Exploring :: Northumberland #2 ... Beadnell, Craster & Alnmouth

Hi there everyone 😃

It’s time for the second instalment of our break in Northumberland ... back at the beginning of December. We’d had a lovely steady day staying local on the Saturday, with a nice walk into Seahouses. 

On Sunday the weather was shocking and we spent a day just chilling out in Cuthbert’s Cottage, before enjoying a lamb roast dinner. We’d done the lamb in the slow cooker using this Good Food recipe and it was absolutely delicious. This photo is pre Yorkshire puddings (of the Aunt Bessie variety) and gravy (of the slow cooked home made variety) …

We spent the evening, in our comfies, sat at the kitchen table, working our way through this 'Puzmat' game, and we were thrilled to say we managed to solve all of the puzzles and find the final solution ...

The forecast was better for Monday and we had a big day out on the cards … but not before a big breakfast to see us through …

We started off with a drive along the coast heading south. There were plenty more signs of the devastation caused by Arwen, with lots of damaged roofs, fallen trees and fence panels. We even came across a touring caravan than was pretty much just a pile of torn up metal.

Our first stop was Beadnell Harbour where we had a walk along the beach … dodging the seaweed, which we weren't sure whether was normal or was a result of the storm ...

To say it was a bit wild and bleak was an understatement ...

... but we were more than ready for the cold ...

We were heading for the old lime kilns and the small harbour ...

Once up off the beach we had a wander along the harbour wall ...

... and right out to the end ...

... for some great views of Dunstanburgh Castle in the distance ...

The wind was biting out on the end of the harbour and we didn't hang around long before making our way back to have a closer look at the old lime kilns ...

From Beadnell we headed to Craster where we started with a walk along the cliff path towards Dunstonburgh castle …

… before retracing our steps and having a wander round the village …

... taking in the sights ... and smells ...

From Craster we were off a bit further down the coat to Alnmouth, where I wanted to stop and capture the view of the pretty coloured houses across the river estuary …

We had a bit of a pitstop in Alnmouth ...

... and a drive down over the golf course to have another look at the sea ...

From Alnmouth we were heading off to Alnwick for our last stop of the day. We were booked it to eat at The Tree House, followed by a visit to the Alnwick Garden Winter Light Trail, but I think I'll tell you about that in my next post 😀

********************************************************************************

Exploring :: Northumberland #1 … Cuthbert's Cottage & Seahouses

Hi there everyone 😀

I'm still playing catch up with my blog posts but at least I'm moving in the right direction.

At the beginning of December we had a week away with Lesley and Tom planned. We were off to Northumberland and due to stay in a very nice looking cottage. We were all really excited and looking forward to getting away.

It so very nearly didn’t happen. The week before we were due to go ... the area was hit badly by Storm Arwen, which left 1000s of homes with no power … including the holiday cottage that we were supposed to be staying in.

We hung on ... really hoping that the power would be back on in time for our break but the day before we were due to go there was still no confirmed time that it was expected to be sorted. We decided to cut our losses and were lucky enough to be able to switch our booking to Cuthbert's Cottage in North Sunderland, a little village just outside of Seahouses ...

After a long and tiring journey on a wintry Friday afternoon we arrived to be greeted by a warm and welcoming cottage … every room having the ‘wow’ factor … and it wasn’t long before we were unpacked and settling down for the first night of our week away.

We decided to stay local on the Saturday and actually had a walk into Seahouses for a look at a very calm sea in the sunshine ...

There were some fabulous views to be had ... of the Farne Islands ...

... and Bamburgh Castle ... now I pretty much fell in love with Lesley's iPhone on this holiday, as you will know ... but when it comes to a long distance shot ... the phone camera really is no match for my old Lumix. These are the views across the bay to Bamburgh Castle ... taken with the Lumix ...

... and the iPhone ...

It looks like it's definitely not quite time to retire my old camera just yet.

We had a good wander round the harbour …

... spotted plenty of bird life … we were reliably informed by a group of old fellas having a chat that these were eider ducks …

... and took our first stack of selfies, which did become a bit of a thing whilst we were away ... and for selfies ... you definitely can't beat the phone ...

We did have a quick call in the pub for a sit with the crossword before heading back to Cuthbert's Cottage for our chilli, which I’d made ahead and brought with us. This is the view of the cottage from the road as we walked back ...

It had been a nice steady, bright and breezy day ... just what we all needed after our week of uncertainty as to whether we would get away and our long and tiring journey.

***********************************************************************************

50 Things before I'm 60 :: 2021 Update

Hi there everyone 😀

There may be some of you new to my blog this year that aren't aware of my '50 Things' challenge.

When I hit 50, back in 2014 I set myself a goal of achieving '50 Things' before I hit 60.

I didn't decide on the full 50 straight away ... I've been adding to the list as I've thought of new things I'd like to do or places I'd like to see.

I've been doing updates each year, just checking in to let you know how I've been getting on. Following changes to lots of plans in 2020, for obvious reasons, my review of the year didn't really show that much progress ... and I didn't even get round to sharing what goals I wanted to achieve in 2021.

I thought it was time to have a good look at where I am and a think about what I might like to get up to this year ... so here we go ...

When I did my review at the beginning of last year I had shared a total of 48 'things' with you and you can see which I'd already completed below ...

1 - Done - Hand make Christmas and birthday gifts
2 - Done - Make bramble jelly jam
3 - Done - Have a posh afternoon tea
4 - Done - Visit Balmoral castle
5 - Done - Make something in Mosaic

6 - Complete my on line photography course
7 - Done - Holiday on the Suffolk coast
8 - Done - Christmas in a holiday cottage
9 - Holiday in all of the National Parks of Great Britain
10 - Done - Upcycle my old placemats

11 - Done - Go camping again, or get rid of the camping gear
12 - Done - Have a cottage holiday on one of the Channel Islands
13 - Done - Run my own business
14 - Finish off the Explorer 232 Series
15 - Done - Visit Rosslin Chapel

16 - Done - Visit The Kelpies
17 - Lose weight, go down four dress sizes
18 - Done - Become an auntie again
19 - Done - Holiday in The New Forest
20 - Done - Go up Snowdon on the Mountain Railway

21 - Done - Replace old wonky and tatty patio in the garden
22 - Done - Decorate all of downstairs
23 - Done - Visit Warner Bros Studios - Harry Potter Tour
24 - Done - Visit Castle Howard
25 - Finish telling Will Sidney's story and decide what to do with his memorabilia

26 - Done - Visit all of the Shakespeare properties in Stratford-upon-Avon
27 - Done - Buy no clothes, shoes or bags for a year
28 - Done - Use less plastic
29 - Done - Visit Portmeirion
30 - Done - Embroider something to display in an embroidery hoop

31 - Done - Celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary
32 - Done - Visit the Longleat Festival of Light
33 - Turn one of my photos into some form of art

34 - Hold an afternoon tea party in the garden
35 - Done - Visit Kew Gardens

36 - Done - Visit The Lichfield Apartments at Shugborough Hall

37 - Done - Find a new volunteering opportunity

38 - Done - Visit Chatsworth for Christmas and the Christmas markets

39 - Done - Have a photo featured in the Isle of Wight top 10 fan photos

40 - Done - Take a break in Windsor and see the sights

41 - Done - Re-visit Warner Brothers Studios to see Gringotts Banks

42 - Cycle to Elford Walled Garden
43 - Visit Glamis Castle
44 - Visit Clevedon

45 - Visit new places in The Peak District ... Padley Gorge, Cheedale Stepping Stones, Three Shires Head, New Mills

46 - Cycle round Carsington Water

47 - Done - Read more

48 - Visit more Cotswold Gardens ... Sezincote, Bourton House, Batsford Arboretum, Cotswold Lavender and Cerney House

So ... the burning question is ... did I manage to tick any more off the list during 2021? Well it was another year that didn't go quite to plan ... courtesy of good old Covid ... but I did manage to do a couple of things ...

34 - Hold an afternoon tea party in the garden

Now this I did manage. There wasn't any sunshine, but there were two gazebos and lots of fun. We had the whole of the Wakelin family round for a get together ... Jackie, Phil, Chris, Jenny & Emma and Rachel, Tom & Erin. In spite of the weather we all managed to have a lovely time and it was so lovely to be able to all get together again, after so long ...

44 - Visit Clevedon
I didn't think we were going to manage a visit to Clevedon ... we'd been hoping to go during the summer but circumstances prevailed. We did, however, manage a visit for my birthday in November and it didn't disappoint ... we will definitely be visiting again, hopefully on a bit of a warmer day ...

Whilst these are the only additional two 'things' I can tick off my list it wasn't for want of trying ...

45 - Visit new places in The Peak District ... Padley Gorge, Cheedale Stepping Stones, Three Shires Head, New Mills

We did manage a week's holiday, with mum, in The Peak District early in the summer and we did manage to visit a few new places, including Thornbridge Hall & Gardens ...

Sadly, Martin spent most of the week in bed, not very well at all, so lots of our plans just didn't come to fruition.

48 - Visit more Cotswold Gardens ... Sezincote, Bourton House, Batsford Arboretum, Cotswold Lavender and Cerney House

We had already visited Sezincote and Cotswold Lavender in 2020 and we actually managed a very chilly visit to Bourton House Garden with mum during April. It was a bit bleak, but it was good to get out and somewhere that will definitely be on the cards to visit again, maybe in the summer ...

In addition we did manage to achieve my 49th 'thing', which was to actually both write our wills. Not the most inspiring of activities, but something we've been meaning to do for ages and just had never got round to.

By my reckoning that brings the final totals to ...

• 38 Fully completed
• 2 where more progress was made and
• 9 with no progress made during 2021

I think that I definitely need to have a close look at the 9 with no progress made as some of these have been sitting there for ages and it may be time to to decide that they aren't really something that I'm that bothered about doing.

I promise that I will come back soon and let you know what I end up deciding to do along with any new 'things' that are to take their place ... also I still have one 'thing' to come up with.

Well done if you've managed to stick with this post till the end. I know it's a long one, but just wanted really to keep myself up to speed with where I am and what I'm doing 😀

***********************************************************************************

Exploring :: Bletchley Park

Hi there everyone 😀

Before I dive into our early December break in Northumberland I just wanted to share this week’s big day out with you.

The last few weeks have been a bit stressful ... with trying to help out elderly neighbours, who are having a real rough time. I felt like we’d not really been anywhere other than next door for weeks and Martin and I were both ready for a change of scenery.

After lots of 'Googling' and not being able to find a National Trust property that took our fancy, was close enough and open … and not fancying driving all the way to the coast … we opted for a visit to Bletchley Park.

It’s somewhere I’ve fancied visiting for a while, having watched and read lots about the amazing work that was done there during the war, and whilst it wasn’t the seaside or the countryside, it just seemed to fit the bill.

We had a great journey, hardly any traffic, and It took us about an hour and a half to get there. I was definitely surprised by where it was … in my mind I assumed it would be in the middle of the countryside, away from prying eyes. That was definitely not the case … the location was not what I was expecting at all.

There’s not loads of on site parking but it was lovely and quiet and there was plenty of space for us to park close to the entrance.

Within no time we’d got our tickets, which allow revisits for the next 12 months, were in and sitting with sausage rolls and a cuppa in the cafe, having a good look at the map to see what was on offer ...

We started off with a wander round the visitor centre …

… before heading outside to follow the suggested route, which took us past some of the ‘huts’, which we would be exploring more of later …


… round the lake …

… past the gate house …

… and to the mansion house …

Even though the setting wasn’t rural it did all look kind of lovely in the sunshine … especially the mansion house …

Inside was very plush …

… especially the ballroom … which would have been filled with desks and equipment back in the day …

Back out into the sunshine we wondered round to the back of the mansion house to find the old garages, housing some of the old vehicles that would have been used around the site in its heyday ...

… and the old stables …

From here it was time to visit some of the ‘huts’ ...

... which were a lot less plush than the mansion house …

There are a good number of huts open for visiting and lots of interesting stuff to see …

There is a also an immersive cinematic exhibition in one hut dedicated to telling the secret part that Bletchley Park played in the D Day landings ...

There are more huts due to open later this spring so it could well be on the cards for a revisit ...

We decided it was time for lunch and headed back towards the mansion house and hut 4 for refreshment. Lunch wasn’t the cheapest, but it was very nice.

After lunch we left the mansion house ...

... for a walk back round the lake ... 

... with a pause for one last look back ...

... before heading into the last place left for us to see, which was the museum housed in Block B. 

In here we were able to explore different cypher machines and codes used during WW2 and got to find out more about Alan Turing's life and work, including his posthumous apology from Gordon Brown PM, in 2009, for the way he was treated after the war ... purely as a result of his sexuality, which was actually very sad.

We were pretty much back to where we'd started our visit and after a quick visit to the gift shop we headed back for the car ... but not without just having a little wander up the road to have a look at, what we can only assume, were more old huts that hadn't been included within the renovations of the site ...

We spent about four hours in the park on our visit, including a lunch stop. If you wanted to read absolutely everything on all of the displays you could easily spend longer and on a warmer day there are plenty of places to have a picnic.

On certain days of the week it's also possible to book an afternoon tea in the mansion house, which would be a real treat, but sadly we visited on the wrong day of the week ... maybe next time 😀

If you get chance for a visit both Martin and I would certainly recommend it ... it was definitely worth the trip 😀

***********************************************************************************