Northumberland 2024 - Day Four

Sunday morning and Stewart had to leave us to head home and prepare for his big day representing AberNecessities (www.abernecesseties.co.uk) at Holyrood Palace. He subsequently sent us this photo from that day:

Three options were available for the walk today. Rob was keen to drive down to Hadrian's Wall (about an hour away) but the rest of us didn't fancy spending two hours in the car, especially with the England - Slovakia match on TV at at 5 pm. Ken initially favoured a local hill walk but most of the rest of us preferred to take the relatively short drive to Craster for a coastal walk, so 6 of us headed east while Rob went south.

Two cars - Dave and Gordon - parked just outside Craster where this sign showed some of the local attractions and walks:

We started off walking away from the village - Ken had notions to see Howick Hall (https://howickhallgardens.com/):

Not a National Trust property and we knew dogs wouldn't be allowed in the house but we hoped to be able to walk through the grounds and access the coast but when we asked we were told no dogs anywhere! So we walked away and headed to an alternative route:

Initially we walked south and we came to a small beach for refreshments and a bite:

It was close enough to noon for Gordon to pour the drams. From that point we took the coastal path north towards Craster. There were a couple of nice bays and beaches on the route:

Finally arriving at Craster we made a bee-line for the lovely and hugely popular Jolly Fisherman Inn (https://thejollyfishermancraster.co.uk/) for lunch. We were fortunate, given how busy it was, to find a large outdoor table for 6 unoccupied. The Jolly's Famous Crab Sandwich and Posh Fish Finger Sandwich went down well.

Ken's plan had been for us to head further north along the coastal path towards Dunstanburgh Castle after lunch, but time was marching on and there was some anxiety about getting to the pub early to make sure of decent seats for the England match so we just walked back to the cars, passing the harbour and viewing the castle in the distance:

Our route was:

We met up with Rob again in the Turks Head and he told us about his day at Hadrian's Wall and the Sycamore Gap/Robin Hood tree. Here's some of his photos:

We didn't have to move far after the match as we were dining in the pub. Rob bought the traditional end of holiday drams:

Great little holiday. Over to Jeb for Mallaig September, 2025.

Northumberland 2024 - Day Three

Saturday morning and, with Jeb now here, we were up to our full complement of 8 for the ridge walk on the Simonside Hills. Ken had indicated there was an optional shortcut for those - like me - who might perhaps struggle a bit with the climb.

I accepted Ken's suggestion with alacrity and was joined by Gordon and Rob. The remaining 5 set off at 9:30 and we planned to meet up at what Northumberland National Parks state is the official start of the route at the Forestry Commission's car park.

Gordon, Rob and I arrived there a little early so we thought we would take a walk up to see the remains of the hill fort, thinking we would still be able to see the others as they came over the first hill. Like most ancient hill forts, there is little left to view:

The town in the distance is Rothbury

As the 3 of us made our way back down to the car park, we still hadn't spotted the other 5 - until a few minutes later when we saw a group of 5 leaving the car park and heading up the next hill. They had seen Gordon's car and, with us not being around, they assumed we had started off on the walk. This was the sign at the start:

Anyway we soon all met up. The route up to the various cairns had been beautifully laid with large flagstones - all the way to the tops of the hills - a tremendous effort from some. There were so many peaks with cairns that I lost count. Some of the rock formations reminded us a little of our Peak District ridge walk 2 years ago. Here's a selection of photos from those hilltops:

Coming down wasn't as easy as going up - at least initially. Steep rocky miss-shapen steps were very tricky - especially for those of us with dodgy joints. One stumble could bring a nasty injury. Eventually we reached a more gradual and safer route and headed for the village of Thropton for our lunch stop. First we had to cross the river:

We were shown a shortcut to the Three Wheatheads (https://www.threewheatheads.co.uk/) by a local - through grasslands, watching out for more nettles. We settled down in their lovely beer garden and ordered lunch, washed down by pints of Mad Jack Ha' (https://www.firstandlastbrewery.co.uk/products/box-of-12-mad-jack-beers):

We still had to retrieve Gordon's car so he and I opted to take the bus for the short trip back to Rothbury and we were joined by Nigel. The rest decided to walk - via differing routes - with Stewart taking charge of Daisy.

Here's my stats for the route - Ken, Dave, Jeb and Stewart didn't use any form of vehicular assistance, while Rob took a lift up to the car park but walked back after lunch and Nigel just used the bus back from the pub, so the distances they covered were roughly 7 kms longer:

For pre-dinner drinks and to watch the footy we opted for a change of pub and headed up to the Turks Head (https://www.turksheadrothbury.co.uk/) - note no apostrophe! Dinner that evening was in the small bistro-like Bewick's, with Jeb leading some of us astray by ordering ports after dinner.

Day 3 complete - just one more left.

Northumberland 2024 - Day Two

Friday was originally scheduled to be the ridge walk on the Simonside Hills but a combination of the weather forecast for high winds and the fact that Jeb wouldn't arrive until Friday evening led to a late switch so we did the St. Oswald's Way instead.

Crossing the bridge in Rothbury we took a left turn up the slight gradient and set about looking for the Way which starts off near an old railway line. We had been led to believe that this was largely a riverside walk so we took a path that seemed to lead us down that way. We should have listened to the friendly farmer's wife who told us that this path was pretty overgrown. She was right - after fighting our way through heavy undergrowth thick with nettles, we decided to backtrack and, in so doing, experience even more stinging sensations. Those of us wearing shorts suffered the most but even some in long trousers were stung through the fabric.

We found the correct route and the railway line high above the river but there was a brief pause for some double-checking:

This first bit was OK but soon we were tramping across endless grass meadows which bore little sign of anyone ever having walked this way before. We went from field to field searching each time for the waymarkers at the other side:

We did see the river briefly and stopped at a bridge for refreshments:

More fields followed but when it came to noon we observed tradition:

There was one slightly disturbing moment when we spotted a sheep lying on its back unable to get up again. Stewart took charge of Daisy while Gordon climbed over the fence and tried to get it back up on its feet again:

Gordon succeeded in getting the sheep upright but it then just collapsed again. There was a farmhouse just 100 yards away so we knocked on the door and spoke to a woman who told us that this was a common occurrence at this time of year - you right one and then another one falls. If left lying, they die - something to do with an excess gas build-up.

We were all delighted when we eventually reached the pub lunch stop - the Angler's Arms in Weldon Bridge (https://www.anglersarms.com/). A bowl of soup and a couple of pints and all was well with the world again. Here's the stats for the walk:

After lunch, we walked to the nearest bus - a standard £2 per head fare took us all back to Rothbury, leaving plenty of afternoon time for naps, baths, showers or, for a few of us, a short drive to another National Trust property - Cragside (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/north-east/cragside)

Cragside is a huge estate - over 1,000 acres. There's a gentle circular drive within that is 6 miles long. Lots of walks and things to do. The old house is imposing externally and spectacular within:

In the evening it was back to Narrow Nick for pre-dinner drinks then off to the local Italian restaurant - La Mensa. We finished eating about 8:30 pm but we were all a little tired and there was no enthusiasm for post-dinner drinks, so off to our rooms we trotted. Jeb duly arrived at 9:30 pm and wondered where everyone was - I messaged him to say we were all in bed and he thought I was kidding! He did bump in to Dave who was returning from walking Ruby, but Jeb was unable to persuade him to have a drink with him.

More to follow - Days 3 & 4.

Northumberland 2024 - Day One

This was the 15th year since we began these walking weekends back in 2010. One year - 2021 - was missed due to Covid but Ken, our leader, has attended all 14 others. Dave and I have been on 11 each and Gordon and Ian Sharp 10.

This year we had a new recruit - Rob D, who had briefly met up with us last year in the Lake District. He became the 16th person to be on one of these weekends, bringing the aggregate attendees over the 14 years to exactly 100.

Car sharing has been the norm in the past but this year various factors meant that all of us travelled to Northumberland for Day One in our own vehicles - not exactly eco friendly. Ken had, as usual, done meticulous research and checked the tides, which were in our favour and we could cross the causeway over to Holy Island - Lindisfarne.

We weren't the only ones to take advantage - the large main car park was packed almost to capacity when we arrived. Jeb had car problems and allied to a desire to attend a friend's memorial wouldn't be able to join us until Friday night, and Vicki wouldn't make it at all. Gordon, travelling up from Yarmouth, decided the extra hour's drive up to Lindisfarne from our hotel in Rothbury was a bit too much so it was just 6 of us who gathered at Lindisfarne village - Ken, Dave, Nigel, Stewart, Rob and me.

First stop - naturally - was the Ship Inn, one of the local pubs, for a quick refreshment:

Setting off on our walk, we bypassed the Priory:

Then made our way out to the castle:

A few of us made good use of our National Trust memberships to look at the inside of the castle. Looking out over the castle walls we noticed a kestrel sitting there quite happily just a couple of feet away:

At the start of the circular walk round the island, a piece of art:

Further on, an obelisk:

There were some lovely beaches on our walk:

The island is a national nature reserve and there are trails everywhere so the walks can be as long or as short as you want. We stuck to the coastal trails although we cut off the short spur at the end and headed back to the car park, stopping first at a bench:

Here's our route and the stats:

Departing the island we all took differing routes on the 40 + minute drive south west to Rothbury and checked in to the Queens Head, a fairly typical and slightly tired looking pub/hotel. Showered and changed, one by one we followed Nigel to the local micropub, the very popular Narrow Nick, which was bedecked with various memorabilia, obviously acquired from auctions. Along the window wall, bizarrely, there was a row of Stagecoach bus seats:

I speculated that the pub was so named because it used to be the local police station or jail but we later discovered that the "Nick" is a local word referring to the adjacent narrow lane.

Dinner was back at our hotel and it was good, wholesome food, which surprised us a little.

Day one over - more to follow.

Lake District 2023 - Day four

Ken took pity on me and had planned a straight-forward flat walk to Grasmere and back, giving me the option of skipping the morning, catching the bus out and walking back with the group - or the reverse. In the end, I managed to walk both ways.

It was a lovely walk - along one side of Grasmere (the lake) and back along the other side. Some lovely tranquil spots:

Gordon spotted more bearded collie owners and went over for a chat:

Grasmere (the village) is a lovely place but a tourist hotspot. Famed for its gingerbread (apparently), the queue to buy stopped us from taking some home:

One of the local residents was a talking member of the crow family:

Lunch was again at a nice local cafe - not the pub - and soon we were on the return walk. Just past Wordsworth's home there was a lovely display on the side of a building:

There was a pitstop roughly halfway for ice creams at Rydal:

For our last evening we went to a Thai restaurant, after which we retired to the Lily Bar where Stewart bought us drams for his 65th birthday:

There was a 2-man band playing - initially guitar and bass but then the bass player ditched his guitar and produced a trombone:

What a great sound it was! Super way to finish our weekend. Stats for today's walk:

Gordon headed south on Monday morning and the rest of us north through heavy rains until we got to the Scottish border. Another great weekend - big thanks to organiser and team leader Ken.