Huurrraaayyyy............ Holiday Time

Amblealice lives in Northumberland and works at the Alnwick Garden Mushy !
She'd be the person to ask !!!

~not sure if you will be up to a lot of walking but if you are up to it there are Bamburgh,Dunstanburgh,Warkworth and Lindisfarne castles as well as Alnwick.In Alnwick itself the gardens of course as well as the book exchange are worth a visit.
Also the Roman wall, the Chillingham White herd,Cragside, and of course the Metro Centre and Newcastle for shopping.
Near Amble Alice they still smoke kippers at Craster and fish and chips at Seahouses are always great!
I also love Morpeth for its quaint shops.Used to live a few miles away from there.
If you can do any of those and the weather is good you should have a great time.I hope that you do and enjoy some fresh sea air!Sometimes very fresh!
You might get to see a red squirrel~when my neice got married last year she said they had red squirrels in the grounds ~I can't remember the name of the Country house hotel where it was held and it was early January and a bit chilly so we never saw any~ but Amble Alice may know where you can see them.
The border between Engand and Scotland runs through Berwick and we had a nice trip there last year but that might be a bit far?
Have a great time and take lots of photos!

Arlene
We are staying in morpeth so looking forward to that ,and def the smoked kippers,Hope to catch Amblealice at the garden if i can will do all castles and lindsfarne,and plenty of walking hopefully need to loose a few pounds .
Thanks a lot for the info .M

~Oh I envy you!
My sister works in Morpeth at one of the Medical Practices.
I am not sure if the hardware shop is still open as it is owned by a couple of old sisters but that is a blast from the past !
We bought my dinner service there when we got married and there is an interior decorator called Tallantyre at the top of the main street and you should see the paintings they stock~ if you are into that sort of thing.
Last year the town was badly flooded and I think that some shops were closed when we were there but hopefully they may be open now.
I hope you have good weather so that you can get out and about~
Arlene x
nb I think there is still a market on Sunday mornings down on the Quayside under the Bridge and of course the Blinking Eye is worth seeing and going across as well as the Baltic Centre etc.

That,s handy i have to go to a med practice to have some stitches out from me op next wed .

~unfortunately Joan keeps their records on computer but I am sure you will find everyone friendly and willing to help.
There are one or two nice pubs where they serve meals~the one opposite the Castellated building that used to be the Police Headquarters serves nice food.
if it had been earlier in the year you could have had a trip out to the Farnes to see the Puffins.
Definitely going to do that next year.

Thats a shame our Daisy would love to have seen some puffins .
Got the camera on charge 5gig sd card ready, about 5,000 photos,
Now i have heard all this i cant wait to get there .

Ooooh Lindisfarne is lovely but you have to watch the tide when you go across the causeway or you could get stuck on the island for a few hours, the mead is a lovely drink too, we liked Seahouses that was a nice place and if you get the chance go on a boat trip to see the seals, well worth it.
So is Alnwick Castle the one used in the Harry Potter films then? When we were in Scotland we went to see the viaduct with the train that is in those films.

~there is also the Kielder forest/reservoir where they have a bird of Prey centre.
I think you can still go out to the Farnes to see the seals~they do trips from Seahouses.

~Yes Bob that is why Alnwick is so popular these days! There also some nice places to eat too!

Where abouts is that viaduct Bobg??

Well....I don't need to add anything much....everyone else has said it. Of course there is National Trust properties, Cragside and Wallington Hall, both well worth a visit. Look forward to meeting Mush and Daisie....There is a special Roots and Shoots event at The Garden on Monday morning from 10.30 where visitors get the chance to look behind the scenes at the education veg garden and polytunnel.....you might even get a few freebies. I will be helping with some of the tours so it would be great if you could come.
There are plenty of good hostelries in the area too. oh and a visit to Alnmouth is a must....it has a lovely eustury which is visible from the main road.....how long you coming for? you need at least 2 weeks to see everything.
Hope the sun shines for you and hope to see you on Monday.:))

the viaduct Bob is talking about is in Glenfinnan.

Only a week i,m afraid but will cram in as much as possible
How good is this a 2 in 1 web site gardening and travel !!

~We are off out soon as it is my son's birthday today.
He was born in Ashington hospital so is definitely a Geordie too!
if you are anywhere near St James Park please go in and box Mike Ashley's ears for me and tell him to get on with selling the club asap.They need someone who knows what they are doing!Now!
I am sure Alice will be able to help you but if there is anything I can do to help please ask!
The Lindisfarne mead and ginger wine are worth buying and if you get into Fenwicks they stock a good selection plus my daughter bought a local made rum from there.

~Mushy you need more than a week.!..Northumberland is England's best kept secret!
I am thinking of coming up before the weather turns so might also see you Alice!

That would be great Arlene!!!

Crumbs only a week!....thats a shame... Don't waste time going into Newcastle....its the same as any other big city. There's plenty to do and see in Northumberland itself.:)

~I do love Newcastle~ Alice but yes if you only have a week get out into the countryside.
My mother in law used to live just outside Newcastle itself and we stayed there for years on our trips up so we do know the city very well.~it's home from home!
If you are going up by car watch out for the Angel of the North.

No we tend to keep clear of cities like country side more.
I have just seen my dark cannas are about to flower properly the day after we go. Typical ...

~we have spent 25+ years of school holidays Easter.Summer and Christmas visiting the north east and you can't always drag your kids out to the countryside when it's wet and cold and blowing a gale in December so we have spent many happy hours in the Hancock museum etc~ You can't always choose the weather unfortunately!
I am hoping for a nice autumn this year when we come so that we can get out and about!

Mushyb the Viaduct they use in the H/P movies is at Glenfinnan on the road to isles in Scotland, between Fort William and Mallaig, if you got to my pictures I will add a couple of pics, one is looking towards the viaduct complete with steam train and the other is as I have turned 180 degrees and looking the opposite way towards Loch Shiel, the view is stunning.

Mushybanna. Just read this blog whilst looking for the one on tree ferns. Did you enjoy your week in Northumberland, you never said? I am intrigued because I am a walker/gardener/biker myself. We have been to quite a few places in the UK, but only had a brief stay near Hadrian's Wall. Our favourite walking area is the Hope Valley near Hope/Castleton/Edale in the Derbyshire Peak District. It's wonderful there.

Aitchw
We absolutely loved it
Warkworth castle and beach were excellent. and can recommend it Alnwick is lovely but expensive for what it is ..Defiantly going back..Peak district is fab too
we went 2 years ago and maybe going back this year too..:o)))

Mushybanna. Might see you there then. It's my favourite walking area in this country!