I thought I'd add a trip report for Northumbria, as thought this was just a weekend break for us, the area deserves wider recognition, as it has so much to offer.

First some pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3169346...7618827090490/

We first visited Northumbria over 20 years ago on a camping holiday with our kids. It was there that we joined the National Trust, as there are lots of their properties in the area and we had a wonderful week, exploring the beaches, heritage and wildlife of the area. We have been back for couple of weekends - our last about 8 years ago - and decided we must be due for another visit this bank holiday weekend. At the time we decided to book, a lot of places were already booked up. Eventually I found a small B&B on Laterooms that sounded good. Checking it out on Trip Advisor confirmed the great reviews, so we booked up for 3 nights.

We were working on the Friday but managed to get away early and set of at 4pm on the 200 mile drive. Despite bad traffic on parts of the M62 and A1, we made the journey in 4 hours and called in at the lovely village of Bamburgh to find something to eat, where we managed to get a decent bar meal at the Victoria Hotel. After we'd eaten, the sun was going down and the sky was clear, so we decided to have short walk on the beach before finding our B&B. We walked past the imposing castle and crossed the dunes to the wide expanse of sand. As this was the east coast, I didn't expect to see the sunset over the sea but due to a curve in the coastline, that is what it appears to do, so we watched a lovely sunset before driving the final few miles to our B&B.

The Market Cross is a small B&B - just 4 rooms - in the village of Belford, not far from the A1 and a few miles inland from Bamburgh. It is classed as 5 star and deserves all of them. Our room was spotless and comfortable with lots of nice little touches including plenty of good toileteries, a good tea tray, a bowl of sweets and a view of the courtyard and lovely garden. A big bookcase on the landing had not only books to borrow but complimentary sherry and Lindisfarne mead for us to help ourselves. The landlady, Jill, went out of her way to make us feel welcome - she even knocked on our door on the Saturday evening with a plate of freshly cooked fruit muffins, still warm from the oven. Jill prides herself on her breakfasts, with about half a dozen alternatives to bacon and egg, including eggs Benedict, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and omlette Arnold Bennet - all delicious.

Saturday morning was beautiful and sunny, so we decided to head to Seahouses and see if we could get a boat trip to the Farne Islands, which was high up on our list of things to do. We were there in time for the 10am trip to Staple Island, one of the 2 National Trust bird sanctuaries in the Farnes. We boarded the "Glad Tidings" and set off on the short trip over to the islands. On the way out, the boat tours round the islands, passing rocks full of sea birds and seals and the Longstone Lighthouse (of Grace darling fame) before arriving at Staple Island. We were able to spend an hour on this little rocky island and walked within a few yards of birds nesting on the rocks. There were plenty of puffins, which have to be the cutest of seabirds, and we were able to take loads of pictures.

The boat trip took about 3 hours but the weather had clouded up, so we decided to visit Bamburgh Castle for the afternoon. The huge castle dates back to Norman times and the site has been fortified for centuries before that. The ruined castle was bought, restored and turned into an impressive home in Victorian times by the industrialist, William Armstrong.

That evening we took our landlady, Jill's recommendation of the best place to eat in the area and booked a table at the White Swan at Warenford. The food lived up to expectations and we had a wonderful meal of seared scallops with belly pork, drizzled with a chilli sauce and various other dressings - as artistic as it was delicious. We then had hake fillet in an almond crumb, served on a bed of pasta in a creamy cheese and bacon sauce, also delicious. The food wasn't overpriced for the quality served, main meals were largely in the £10 to £15 bracket and starters £5 - 6, though the scallops were a bit more expensive. I'd definitely recommend the place.

Next day was a glorious sunny day. After our hearty breakfast we set off for the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, which is reached by a causeway at low tide. It is vital to check the tide tables to time your visit - we needed to be off by 1pm or spend another 6 hours trapped there by the tides. Photographs of a 4x4 up to it windows in sea water warn you of the consequenses of not checking the tides. We first visited the ruins of Lindisfarne priory founded by St Aiden in the 7th century. The priory ruins are full of rock flowers and are a peaceful an atmospheric place to wander round. We then had a walk to Lindisfarne Castle (National Trust) a 16th century castle restored into a holiday home by Lutyens. We have been to it before but didn't realy have time to go inside this time, if we were to get off the island before the tide came in.

We left the island an headed for Cragside (National trust) the Victorian home of Lord Armstrong (the same one that restored Bamburgh) and the first house in the world to be lit by electricity. The house is set amid large forested grounds with lakes, an impressive rock garden full of colourful and highly scented azaleas and a formal garden. The various parts of the estate cover a large area and are up and down hills, so a minibus is provided to shuttle people around. We spent a very pleasant and sunny afternoon exploring the house and gardens before heading back to our B&B. After a rather large afternoon cream tea, we opted for a simple bar meal in Bamburgh in the evening, followed by another walk along the beach to see the sunset to walk it off.

On Monday, we had our breakfast and packed up on our last morning, planning to visit a couple more places before heading back home. Our first stop was Belsay Castle (English Heritage) where there is a 14th century castle and a 19th century villa (both now empty shells) and a beautiful quarry garden developed in the quarry where the stone for the hall was taken. We had mainly planned to visit the gardens though an added curiosity in one of the castle rooms, was a horse made from thousands of Swarovski crystals hanging on threads and designed by Stella Mccartney.

A few miles from Belsay is Wallington (National Trust), a lovely 17th century mansion but again, we only had time for the gardens on this visit. The main garden is across the road from the house and reached by a woodland walk past a small lake. The flower filled walled garden was beautiful and the contained a conservatory full of very colourful and exotic looking blooms. We spend a few more hours here before heading home, fortunately not hitting any bank holiday queues.

A weekend isn't realy enough time to explore the delights of this area, though we certainly managed to fit in a lot this visit. We have resolved to visit the area (and the guest house) again, hopefully before too long.

Maria_H: Thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos. Your report brings back many wonderful memories of Northumberland. This area, is indeed one of our favourites in England. I remember running along the beautiful beach beside Bamburgh Castle at sunset and scooping up the sand and shells. We enjoyed our 5 days in this area,visiting Alnwick Castle and many of the sites you enjoyed.

nice report, Maria.

I'm always planning to do this type of short TR to laud the variuos places we go in to the southwest, but unlike you, i never seem to get round to it.

so well done!

regards, ann

PS - were you anywhere near Hadrians' Wall? [my geography of northumberland is a bit hazy] DH and a could of friends are thinking of walking it this summer and the B&B you recommend sounds just the ticket.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures and taking time to do a trip report. I have great memories of both my visits to the area around Lindisfarne. I have been there on my own and with a couple of nephews in tow. They loved it as much as I did. Thanks.

Wonderful report, maria!

I love Lindesfarne too - one day I'd like to stay over on the island. Aren't puffins the <u>cutest</u> things imaginable??

I've not been to Cragside or Belsay - They're now on my list for next time.

ann, Hadrian's Wall is quite a bit further north. There have been other threads about it, but, having done a point-to-point walk with luggage transfer, I think you could see the best bits of the wall from a single base in Haltwhistle (on the Newcastle-Carlisle railway line and the AD122 bus route that runs close to the wall).

See also this:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

Patrick is a bit fuzzy too "<i>Hadrian's Wall is quite a bit further north</i>" - The Wall is quite a bit farther <u>south</u> from Bamburgh/Belford, etc.

But Bamburgh, Alnwick, Lindesfarne, and Hadrian's Wall could easily be visited on a long weekend

I stand corrected. But a lot depends on how much time you might want to spend at the wall, and how you'd be getting there.

"<i> lot depends on how much time you might want to spend at the wall</i>"

Sure - but a full day along the Wall, a day for Bamburgh/Lindesfarne, and a day for Alnwick and/or other places would be a very nice 3 days weekend.

Or one could spend a whole week just walking the wall - whatever works for you . . . .

thanks janisj and Patrick.

stupid me didn't think to do a search, so thansk for the link, patrick.

i will save it for DH's future reference.

regards, ann

I think we visited Hadrian's Wall on our first, week long trip to the area. Belford is about mid-way between Newcastle and Edinburgh and there are loads more places to visit in the area. On one trip to the area we went to Berwick-on-Tweed and to a few houses over the Scottish border. It would be easy to fill a week or even two in the area. It was very handy for heading up or down the A1 and even on a bank holiday weekend, many of the roads were not crowded. I probably shouldn't say it, as I don't want to have trouble when I try to book next time but the B&B was wonderful - check out the breakfast menu:

http://www.bandbinnorthumberland.co.uk/

I really enjoyed your trip report and the photos. Thanks for posting it.

Lee Ann