Tag: Bamburgh

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The Mighty Hike

Posted on by Jackie B

Sorry it’s been quite a while but I really need to get back into blogging!

I had a lovely day on Saturday. Daughter got a place on the McMillan Mighty Hike along the Northumberland Coastal Path. A place became available at the last minute when a friend’s sister had to drop out. It’s a 26 mile walk from Alnwick Pastures (by Alnwick Castle) to Bamburgh, via the coastal villages of Alnmouth, Howick, Craster, Embleton, Newton by-the-Sea, Beadnell, and Seahouses. The route took in some of our most beautiful coastal views.

The walkers were raising funds for the MacMillan charity, which provides support for cancer patients and their families, including specialist nurses. It’s a really worthwhile cause.  The route soon filled up with walkers wearing the charity’s distinctive green and white T-shirts. Around 2000 people were participating.

It was a gorgeous sunny day, but with a nice breeze to keep the walkers cool. The plan was to keep track of daughter using WhatsApp Location Finder so I could meet up with them. This backfired as the mobile signal is not good along parts of the coast! I was looking after her little Labrador, Wren. 

The walk has a staggered start and daughter and friends were setting off just after 7 am. I was supposed to meet them later on. Daughter would collect her dog and veer off the path onto the beach so she could have a nice walk. We met up at Embleton Golf Course, where I parked near the path where the walkers were coming past and handed over the dog, then drove to Newton by-the-Sea.

 Somehow we missed each other at that next rendezvous point as I was unable to track her location but probably also because I was distracted by the view.

Newton Beach is one of my favourites and I spent so much time there as a child. Today it was at its best and I enjoyed sitting in the sunshine watching that view while I had a coffee and my picnic lunch. Although there were only tiny waves there was enough wind for the sailors: there were a couple of Laser dinghies getting up quite a speed and some larger yachts sailing past outside the bay.

Consequently, the dog got a much longer walk before I eventually caught up with them at Seahouses ! I was so glad I’d brought some water and a bowl because Wren was pretty thirsty after covering such a long distance. Even though I’d packed snacks and drinks the only other support I needed to give our walkers was to pick up daughter’s walking boots when she changed into trainers – it saved her carrying the heavier boots in her backpack. The  event was very well organised with lots of refreshment stops providing drinks and food.

The last 3 miles of the hike between Seahouses and Bamburgh are the toughest. The imposing Bamburgh Castle is visible throughout this stretch and never seems to get any closer. That’s got to feel even worse if you are getting a bit sore and tired, even though the route is fairly flat.

Eventually they arrived at Bamburgh.

The group made it in good time, completing the 26 miles in around 8 hours. At the finish, on Bamburgh cricket field, the walkers were presented with a medal and a glass of non-alcoholic fizz. There was plenty of food available too.

I waited in a nearby car park where there is my favourite view of Bamburgh Castle from the north

Wren was delighted to meet up with her Mum, who was feeling slightly sore but suitably proud of her achievement – She reckoned she hasn’t walked more than 8 miles in one go before this.

As I drove her back to Alnwick to retrieve her car she shared how much fun, but also how emotional the day had been. As they set off U2’s Beautiful Day was playing – this was one of her Dad’s favourite songs and was played at his funeral. She said it felt like a sign that he was watching over her and she’d be ok. With that and the very personal messages walkers had written on their numbers about why they were supporting the charity, there were a few tears on the way round.

Well done to all the walkers on the Mighty Hike (both on the 26 miler and the shorter 13 mile version held the following day)

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Coastal Capers

Posted on by Jackie B

Here in Northumberland we have the most beautiful coastline, with glorious sandy beaches, expansive mud flats and romantic rocky shorelines. Somehow I can never stay away from the sea for long so we had a couple of trips along the coast this week. It’s so much quieter since autumn arrived and the tourists left.

The first took us to Sugar Sands. which I’ve blogged about before. It’s a hidden gem, reachable down a gated farm track. It was pretty deserted apart from a few seabirds and a lone seal that came in quite close to shore.

It was day of showery rain with sunny intervals which led to some moody clouds.

Buddy and K dodged the rain and had a good walk.

Our second trip began early in the morning and took us to the north of Budle Bay. We parked by a gate with a good view towards the coastal mud flats

K and Buddy set off for a walk, but before long I had some visitors.

They soon lost interest and wandered off.

We at the peak of the bird migration season right now and the coastal flats and fields are filling up with geese and ducks. You always hear them first, then look up to see the V-shaped formations or skeins of geese far overhead.

We’ve seen Brent, Barnacle and Pink-footed geese recently. They have been spending the summer in Siberia and Northern Scandinavia and have arrived to spend the winter here.

My next visitor was a hare, than ran up the field towards me.

Hares are common here and we see them often. They are easily distinguished from rabbits by their larger size, black-tipped ears and because they run rather than hop. Hares also have the most beautiful big hazel eyes when you see them close up. They seem to stare straight through you and it gives then a strange mystical quality. It is no surprise therefore that the hare features strongly in myth and legend. It is associated with witchcraft, fertility and the moon in folklore from many parts of the world. It is one of my favourite animals.

I also saw this young roe deer.

The roe deer is also very common in Northumberland. They seem to be present in even the smallest piece of woodland. We see them more often in winter when they venture into the fields to feed. They can be quite a hazard on the roads at night. Several times I’ve had to brake hard to avoid hitting one. I’ve learnt to drive off very slowly and carefully when this happens as there is always another one! This one eventually left and bounded through the undergrowth on the field margin.

We set off back down the coast, next stopping at Budle Bay. The tide was out leaving a huge area of mud.

This is an important site for birds, especially waders and waterfowl, that feed on invertebrates in the mud.

We saw various ducks and geese, swans, gulls, oystercatchers and redshanks. There were huge numbers of shelducks further away. From Budle we headed for Bamburgh andNorthumberland White Hart Rock.

The image of the deer is repainted regularly. Looking south, Bamburgh Castle looked stunning.

Out to sea, Inner Farne was clearly visible.

Our final stop was at Howick. The sea was calmer than it had been, so we did wonder if we would be able to spot any dolphins, but there were none about. We enjoyed watching a group of gannets feeding.

It had turned into a beautiful day. It’s such a privilege to live in such a stunning part of the world.

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A Posh Picnic

Posted on by Jackie B

I seem to have lost my blogging mojo recently, but had to post about my lovely evening last night. We were celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary yesterday. In more normal times we would have gone out for a nice meal somewhere, but with all the restaurants still closed we had to be a bit more inventive. Some places are operating a takeaway service so we ordered food from The Potted Lobster in Bamburgh. It’s a lovely place that we’ve visited before, serving delicious food, with an emphasis on fish and shellfish. Their takeaway service is operating at weekends and the menu and ordering details are on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

We packed drinks, glasses and cutlery, picked up our order and drove to a lovely spot overlooking the sea and the Farne Islands to enjoy the view while we ate. You can just make out on the horizon what appeared to be parts of an oil rig or drilling platform being towed by a tug.

There were also stunning views of Bamburgh Castle

We unpacked our posh picnic and it certainly didn’t disappoint! Everyone was well packed in mostly recyclable boxes. We started with chilli squid and spicy pheasant, the moved on to the main course: lobster salad and cod goujons. The portions were generous, so I saved most of my dessert for later. I had passionfruit Eton mess and K had strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake. All very delicious.

We sat and enjoyed the evening sunshine. It was a far cry from the weather earlier in the week. Then the view was obscured by thick coastal fog, which we call sea fret round here.

What a lovely way to celebrate our anniversary.

Have you found alternative ways of celebrating special occasions during lockdown?

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Blue Sky in Bamburgh

Posted on by Jackie B

It was a glorious day today: sunny and almost warm! We headed up the coast to Bamburgh, with Son at the wheel. He’s learning to drive, so it’s a good way for him to practice.

Bamburgh is a pretty village, with plenty of pubs and cafes to visit. There is a historic church and The Grace Darling Museum. Grace was a local heroine, daughter of the lighthouse keeper on Longstone, one of the Farne Islands, just offshore here. In 1838 father and daughter famously rowed out in high seas to rescue the passengers and crew of a stricken vessel, the Forfarshire. The village is dominated by the magnificent Bamburgh Castle.

We drove along The Wynding (the lane leading to Bamburgh Golf Club), where there is car parking, and stopped at the end of the bay, by Stag Rock.

No one knows why there is a white deer painted on the rocks here – there are lots of stories. It gets a regular coat of paint to keep it looking pristine. In the distance you can see Holy Island and Lindisfarne Castle.

There are usually eider ducks swimming by the rocks here, and oystercatchers feeding. In summer the terns that nest on the Farne hunt small fish here. Occasionally you can see dolphins further out. Today’s sign of spring was the sound of skylarks soaring above the fields behind here.

Son and K took Buddy for a walk from here.They had plenty of space – Bamburgh Beach is huge and stunning.

The Farnes looked really close today.

While they walked, I knitted. I’m working on brioche wrist warmers. I couldn’t have asked for a better view.

Any more signs of spring where you are?