Travel

We left Durham mid-afternoon on Sunday, headed for a rendesvous with friends at Norwich train station. But our train leaving Durham was just enough late (damage on the line from the storm earlier that week)  that we missed our connection at Peterborough and arrived later than planned. Fortunately, we were able to reach Alison so … Read more

On Saturday we said farewell to Northumberland, heading south from Alnmouth train station to Durham, whose historic heart is located within a bend of the River Wear. Our B&B (appropriately named “Castle View”) was in a quiet residential district, on top of the hill opposite the castle. Durham has a LOT of hills. The peninsula … Read more

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