Today was our second day on the Northumbrian coast, and we had a bit of a plan in mind. One that was just a little exciting… PUFFINS!

Those of you that have been avid readers of this blog will know that whilst in Iceland a couple of years ago, I became a tad obsessed with puffins. Well, all going to plan it was off to visit more. So off we jumped in the car, and headed to the nearby seaside village of Seahouses.

Seahouses is the closest point to the nearby Farne Islands, home to quite a bit of seabird life, but this time of year is Puffin breeding season, so the main island Inner Farne is usually teeming with the little rascals. Unfortunately we were at the tail end of the breeding season, and as they arrived on the earlier side this year, many had disappeared. But word was that there was still quite a few around, so win!

On it was to our trusty vessel Glad Tidings IV with a bunch of others out for a tour of the islands and the opportunity to jump off at Inner Farne. Some very choppy waters greeted us, but Kate’s stomach was a trooper and it was uneventful in the best way possible (not so for a couple of other passengers).

The islands have various small buildings on them, but none are inhabited as such. They were in days gone by by lighthouse keepers and the like, but these days not so much. Inner Farne has a dedicated group of rangers, but otherwise, it was a tour of the islands to see what we could see.

 

And we were in luck! Puffins! There were some small groups chilling out in the waters that we saw early on. It actually seemed that many were disappearing every minute, as you would see one of the cheeky birds zoom by with an eel or some fish in its beak.

As we were getting about the islands, some small groups of seals could be found hanging about too. Oh the life of a sea creature hey?

After getting about the islands for a bit, it was time to jump off the boat. We got to land on Inner Farne for about an hour to see what we could see.

Sadly, not many puffins were on land… it was all about looking up and seeing them zoom past, usually too quick for the camera. I did see this little fella just hanging about for a bit, and he was nice enough to pose (I am sure a puffin expert will see this blog and tell me he is a she).

 

As we explored the island, there was a bunch of other birdlife hanging about. My knowledge of anything non-puffin is a bit limited, so maybe I saw something rare? Who knows. But it was fun to see them all chilling out on the island with their little ones.

In no time at all it was back on the boat to head into shore. On the way we saw a few dolphins (or porpoise… it seems the jury is out) along side the boat. Unfortunately in all the pushing and shoving of people on the boat to get a glimpse, there was no cool photo. Doesn’t matter.

And with that we were back! It was only early afternoon, so we decided to head out on another close journey, one that we had originally planned for the next day. But the tides were favourable, so we decided to head off to Lindisfarne, or Holy Island as it is known. This island is accessible by a causeway that is governed by the tide, and as luck would have it, we had a change to get on and off the island with our car. So off we headed!

As we approached it turned out that it was not just any day we had decided to visit. Rather it was some special viking day, as the many youngsters (and many adults) in viking costume attested to as we drove in. Suddenly I was very confused if I was in England or Iceland again.

We had a few hours to explore the island, so it was off to see the main two features… the priory and the castle. First stop was the priory, were many of the ruins still stood. This was quite a famous religious location, but it seemed today was all about the vikings taking over, as the priory was the site for many costumed folk. I blame Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones personally.

So we looked about the site and were also treated to some displays of historical reenactment. It was a bit to kitschy for me, so I went for a wander up the nearby hill to look over the island. On my way I came across this lovely fella hanging out on the side of the path. He was all a bit taken aback by the craziness too I think.

On the hill there were amazing views of the castle, nearby Bamburgh and out across Northumbria.

I also had a view of the crazy viking battle that was taking place in the priory. Oh those crazy role playing folk.

We had not too much time before we were to be stuck on the island, so we did a quick wander to the castle. We didn’t have time to head  right in, but to approach it was pretty amazing, all menacing there on the rock.

 

 

We did have time for some cheesy photos though. Of course we did you all say. There was time for some normal ones too though.

And with that, it was time to get off the island while we could and head back to Bamburgh. Our last night in England before heading to Scotland. Woo!

 

Next morning, nice and dry again, it was time to keep heading north on our way to Scotland. Given it was a few hundred miles away, we decided to spend a few days making our way. Kate had a plan, which was to make our way to Bamburgh, about 200 miles away for a couple of evenings, where we could checkout the Northumbrian coast and visit some historic places along the way.

So after a big brekky it was in the car and away! We didn’t get far though, making a quick stop by the church in Chesterfield for a quick photo. The pic probably shows why we wanted to make a quick stop. Nope, that is not a weird photo illusion… the spire really is that wonky. It looks quite cool and it amazing that a church would allow something so distinctive to be built. But they did, and as a result we made a visit.

With photo done, it was on the M1 and heading north. There wasn’t much to report on the way. We got to see many of the wind farms that are dotted all over the UK. Why we haven’t gone with them at home I will never know.

On our travels we also made our way past the city of Newcastle. Although we didn’t go into the centre, we did see their main attraction from the motorway. The Angel of the North is a public art work that overlooks Newcastle and the A1 motorway. I only got a quick chance to snap a pic out the window. It is the second time I have seen it from the motorway, and yet still don’t feel compelled to get closer. I’m sure it is more impressive up close.

We kept on trucking, but not to Bamburgh, rather to our main destination, Alnwick Castle. About 1000 years old, Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in the UK (behind Windsor Castle) and is in amazing condition. In fact much is still intact, and as a result is still a main residence for the Percy Family, as well as the site of many films and TV programs (one of which, apparently Downton Abbey) was being filmed when we visited. The biggest drawcard though would be as home of Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films.

So rather than just leave it as a castle to casually wander, it is full of tours and costumed characters. Thankfully not too much, so it still retains the dignity of a historic site. But we still took the opportunity to get to see all the spots where Harry and co got up to shenanigans.

The folk obviously didn’t waste the opportunity to have their own Harry Potter characters wandering around. In fact there was a not too horrible Harry and Hagrid entertaining the crowds.

The other concessions to the crowds was to have some some more entertaining things for the kids. One was the chance to dress up like knights/princesses/loons. Of course we took the opportunity to do so, what did you expect?

As well as this there was the Dragon’s Quest, slightly kitschy, slightly dodgy, “spooky” area. As we made our way through dark corridors and mirror halls, things would jump out at us. I will admit, that something got both Kate and I at different times, but it was a bit lame. Thankfully it was one of the few things to detract from the dignity of the castle. But of course it was still kinda fun.

The rain began to settle in, so we took that opportunity to finish up. A quick drive and we were in the seaside town of Bamburgh, our home for the next couple of nights. Even though it was pouring, we decided to wander to the nearby beach and Bamburgh Castle. Bamburgh Castle is also owned by the same family as Alnwick, but sadly we didn’t have a chance to pop in and say hello. Rather we just wandered about. It looked quite amazing and dramatic on the hill overlooking the sea.

It was a tad windy and rainy down on the beach. Hopefully I do get a chance to have a dip in the next couple of days!

And with this, my time at the Uni of Warwick was sadly over.

Yep, 5 weeks had disappeared in the blink of an eye. It was a great time that was spent there and my hosts Jane and Sara were incredible. I feel like during the time I have made quite a bit of headway into my research, and have plenty to go on with, so all in all it was a very fruitful time.

But that’s work! With a few weeks of leave officially arriving before I get back to work, Kate and I left the uni late in the arvo, and started heading north. Our plan was to head to the town of Chesterfield, which was nearby to Chatsworth House, a historic stately home, where we had tickets for the last night of the Proms extravaganza.

The drive up was relatively painless… all motorway, although we were getting used to the endless roadworks and traffic by the end of it. But with plenty of time we had checked in to our hotel and were making our way to the venue. Sadly, this is when a real English summer decided to arrive.

Everyone was saying that the hot summer was too good to be true, and as it turns out the night we really could have done with some nice weather, the clouds rolled in and the rains came. You see, the Proms were being held in the surrounding grounds… perfect for a pleasant summers evening, but not so much for a rainy one. So with rain jackets and brollies in check, we braved the rains and settled in on the grass, getting ready for the symphonic extravaganza.

The setting under normal circumstances would have been ideal. Historic homestead in the background, easy access to Pimms and champers, and the UK Symphonic Orchestra banging out the classics. Indeed everyone was taking it very seriously, with many parties bring out tables, chairs, food, and even the odd candelabra.

So what followed was 2.5 hours of orchestral classics. Even though it is not typically my thing, I knew virtually all the pieces. We even got some low brow classics like the main Star Wars theme. They must have known I was coming.

Even though it was still pouring with rain, we finished with some fireworks to celebrate the last night of the Proms. Me, I celebrated the wet, but fun, night out by getting dry.

The weekend arrived and it was time for more adventure! This time believe it or not it wasn’t back to London, rather we were heading east, toward the Norfolk coast for a change of scenery. To the beach! In England! Who would have thought! But it was also the locale to catch up with some more of Kate’s family which was as good an excuse as any to head to the coast.

Rather than head all the way over in the one day, our destination was the small township of Ely. Ely is famous for a couple of things. Firstly, it has a very well renowned cathedral, that whenever I mentioned to anyone here at Warwick that we were heading to Ely, they always said “to see the cathedral?”. They also added Ely’s second somewhat famous attraction “… and Oliver Cromwell’s house?”.

Off we headed, with our trusty GPS Emily to lead us on our way. No, we didn’t name the GPS, rather, she was set to the “Emily” setting for voice, so Emily she came to be known. As Kate was doing all the driving (being the only named driver), I formulated my own quite fun game with Emily which was for me to use our UK map book to try and work out which way she was going to lead us (I know I know… I am speaking about her like she was a real person in the car… well part of the fun/joke was that we started to speak about her as if she was in the car with us). I probably got much more enjoyment out of this game than any normal person would and Kate was just spending half the trip laughing at me as I would get firstly exasperated at her choice of route, and then resigned to the fact that it probably was the best way after all.

Anyway in just a couple of hours we arrived at bustling Ely. It seems lots of folk like it as a destination on a weekend as the town was busy with people wandering the centre of town. The first of the (in)famous sites we saw was Oliver Cromwell’s house. Apparently he lived here for a bit in the mid-1600’s.

 

The house looked quaint enough. With a somewhat pricey entrance fee, we were not convinced it was really worth too much of a look. We found it much more interesting to just take some cheesy photos outside and that was going to do us.

In just a few minutes walk we came across the very impressive Ely Cathedral. The cathedral towered above everyone, but we decided to leave that until later and wander the farmers market for a makeshift lunch to kick things off. With our nice selection of local bread, cheese, fruit, and brownies, we found a nice shady spot in the cathedral gardens and enjoyed some lunch. Mmm… sometimes simplest is the best. Cheese tastes best when it has come straight from the cow (well, maybe with 18 months of aging in between) and the brownie has come straight from the oven.

Rather than head back into the cathedral, the sunny weather was too good to be indoors, so a general wander of the town was in order. We headed for the waterfront… no, we were not yet at the beach, rather Ely is on the River Great Ouse, and it seemed everyone was happy to be perched on the banks, enjoying the music in the park. The music was OK, but our leftover brownie was even better.

So with a wander via some antique shopping for Kate, we made our way back to the cathedral. I have seen quite a few now in my time travelling Europe, but this one was pretty impressive. It was begun to be built 1000 years ago, taking several centuries to finish. But that time shows, as for a small town, it is a VERY impressive cathedral. Inside the stained glass was amazing, and just the sheer size of it was pretty incredible.

 

I always fixate on the roofs and the intricate work on them. It begged the question with Kate, “how on earth do they get up there and clean it?!”.

While wandering around I came across the resting place of this dude. I should have taken a closer look at who he was, but I couldn’t resist taking a photo. He looked very comfy resting there. I guess if you are going to be there for eternity, why not perch yourself all comfortable like to say hello to everyone.

Before we knew it the cathedral was close to closing up for the day and we decided to head to our lodgings for the evening, in the even smaller township of Little Downham, and the local hotel The Anchor. It was pleasant, and we spent our night relaxing with a sneaky cider.

Next morning after brekky, it was time to head further north-east-ish to hit the Norfolk coast. Our first stop was the small town of Holkham, where there was a beach (a real beach!) and a historic house called Holkham Hall. But given it was so nice, we decided to head to the beach first for a wander.

It seemed that was the thing to do, as there was steady streams of people making the walk down to the beach. Being low tide it seemed to take forever to reach the water, but when we did it was quite lovely. Certainly not the same beach vibe as back home (or most places for that matter), even though it was warm, it seemed being at the beach was more about sitting on the beach, or playing with your dogs, or walking, than swimming. In fact there was only a handful of brave souls in the water. Which was surprising, as the water was quite pleasant in.

We ended up strolling for a couple of hours, and in the end decided not to visit Holkham Hall. Rather we wandered back to the car and headed to the nearby Blakeney Hotel for a catch up with some more of Kate’s family.

Again, it was a lovely way to spend the day… catching up with family that we don’t get to see very often. The afternoon was spent chatting away, and having some drinks to keep cool.

In the blink of an eye the day was drawing to a close. With a few us needing to drive a few hours, it was time to say farewell fr the time being, and head back to Warwick. On the way Emily and I battled our best routes. But as always, she won.

One thing about being here in the UK is that you can just say “Hey! It’s Friday! How about we go hang about a castle and then head to the pub?”.

So that’s what we did last Friday night. Kenilworth Castle (that had a brief appearance in a previous blog entry) is just down the road, so when it was time to knock off work for the week, we jumped in the car and 10 minutes later were wandering around the grounds of Kenilworth Castle.

Built in the 12th century, the castle is in a bit of a state of ruin, but is still pretty cool to wander around. To think that parts are 800 years old is always a bit of a spin out. Even more when you think it is just down the road and you can have a casual wander around after work.

There is also a pretty cool Elizabethan garden that Kate rates pretty highly, which on a glorious English Friday evening, was not too bad to hang about in. Kate certainly looked the part hanging about there too.

But just across the road, there was a place just as good to hang about on the sunny evening… a different castle… called the Queen and Castle! There they had a few more mod cons, like cider and food. So all in all, not a bad set of castle visits for the evening 🙂