Northumbria, UK, July 2006

We met in London and drove north stopping at an English Heritage property along the way: the Elizabethan Hardwick Hall.  We stayed at The Shieling, a modern, bright, detached house on the grounds of Eastfield Hall.  See www.holiday-shieling.co.uk for directions and details.  Lovely views towards Coquet Island and Warkworth Castle.

From there we went to Craigside Garden (National Trust) and Edlingham Church and Castle.  The coastal walk to Dunstanburg Castle and along the Bamburgh beach (recently named the best beach in the UK) to Bamburgh Castle was nearby.  The village of Warkworth with its restaurants, shops and river Coquet was only 2 miles away.

Another day we went to Tarne Island, reserved for a wide variety of birds and seals but the birds were incredibly tolerant of spectators and photographers.

Another day we went to Holy Island with its priory ruins and walked around the island and along the fortifications at Berwick-Upon-Tweed.

On our return to London, we stopped at the Yorkshire Sculpture Garden.