Blog Archives - Jenny Wren Crafts

29th June 2021

6/29/2021

Went to Lindisfarne this morning across the causeway. Not quite the magical experience I was expecting. It's basically a tourist attraction with hoards of people trailing round which is a great shame. I got there 30 minutes after the causeway opened after high tide and the huge car was 3/4 full. There is a proper village there which I hadn't realised with pubs, hotels and gift shops. I bought some mead wine which is made on the island. I walked round the priory ruins and St Mary's church and looked across to the castle.

After leaving Lindisfarne I drove a bit further north to Berwick upon Tweed and stopped off at Spittal which is on the south side of the Tweed estuary. There is a good beach there where a few people were using kite buggies. Looked good fun.

28th June 2021

6/28/2021

Went to Seahouses this morning on the local bus. It is quite a busy place which does lots of boat trips to the Farne Islands. The tide was out so the harbour was not looking its best. Judging by the amount of fishing gear on the piers it seems that a lot of commercial fishing goes on. I also saw the local lifeboat which needed a big tracked vehicle to launch it. Weather was nice and warm so had a good walk around and a cup of coffee before coming back as I had work and a Teams meeting this afternoon.

Lovely sky tonight at about 10.15pm.

27th June 2021

6/27/2021

Weather much better today, lovely and warm and sunny and wind had dropped. Got a ticket for Bamburgh Castle which is about 5 miles further up the coast. I have always wanted to go there and it did not disappoint.

The castle is perched on a cliff top overlooking the sea with stunning views of the beautiful stretch of beach down below and the Farne Islands just off the shore. If the pictures of the car, gun and aeroplane engine seem a bit out of place the castle is owned by the Armstrong family. It was purchased in 1894 by William George Armstrong a wealthy inventor and industrialist who designed and built hydraulic cranes, bridges, guns and ships. He also built Cragside as his family home which was the first house in the world to be lit by hydro electricity and is now owned by the National Trust. His company eventually became Armstrong Whitworth and then Armstrong Siddeley, well known for the manufacture of cars and aircraft engines, and later became part of Rolls Royce.

26th June 2021

6/26/2021

Not much to report for the last 2 days. The wind picked up overnight on Thursday and was quite strong. I had arranged to meet a colleague from work who lives in this area on Friday morning at Carnaby's, Brownieside, on the A1. It was very nice and we had some delicious cake and coffee. Weather wet and windy so went back and did some work for the rest of the afternoon. Watched The Commitments at night which I haven't seen for ages. Good film.

Today has been less windy but has rained most of the day. Went to find the local Lidl which was in Alnwick and did some shopping. Thought I might have a walk round the town or even visit the castle but it was just too wet and miserable so came back and did some more work and some crocheting. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

24th June 2021

6/24/2021

Moved on to destination number four today and as far north as I am going, Beadnell Bay in Northumberland. Site is just outside Beadnell village and is surrounded by countryside and stone walls and is right on the coast. Just cross the road, go through a gate, down a very short path and you are on the beach. Tide was in when I took the photos.

Weather sunny and warm so thought I would take a walk into the village and try to find the harbour. Stopped off at the village shop to get a postcard to send to my step mother Shelagh which I wrote and posted. Found the harbour and some more little beaches and walked back. Could see clouds gathering in the distance and not long after I got back it started to rain. First rain I have had since I set out nearly 2 weeks ago.

23rd June 2021

6/23/2021

Last day here today and not a lot to report. Spent most of the morning getting my tooth x-rayed, drilled and re-constructed. (Filled would be an understatement). Weather was a bit cloudy so didn't miss much anyway.

Had 2 Teams calls this afternoon which was tricky with a frozen mouth and weather brightened up.

Missed the dolphins swimming past. I wondered why everyone had suddenly got binoculars out and by the time I realised I had missed them. Took one last photo of the lighthouse in the evening sun.

22nd June 2021

6/22/2021

Bit of a disaster this morning when I broke off a piece of tooth eating breakfast. It was quite a large piece, about the size of a child's milk tooth and it exposed the nerve. Phoned the local dentist who said I needed to call 111 to get booked in at the dental hospital. Had to wait a long time for 111 to answer and they took the details and said someone would call back within 24 hours with an appointment. Great, I thought, that's today gone then, but they actually called back quite quickly. I have to be at the Newcastle Dental Hospital at 8.45 in the morning.

Once that was sorted I thought I may as well go out so I followed the road up the coast this time to Seaton Sluice and Blyth. Seaton Sluice is a little harbour with lots of boats and an unusual building. I am using my new camera today so hopefully the photos will be better.

There is a lovely sandy beach at Blyth where I sat for a while. You can see the beach from Seaton Sluice. There is also a port at Blyth though I couldn't get to see any of it. Apparently it serves the energy sector (there are lots of wind turbines out at sea along the coast) and some container shipping. The only thing I did get to see was some huge cable drums (check the size of the car in comparison) and some strange equipment labelled 'deep sea'.

21st June 2021 - longest day

6/21/2021

Wind picked up a bit in the night and it was cloudy this morning so decided to do some work. Brightened up later though so went for a drive down the coast, back through Whitley Bay to Tynemouth. Nice sandy beaches along the way and at Tynemouth.

Ruined castle and abbey at Tynemouth perched on top of cliffs where the Tyne runs into the sea. Sea walls which curve round to form shelter with a lighthouse on each end. Must have been a harbour at one time as there are still railway lines in the ground, now just a sailing club.

20th June 2021

6/20/2021

Moved on today to destination number three, Old Hartley, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear. Conquered the Tyne tunnel on the way up, I think I should get a badge for that!.

Site is lovely, right on the top of a cliff overlooking the sea. Amazing views across to St Mary's Island and lighthouse.

Weather lovely and sunny so thought I would take an evening stroll to the lighthouse. Quite a lot of other people doing the same. The path follows the cliff top and then across a causeway to the island. Managed to see some seals basking in the sunshine.

19th June 2021

6/19/2021

Last day here today before moving on. Thought I would do a little food shopping to top up the supplies. Drove to Aldi at Bishop Auckland and would have had a look around the town but it seemed a really big place with out of town shops and business parks so I decided not to bother. I prefer to browse around small market towns with interesting shops so came back to Barnard Castle and had another look around there. Lots of antique and posh shops but also a Greggs so a cheese and onion slice and a decaf coffee was my lunch.

Spent the afternoon doing some of my crochet scarf.