Joni's Jottings

Our last coastal visit was to Bamburgh Castle. Known as Bebbenburgh for its first 1000 years, Bamburgh was a Celtic fort, then an Anglo-Saxon fortress which was destroyed by the Vikings early in the 10th century.  Bernard Cornwell’s Last Kingdom series features the Anglo-Saxon version, built by Ida the Flamebearer and named for his wife. A … Read more

Wednesday morning was idle time, doing laundry and catching up on emails, as we waited for the tide to turn. Our destination this day was the island of Lindisfarne, largest of the Farne islands.  Lindisfarne’s priory was notoriously sacked by Norse raiders in 793, the first large scale Viking attack on a Christian church – … Read more

Tuesday’s bus ferried us to Alnwick Castle, seat of the Duke of Northumberland, and the The Alnwick Garden (“Anick”) a pet project of the Duchess.  We took advantage of several fun and informative tours and spent a most enjoyable day. One of the tours focused on the many films in which Alnwick appears, including Downton … Read more

On Monday we took the bus from Seahouses to the tiny village of Craster (south of Seahouses) for a walk north along the Northumberland Coast Path. The first leg of the walk is dominated by Dunstanburgh Castle, once a formidable fortress held by John of Gaunt, heir to the throne of Edward III (who had … Read more

Sunday was bright and the seas were mild so the boats were running out of Seahouses Harbor. We  took a cruise ‘round the Farne Islands. There are fifteen islands when the tide is in, and another fifteen appear when the tide is out, which makes for treacherous waters and many lighthouses. But people come to Farne … Read more