Mini-Adventure

Before our Big Adventure we thought we’d have a Mini-Adventure. A quick trip up to Northumberland. We’ve not been here since Matthew was just months old. It’s a beautiful area of the UK- often wild and windswept but steeped in history and filled with amazing wildlife.

On the way north we stopped in Durham to visit the cathedral and to see the castle. Built originally to house the body of St Cuthbert by monks who had fled Lindisfarne due to Viking raids, Durham Cathedral and Castle now form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Durham is Timmy’s new favourite city, with its winding streets and the river running through.

From there we continued up to Alnwick, our base for the week. Thursday we took a boat trip out from Seahouses to the Farne Islands to see the grey seals. Sadly the islands are closed to landings because of a serious outbreak of avian flu which has killed thousands of birds. But even from the boat we had some great bird encounters and wonderful views of the seals. The UK is home to 80% of the population of European Grey Seal, and thousands of them live on this rugged coastline. My photos are put to shame by Timmy’s, so I’ve borrowed a couple from his Instagram!

We were joined for lunch by some very friendly starlings!

As well as the boat trip we took in 3 castles: Alnwick, Dunstanborough and Prestwick Tower, a Pele Tower we came across by accident!

Friday was a cold and blustery day, with a 4m swell, so we were very pleased we’d already done the boat trip! It was just the day for a visit to a castle (well, given that this particular tower was still standing, and in fact still inhabited!) Banborough Castle has a history reaching right back to being a hunter-gatherer summer residence. Used by the Romans, raided by the Vikings, built on by the Normans and then expanded and preserved down the generations since… the archeology is still ongoing.

Saturday saw us on Lindisfarne, the Holy Island with a priory build by St Aidan and presided over by St Cuthbert. A place of pilgrimage for many, and the place of origin of the Lindisfarne Gospels. Though it was busy, when you find yourself a quiet corner you can definitely see the attraction for the monks… it’s a place of raw natural beauty where you can get a real sense of the power of creation and of the One who created it.

We had managed to get tickets for a family archeological dig taking place in the grounds of the priory. Part of an ongoing attempt to discover what happened on the island after the Viking raids, this year the dog has unearthed a lime kiln, walls to an as-yet undetermined building and a number of name stones (a pre-curser to grave stones). The star find so far was this beautiful glass top to a gaming piece.

And now we are heading back for quick visits with grandparents, and to do our final packing, before we head off to South America!