Ministry of Sound Classical at Castle Howard

 

A couple of weeks after we were back from Northumberland, the chap and I were off to a one day dance festival at Castle Howard. This is something we like to try to do each year, the difference this year was we had also booked a pitch at the Castle Howard camp site, a couple of miles country walk away from the event. 

We arrived mid-afternoon, I poured the rum and colas and left the chap to pitching the tent. It's only a small one so it didn't take long. We were surrounded by envy inducing campervans, and just as I was about to depart for the toilet block to get ready we heard a holler from one of them. It was someone who the chap knows (this happens a lot when we're out and about), so I left him with them while I went off to get ready. He was still there when I got back, so we stayed and had another rum and cola before setting off for the gig. 

It wasn't too long a walk, and before long we were in the packed out venue. We decided to make food our first stop, before the queues for it got too big. That was a good shout since, later on, we queued for about 45 minutes for a coffee! Such is the caffeine dependency. 

There were stalls selling event appropriate things, I got a glitter bomb on my face and the chap bought himself a faux fur bucket hat. We danced around to Ellie Sax, and Judge Jools and screamed loudly when some iconic tune that I'd danced to in nightclubs in the early 2000s came on. 

My legs aren’t really that white!

Around 8pm, the dj's all left the stage and an orchestra came on. They were tremendous doing absolutely breathtaking versions of tunes like Insomnia (Faithless), and Cafe Del Mar. As night fell, a laser light show joined the performance and, honestly, it was stunning! 

At the end we joined a convoy of drunk people walking back to the campsite along the dark country roads. Everyone was in good spirits as we all lit the way with torches and mobile phones, warning those behind us of steps or trip hazards. The highlight of course being two drunk women falling into the swamp at the side of the road. Thankfully the drought weather meant that the swamp was dry so no one was hurt, and everyone was in good humor. 

That night, the weather broke. As we lay in our tent the rain pelted our tent and the temperature even dropped a little. I was glad of that. The next morning, we packed away our pitch in between rain showers, and drove back to Castle Howard to enjoy a delicious breakfast in their courtyard cafe. It was the perfect end to an amazing weekend. 

Alnwick and Home

 As the end of the summer holidays is approaching, and certainly the end of any decent weather we've enjoyed, I'm still reminiscing on our week in the North, which was too coming to an end. Sunday was our last day before it was time to go. We'd definitely made the most of our time, and I think all of us, including the dog, were pretty tired. 

We spent a lazy day on site, cashing in all of the tickets little Miss had won on the arcades (for a stash of plastic junk to take home), and having our Sunday dinner in the on-site Weatherspoons. Then, it was an evening of packing our bags, ready for an early departure on Monday. 

Since Alnwick was en-route home, we decided to stop off. Originally I'd planned to visit Alnwick gardens, I'm fascinated by their poisonous plants section, but the weather was starting to turn and I didn't really fancy wandering around gardens by this point. No, instead, we wandered the pretty little town of Alnwick. 

We were greeted in the distance by the imposing image of Alnwick castle, and the town itself is filled again with some lovely architecture. There are a myriad of independent boutiques, and in one particular leather goods shop I was extremely tempted by a beautiful leather handbag. I did what I always do and walked around the shop with it for 30 minutes, what I don't always do is put it down and walk away though. I did this time because I am coming to the realisation that I have more handbags than I can use in a lifetime. I've thought about that bag every day ever since, so I've added it to my wishlist and who knows maybe I will buy it at some future point, but I am really trying not to. 

There wasn't really many dog friendly places in Alnwick where we could grab some lunch, so we ended up grabbing some snacks from Greggs and eating them in the car before setting off on the journey home. It had been an excellent holiday, so excellent that little Miss exclaimed it was her best holiday ever. What more could anyone want?

Road Trip to Edinburgh

It’s nearly three weeks since we returned from holiday, and I still haven’t got to the end of my holiday posts. We did do a lot, and it has been busy ever since we got back. So, more holiday tales.

By the time Friday arrived, we were ready for a rest. In the short time we’d been on holiday, we’d already explored lots of places and our promise to ourselves to have at least one day on site, hadn’t so far materialised. We decided Friday was the day. It turns out that Friday was a good day to have a relaxing time on site because it’s one of the change over days, so a lot of people go home and there’s a 3 – 4 hour lull of quiet in between. I booked me and little Miss onto one of the craft sessions, friendship bracelet making, and we took a relaxing walk by way of the lakeside to our session.

 

That was a nice way to spend half an hour and we both come out with some cute beaded bracelets. Then we went to take a look at the ‘show home’ caravans for sale. Some were pre-loved and quite tempting, although others cost more than the remaining mortgage on my house and were definitely more in the category of mobile home than holiday caravan. It’s nice to look though.

 

Later on we spent some time (and money) in the arcade, Little Miss got to enjoy the soft play area and we grabbed some food from Chopstix, which was one of the on site vendors. Then, it was a relaxing afternoon of reading, walking Thelma and doing as little as possible. Saturday morning, we’d planned to go to Edinburgh on the train, but while we were getting ready I decided I quite fancied a cross border drive, so we all hopped in the car and headed for Scotland. It was a super easy drive and in just over an hour we were parked up at a park and ride on the outskirts, getting a cheap and short train into Waverley station.

 

I’ve been to Edinburgh a few times. It ranks highly amongst my favourite cities, and I think if I was looking to live in a capital city I’d choose Edinburgh over London any day of the week. Little Miss has never been though. We’d already warned her on the train that you have to keep an eye open for the small rodents called ‘Haggis’ that run about the streets, I think she may have believed us!

It was Irish themed, although you wouldn’t tell from this photo

 

The architecture of Edinburgh is grand and beautiful, and straight off the train we headed for the old town. It wasn’t long before we saw a Scottish bagpiper, an experience Little Miss hadn’t had before. We chose an Irish pub for lunch, enjoying a delicious Lamb Stew, before heading slowly along the Royal Mile in the direction of the Castle, taking in the street entertainers and buzz of visitors along the way. It was the week before Edinburgh Fringe, and already the crowds were starting to gather in anticipation. We dipped in and out of shops, and in one particular shop I spent a significant amount of time drooling over some very expensive tweed clothes.

 

I’ve always had a weakness for tweed. I think it’s such a classic and beautiful fabric. Mum was a bit shell shocked when she left that particular shop having accidentally spent £12.99 on a box of Peppermint Tea. She’d been too proud to leave it at the counter when she found out the price at the counter. We reached the castle, but we were only able to glimpse it from the barricades at the front since the Edinburgh tattoo was on, meaning only ticketholders could go in. Nonetheless, we got to see a bit of it. 

We headed back down, further into the old town, stopping for tea and cake along the way. It was absolutely buzzing, there were so many tourists and at the Grassmarket area which is home to many pubs, there were pipers, and every table filled with revellers and drinkers. It’s a vibe! After a long day of walking around and perusing some lovely shops, treating myself to posh candles and some nice natural beauty products, it was time to head back to the train station and to the car to drive back to Northumberland. As always, I’d had a wonderful time in Edinburgh and little Miss had been thrilled to visit Scotland for the first time, even if she didn’t spot any Haggis roaming the streets.

Northumberland: Bamburgh and The Holy Island of Lindisfarne

 Wednesday I enjoyed a gentle start to the morning. After walking Thelma, I was able to relax on the decking with a herbal tea and my book before anyone else was awake. Although we were keen to get across to Lindisfarne, and the weather seemed favourable, the forecast had promised strong winds and rain showers and we knew that, once on the island we’d be there until the tide went back out to reveal the causeway. We opted for Bamburgh instead since it was easier to get back from if the weather turned inclement. 

Bamburgh Castle

Bamburgh is beautiful, with its stone cottage lined Main Street and an imposing castle overlooking the village and the beach, it feels like an image from a history book. It was also quite busy when we arrived, and incredibly popular with dog owners. Thelma isn’t particularly keen on other dogs, she doesn’t realise she is one, so mostly, she tries to avoid them. 

Inside the cafe

We started off with a delicious lunch in a quirky little cafe on the main street. Jacket potatoes, iced coffee (as it turned out much warmer than the weatherman said) and cake. Then we perused some enticing gift shops. I bought a new notebook to add to my pile, and then we headed over the sand dunes onto the beautiful beach. 

Bamburgh truly is a stunning beach. Look one way and it’s sand dunes, the other is the massively imposing Bamburgh castle and out to sea you can see the Farne islands. The sea is clear blue/green and the sand is fine and white. Even though it was very busy, there’s so much space that you don’t have to be sat on your neighbours picnic blanket. We set up camp there. Thelma relaxed and watched the world go by while little Miss made sandcastles.

Then we rolled our jeans up and went for a paddle in the (freezing cold) water, it was so invigorating though and I kept going back in for more, right until the point I wandered too far in and ended up with wet jeans. It was warm out of the surf so they soon dried off.

We wandered back to the car, unexpectedly tired from scaling sand dunes and headed back to the caravan. After a quick freshen up and a snack, we decided to brave the club again. This time we left it until later, missing out on the bonkers bingo. 

Club ready

The club was playing 2000s dance music, so I joined little Miss on the dance floor for a boogie. The perfect end to the day. 

Thursday, the weather forecast was looking good for a day at Holy Island. Given that there are 2 windows of opportunity to get onto the island (and back off) based on when the tide is out, we opted to go for the later one. It meant we would drive across during the mid-afternoon and stay on the island until 8pm.

When we arrived, I was so glad we’d done it that way around as there was quite a crowd of people leaving the island, who had obviously come across early and needed to leave before the tide came in. It’s definitely not somewhere you can visit unplanned unless you want your car to be stuck in the water halfway across. This happens more than you would believe.

On the island the sun was shining but it was incredibly windy. This is my third visit to the island and it’s always windy. We parked up, and wandered along the street taking in the local produce that’s being sold along the way. I bought some local honey and a new t-shirt for Little Miss from the Holy Island Clothing company.

Holy Island is rich in History. The following excerpt is courtesy of History Hit.com.

Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is one of the most important centres of early English Christianity. Irish monks settled here in 635 AD and the monastery became the centre of a major saint’s cult celebrating its bishop, Cuthbert. The famous manuscript now known as the Lindisfarne Gospels was created here in the early 8th century. The ruins now visible are those of a 12th-century Lindisfarne Priory, which claimed direct descent from the early monastery.

The Island is known for the famous Viking Raid that occurred there. The devastating Viking attack on the church of St Cuthbert in 793 sent a shockwave through Europe. A Christian community at Lindisfarne survived, and recorded the event on the famous ‘Domesday stone.’

So, there is plenty to see here. The priory itself was closed, but we were still able to see inside.

The church was open, and is still an operational church. The sculpture of monks carrying a coffin when you walk in the door is a bit disconcerting, but the church itself is incredibly peaceful and spiritual. We sat there for a while in quiet contemplation, before taking a look around. It’s so beautiful and ancient. Often times churches and cathedrals can feel bustling and not meditative and spiritual, usually because there are so many people around. Not so with this one, it’s very special.

We wandered down to the beach where a smaller island with a cross on it was visible. The walk back up was beautiful, so many wildflowers everywhere. Ones I don’t think I’ve even seen before. Back at the top we visited the Manor House hotel for a coffee. They were fully booked for dinner that evening though, so I booked a table at the Crown and Anchor, just opposite, for a bit later on. 

Then, we walked to Lindisfarne castle. The walk up to the castle is absolutely beautiful. Ok, so we were blessed with a good day, but I suspect that Lindisfarne is beautiful even in the bleak weather, because it’s so unique. We stopped a few times to take in the stunning views, and at one stop Mum decided she needed a longer rest, so she stayed on the bench admiring the views.

Me, Little Miss and Thelma carried on up to the bottom of the castle, getting battered by the wind the whole way. We didn’t go all the way up to the castle since we needed to get back in time for the table I’d booked, but we got close enough to see how spectacularly imposing it is.

What a beautiful place for it to be too, with views across the sparkling North Sea.

Back at the pub, we were more than grateful of a seat to rest in. We enjoyed a feast, I had a surf and turf burger which was quite delicious. Me and little Miss played cards while we waited for our meals, thoroughly invigorated and quite tired from the day’s activities.

After a hearty meal, and a hearty dessert it was time to head for the car. It was 8pm, the tide would be out and we could leave the island. What a fantastical place.