep things interesting. No ropes? No problem. Looking westward down the valley. The waterfalls drop 120 metres into the wonderfully named "Waters of Nevis" river, which flows out into the Loch a few miles away. The riverbed was an excellent spot for some rock-bashing. Walkers
The Glencoe Valley was the site of a massacre some 330 years ago. Some of the targets of the attack escaped to Coire Gabhail, or the "Hidden Valley," which was, in those days, quite difficult to find. Nowadays, there is a large carpark and a constant stream of walkers heading up a well-marked trail that takes you scrambling up a steep climb, over rivers, and alongside waterfalls. We had a properly Scottish weather experience on the day we tackled the hike — rain, snow, and sunshine all in the space of a few hours. Setting off in the rain and
View from our window: Fort William, Scotland, United Kingdom. 7:59pm, 22 April 2023.