Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • National Express : Newcastle to London Victoria Coach Station

    National Express : Newcastle to London Victoria Coach Station

    I fear that I’ve been lulled into a false sense of confidence about National Express following a rather brilliant journey a few weeks ago from Norwich to London. This is the National Express bus station in Newcastle, which was perhaps not unsurprisingly closed at 22:45 which was when the bus was leaving to get me to London. Although on this point, I recall in the United States that the Greyhound bus stations I went to remained open if there were services going out. What was more surprising was that National Express haven’t bothered putting more than a couple of benches in the area, leaving most people to stand up.

    Here we are waiting for the service, which was due to arrive into London at 06:30.

    The coach turned up twenty minutes early, but this was mostly so that the drivers could stand in the entrance to the vaping. I have no interest in what they do, but it takes a little away from the National Express message not to smoke or vape on their vehicles if their drivers are doing it. The staff member was greeting customers by, well, saying nothing and just looking at their tickets or phones to ensure that they were meant to travel on that service. He wasn’t impolite to me, but it was all a bit cold. Although I was fortunate, he was quite abrupt with some customers behind.

    I felt sorry for the lad who was about 18 and had managed to buy a coach ticket for the wrong day and he then resorted to trying to buy a ticket from other passengers. I’m not sure what happened there in the end, but I don’t think he was able to travel. Nor indeed were a couple of customers at other stops further down the line who had turned up on spec in a bid to get to London.

    I boarded first and so had the full choice of seats although the first couple of rows on the right of the above photo were reserved. This is always a dilemma, there’s a better seat which is the emergency exit seat at the rear near the toilets, but there were a few groups of friends visible and I thought they’d probably want to chat and the like at the back, so it might be quieter at the front. So I picked the seat behind the two closed off for the drivers, so at least no-one could recline into me.

    Being used to not annoying coach drivers I had already put my bag on the floor and put my seatbelt on, so the driver meandered by me to announce loudly to a few people further back “get your bags off the chairs as this service will be full and you will have people sitting next to you”. It’s probably sensible to tell people to make it easier for later customers to board, but I did wonder how personable this approach was.

    That’s also the difference between the Caledonian Sleeper service I took last week and this coach service. There the stewards were wearing masks, there were big gaps between customers and there was a level of professionalism to the whole arrangement. National Express didn’t bother faffing around with that convenience and safety, they filled every seat. There was a slight disregard from the drivers over customers wearing seatbelts, but I think it did say to wear them on the pre-recorded announcement.

    On this, I note a swathe of negative reviews of National Express for returning to full seating with no social distancing, but their argument is that the Government said they could from 29 May 2021, so that’s what they were going to do. And I can’t much complain about that given the low price of the ticket that they charged me.

    The service isn’t the easiest to sleep on, as every stop the driver turns on all the lights so that customers can board. There’s probably not much that can be done about that, otherwise people would be tripping down the aisles when boarding, but it’s not the most conducive with regards to being a restful environment. At 02:30 we also had the added excitement of stopping at a service station for thirty minutes, although this was handy to use their facilities.

    As for the seats, they were crammed in to the point of being entirely unsuitable in my mind for an overnight service. With every seat full, it was all far too cramped for my liking, although since I seem to be able to sleep anywhere, I didn’t much let it bother me. I’m not sure that National Express themselves would even claim they’re going for comfort here (if they were being honest), it’s simply a way of getting people from A to B. For anyone taller than me (so over six feet) they’d likely be distinctly uncomfortable.

    The drivers didn’t worry about both coming in at the same time to use the toilets at the service station and leaving the coach open and unlocked. I imagine at some point someone will board the coach and nick passenger belongings, or indeed the entire coach, and then some more care might be taken. There were two drivers who took it in turns to drive the coach and although there was no real effort at customer service, they were professional drivers at the wheel and it all felt safe and secure en route. I suppose that I’d rather have this than a driver who is very friendly but yet collides with numerous things during the journey.

    Here we are in London Victoria Coach Station, a few minutes before the expected arrival time. On the plus side, this journey only cost £12 to get me from Newcastle to London. It was also on time, the driving was safe, the USB points worked and the coach was clean. On the negative side, it was cramped, uncomfortable and the drivers were grumpy. I’m not really a fan of coach travel, so the positive here for me is that I’m going to try and take the train in the future, it’s a better way to travel as far as I’m concerned. Although I might try Flixbus now they’re in the UK, as although they used to annoy me, I’ve become something of a fan of theirs.

  • St. Cuthbert’s Way – St. Cuthbert

    St. Cuthbert’s Way – St. Cuthbert

    St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

    Since I’ve now completed St. Cuthbert’s Way, it seems appropriate to briefly mention who Cuthbert actually was.

    He was born in around 634 in Dunbar and when young, he decided to join the relatively new monastery at Melrose. This incidentally now marks the beginning of the walking route, with the end being at Cuthbert’s initial burial place at Holy Island. Following a childhood miracle, Cuthbert seems to have been spiritual and religious, which is handy for someone in a monastery, and he became the prior of the abbey.

    Apparently (and this is primarily because Bede wrote about it in the early eighth century, so a record still exists) Cuthbert was:

    “Angelic in appearance, refined in conversation, holy in works, unblemished in body, noble in nature, mighty in counsel, orthodox in faith, patient in hope and wide in charity”. He sounds a perfect choice to enter the religious order…..

    Cuthbert was consecrated in York by Archbishop Theodore on 26 March 685. He returned to Inner Farne Island and he died there on 20 March 687. On the same day he was brought over and buried on Holy Island, which is where he remained until 865 when the threat of a Danish invasion led to the monks abandoning the priory and taking Cuthbert’s body with them. The monks carted his remains about for seven years, which is quite an impressive feat as it sounds a right hassle. In the end, after numerous intermissions he was being moved about until at Durham his body wouldn’t move from a certain spot. So, a church was built there and that today is the site of Durham Cathedral. Someone more sceptical might suggest that the monks got fed up with carrying him about and just selected a nice place to build a church, but that’s not really in the religious stories that are told.

    Bede noted that eleven years after Cuthbert’s death his coffin was opened and no doubt to the considerable surprise of everyone present “found his body entire, as if he were still alive, and his joints were still flexible, as if he were not dead, but sleeping. His clothes, also, were still undecayed, and seemed to retain their original freshness and colour”.

    Cuthbert’s reputation grew, not least after Alfred the Great had a vision of him and made great play of that, although that might have been a political ploy in uniting the country. His grand marble shrine developed into a place of pilgrimage at Durham Cathedral, but that was a bit smashed up following the Reformation. His coffin had been opened a few times and hadn’t decayed, although more recent openings have shown that is no longer the case. Fragments of the original Saxon coffin that he was buried in though survive and are on display at Durham Cathedral, as are sections of later coffins that his remains were transferred into.

    Charles Eyre wrote an important book on St. Cuthbert in the late nineteenth century and this was frequently republished. It’s ridiculous in places, such as the statement he makes:

    “We cannot doubt a single word that Bede has written for he introduces his narrative saying ‘I beg that my readers will believe what I say’”.

    Bede was writing about Cuthbert a century after his death, so even if we believe Bede, he’s still got his information second-hand. Anyway, I like how Eyre notes that residents of villages would confess all their sins if Cuthbert visited, such as was their respect and awe for him. I could quite fancy having an ability like that, having everyone tell me what they’ve done wrong when I enter a room….

     

    BOOKS ABOUT ST. CUTHBERT

    History of St Cuthbert by Charles Eyre

    Cuthbert and the Northumbrian Saints

  • Newcastle – Bacchus

    Newcastle – Bacchus

    Continuing on my tour of Good Beer Guide pubs in Newcastle, this is Bacchus Bar, which is designed to look like an ocean-liner. Something a little different I suppose….

    There was a friendly welcome at the door from the staff member, although I thought that the music was a little loud for my own personal preferences (which are, quite boringly, no music at all). I thought that the atmosphere was a bit muted, but it was a clean and comfortable environment. The beer selection was reasonable, a few different real ales and an effort has been made not to be bland. The staff were personable and pro-active, so everything seemed well managed and efficient.

    I went for the Stout 2021 from Nomadic Beers who are a small brewery from the Leeds area. Smooth, dark and chocolately, although perhaps lacking a rich aftertaste, but still very drinkable. The surroundings are a bit decadent, but that’s perhaps a little inevitable when you’re trying to recreate the theme of an ocean liner. There are normally around eight or so real ales on, but they’re down a little at the moment due to current circumstances, but there was still no shortage of options and most beer styles were available.

    This is an interesting and long-standing addition to the Good Beer Guide, although I suspect that on Saturday evenings it can all get a bit raucous for my liking. It does though seem to have been serving decent beer for some time, their web-site notes that it was a CAMRA pub of the year runner-up in 1995, so it appears to be something of a survivor. It’s run by a small chain, Sir John Fitzgerald, which I haven’t heard of, but they have numerous pubs in this area. This isn’t a pub I’d have thought to have gone in without the Good Beer Guide recommendation, but I’m pleased that I did.

  • Newcastle – Premier Inn Newcastle Millennium Bridge

    Newcastle – Premier Inn Newcastle Millennium Bridge

    This Premier Inn is a short walk from Newcastle city centre and was also very reasonably priced. They’ve changed the check-in time across all Premier Inn hotels to be after 16:00 to give them time to clean the rooms, but they were all ready just before then when I turned up.

    The room, which was all clean and sufficiently modern. The television is quite large for a hotel room and it let me cast my phone so that I could watch Britbox on the large screen. The blackout curtains are very effective, I decided to catch up on sleep (not least because I’ve got an overnight coach to London later today) and my alarm woke me at 09:00. Usually before then the sunlight would flood in, cleaners would clank about or other guests would fall over or something outside my room, but none of that happened here.

    As an aside, I wasn’t planning to eat at the restaurant at the hotel, but I liked that they’ve included a menu in the room. Some hotels seem to have chucked all of their paperwork out and blamed Covid, which isn’t ideal if they haven’t provided any QR alternatives or similar.

    The view from my room and I could see the River Tyne which was a little bonus. To be fair, I didn’t spend long looking at the river and car park view, but it was better than just having a view over air conditioning units or the like. The windows in this hotel also open and aren’t hermetically sealed as some locations seem to think is helpful.

    I asked for a few extra milks and the helpful staff member obliged   🙂

    I had a little look at the reviews for this hotel, which aren’t universally positive, but it’s above average. The majority of the complaints are about the lack of air conditioning (although at least a large fan was provided) and the behaviour of other guests, with the problem for the hotel it seems of stag and hen groups. I didn’t have any problems in that regard, although I was pleased to find myself at the end of a long corridor.

    The whole stay was faultless and it’s starting to become clear that Premier Inn and Travelodge have been able to have the strength to power through this Covid situation, whereas chains such as Accor seem to be positively falling apart. Very friendly staff, a clean room, a quiet location and a reasonable price, all really rather lovely.

  • Newcastle – Mean Eyed Cat

    Newcastle – Mean Eyed Cat

    As I’m in Newcastle for the day, I thought that I’d visit a few of the pubs in the Good Beer Guide and I started with this micropub near to the Haymarket metro station. When I went in it seemed to be quite busy internally and externally, but there was a friendly welcome from a member of staff who said that there was space in the rear garden area. That sufficed me as I wasn’t sure that I could get in at all on a Friday evening.

    The friendly staff member told me to have a quick look at the beers at the bar and she’d then come and take the order. I took one look and decided instantly, it had to be the Cherry Trifle from Brew By Numbers. A cherry imperial stout is one of my favourites and I’m a fan of Brew By Numbers and have been working steadily through their beers, as well as having visited their taproom in London. There were a range of beer styles there though to cater for most tastes, all nicely balanced and thought out.

    As it was a walk by photo this is a bit blurred unfortunately, but there were some cask options as well which looked tempting. As I wanted to meander around a few pubs, I had decided just to have one drink here, but not because of any shortage of options. The decor was sufficiently quirky to make it interesting and the whole atmosphere felt inviting, somewhat different to its previous use as a newsagents.

    The rear garden wasn’t the most salubrious of environments if I’m being honest, but they’ve made it bright and colourful. The beer was good, not quite as rich as I had expected, but it didn’t taste its 10% with the flavour being sufficiently moderate. The cherries were there though in some form, with a bit of vanilla in the taste as well. I was perfectly pleased with this smooth and slightly decadent beer, but I wanted a slightly more powerful punch from the cherries.

    Anyway, back to the pub itself. Not being inside meant I couldn’t quite get the same experience of understanding how the regulars interacted and the like, but I always felt welcome and the environment was on-trend without trying to be. The beer selection was thought through, the staff were friendly and I’d most certainly visit here again. Indeed, a few of us have decided a trip to Newcastle in November 2022 will be a really good idea, especially as the Head of Steam and Brewdog here are currently closed, so a revisit is required. This pub is though a quite worthy addition to the Good Beer Guide in my humble view.

  • St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

    St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

    I walked the St. Cuthbert’s Way in July 2021 and I’ve told the story about that and the group of friends that I walked with (and there are links below to each day’s summary). This page is more going to be a series of resources about the long distance path, not just about my own walk and gossiping about the friends that I walked it with. I suspect most people who read this post in future want to hear more about the route than they do about Gordon’s complaining about his egg not being big enough.

    This is all currently a work in progress, some of the links won’t work for a little while yet.

     

    ST. CUTHBERT’S WAY

    Break-down of the route

    LDWA page about the trail

    The Official Guidebook [Amazon link]

     

    THE HISTORY

    St. Cuthbert

    Holy Island

     

    PUBS, RESTAURANTS AND CAFES

    Milan Restaurant

     

    THE PLACES EN ROUTE

    Melrose

    Wooler

    Lowick

    Holy Island

     

    ST. CUTHBERT’S WAY (my walk)

    Day One – Meeting Up

    Day One – Evening Meal

    Day One – Summary

    Day Two

    Day Three – Part 1

    Day Three – Part 2

    Day Four

    Day Five – Part 1

    Day Five – Part 2

    Day Five – Part 3

    Day Six

  • St Cuthbert’s Way Trip – My Thoughts

    St Cuthbert’s Way Trip – My Thoughts

    St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

    I’ve written about our walk along St. Cuthbert’s Way and how we all got on, but I’m going to have a self-indulgent post which is just about me. I like a little introspection and, frankly, posts about me are my very favourite.

    For anyone wanting a moderately challenging, but not excessively difficult, long distance trail then this is one to seriously consider. It’s not technically difficult either in terms of the ascent or the navigation, with accommodation at what are pretty pre-defined points along the walk being relatively easy to find. One of the most interesting aspects has to be that it’s a pilgrimage route which ends at the beautiful Holy Island, so there’s certainly no anti-climax when finishing this walk.

    I didn’t walk this as a private pilgrimage (it would have been hard to, with Gordon falling over and yelping at regular intervals), but there are reminders of the Christian heritage of this part of the country all along the route, not just at the end on Holy Island itself. However, it’s hard not to think of those pilgrims who have walked routes like this towards Holy Island for centuries and I like having that connection with the past. Pilgrimage routes have become increasingly common recently and there are numerous ones being established in the UK, it’s a shame perhaps that the tradition died out following the Reformation.

    We had one member of our group who had to withdraw at the last moment and we were very sad that Bev couldn’t make it. Not least as she would have kept Gordon under control if nothing else, although she’s perhaps quite a bad influence on some of us. But she was there in spirit, so very much there (and we kept in touch with her throughout so we could pass on her rude messages about Gordon to him). Other people were there in spirit as well and we were keeping them in mind, such is the indulgence that you’re allowed to lavish on others when you’re on a long walk and have lots of time to think. I can think of a few friends who are suffering physically and mentally at the moment, I hope they can fight their battles with the courage that I know they all can.

    It looks like the world is slowly, but surely, opening up again, although goodness knows what challenges lie ahead for the world. It will hopefully mean that international travel can resume soon enough, not least as I have a flight to Gdansk with British Airways in a few weeks that I’m still planning to go on if I can. But this trip has been a reminder of how much more there is for me to explore within the UK, with so many remote villages and towns.

    There is an element of starting off on one of these trails with the end seeming so very far away, with every step seeming almost irrelevant in the journey of getting there. At the bottom of the Cheviot mountain range (apparently they’re hills, but I’m redefining them for my needs) it seemed that there would be a lot of difficult steps to get to the top. But, stopping to enjoy the view, carrying on with the journey however slowly is all there perhaps as a metaphor for life. Sometimes there are great prizes over the top of the mountains, it just takes a big effort to get over them. Sometimes the path isn’t always clear and choices have to be made which seem unpalatable (like the decision to walk up a mountain) but the fight is worth it.

    We didn’t see that many people on the walk which means that anyone wanting to walk alone and meet people en route are going to be mostly limited to finding that company in the pubs and cafes in the evening. This is a trail which can really only be walked in one direction, as few people are going to start on Holy Island and walk back to Tweedbank. For those who like their long distance paths quite solitary in terms of meeting others, they are unlikely to be disappointed here.

    Being a little less prosaic, for those who like craft beer, they’re going to struggle a little en route, although the welcome that we received in bars, cafes and restaurants was always friendly. As an aside, there was a stand-out restaurant during our journey, which was the Milan Restaurant in Wooler, and I’d happily go back there again for one of their calzones. But I digress, as these journeys can’t always be all about the food and drink.

    Anyway, these long distance trails walked with friends can be calming, exciting and give time to pause for thought. For those who fancy a little adventure, head on out there as there are experiences to be had everywhere and stories to be told. And you don’t have to be like Dave Morgan and find the biggest hill you can find and march up it, there’s a lot to be said for the flat as well. Sometimes it’s right to take things easy   🙂

  • St Cuthbert’s Way Trip – Awards Ceremony

    St Cuthbert’s Way Trip – Awards Ceremony

    St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

    Firstly, let me begin by noting that this isn’t really meant to be of interest to anyone outside of the trip (unless they want to be interested, which is very lovely). It’s part of our collective memory of the trip and it’s also all of the others appeasing my childishness. It was a very enjoyable trip and there are always notable moments to look back on (or what we consider to be notable).

    BRAVEST WALKER – Bev

    This really should always be won by me, but I have to recognise that continually winning this just lessens the impact of the award. So, I’m prepared to share it from time to time. On this occasion, we decided that Bev should be given the award. She’s been going through lots of challenges at the moment and has been dealing with them bravely and courageously. She couldn’t make this trip, but I know that she’ll be back to ensure St. Cuthbert is pleased with her. Sarah has also buried a stone with Bev’s name on it at the Holy Island, so perhaps she’ll go and collect it in the future.

    NICEST WALKER – Andy

    This was the first trip that Andy had been on and so he made a big effort to be friendly and helpful. I hope that this doesn’t continue, but this warm, personable and engaging approach meant that he took the award for nicest walker without much difficulty. It’s never good to keep winning this award though.

    BEST NEWCOMER – Andy

    The newcomer we heard most about during the week was definitely Gordon’s blisters, although it seemed a bit much to award anything to those, despite the number of photos he kept sending of them. We also liked Craig, who was completing the same trail but was doing so unaided and carrying all of his camping equipment. We saw him a fair few times on one day, but never saw him again for the rest of the trail (I expect someone annoyed him, perhaps Gordon). But it was rather lovely for Andy to come along.

    MOST COMPLAINING WALKER – Gordon

    This was an easy one, even though everyone had moments of tiredness or being too wet, Gordon exceeded the rest of us by some way. A very worthy winner.

    LEAST COMPLAINING WALKER – Sarah

    Sarah managed to plod on all week never really complaining or moaning, although perhaps she was just letting Gordon take the lead.

    BEST KEPT FEET AWARD – Steve

    Although Susanna and I had no issues at all with feet, this prize had to go to Steve for having those socks which had individual toes. I’m not sure that they’re for me, but his ingenuity with this meant Steve had to win this little award. Also, for anyone who hasn’t heard about my completing the 100, the best tip I think is Sudocrem applied regularly and SealSkinz socks.

    MOST DEMANDING WALKER TO THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY – Gordon

    I normally set the bar quite high with finding things to complain about, although I’ve limited myself to just tutting about a lack of exciting beers (although this happens the majority of the time) and commenting that the cereals were out of date. Gordon has impressively increased the bar by asking for extra eggs at breakfast, asking complex questions about beers and food as well as getting chocolate sprinkles on all coffees (and not just cappuccinos). But, nothing wrong with getting what you want and he has remained an inspiration to us, although he’s stretched the knowledge of a fair few staff members this week.

    WALKER WHO HAS FORGOTTEN OR LOST THE MOST – Susanna

    Given taxigate, lostphonegate, gettinglockedoutofhotelgate, there could only be one winner. But we wouldn’t have had it any other way, as we like the drama.

    BEST PHOTOGRAPHER – Sarah

    There were lots of good photographs this week and it ended up being a close call between the artistic nature of Steve’s photos and the photos taken by Sarah of people and landscapes. I suspect Steve will win next time, he’s definitely been spending more time thinking about photos and their composition…..

    WALKER WITH THE MOST INTELLECTUAL CHAT – Julian

    This was obviously always going to be me, so there was no real debate about that.

    MOST ALLURING WALKER – Gordon

    This was the most controversial award, but it was yet another one given to Gordon, not least due to the number of messages he was receiving during the week. Confidentiality prevents me saying more.

    WALKER WHO HAS SMASHED THE MOST THINGS UP – Gordon

    There was no real damage caused this week, just by Gordon managing to entirely break his blinds in one B&B room. It’s becoming annoying just how much Gordon has managed to achieve this week, the rest of us were quite jealous of how multi-faceted he is.

    QUOTE OF THE WEEK – Gordon

    “Normally I have a kip on these walks but Steve is showing no mercy” – Gordon

    QUOTE RUNNER-UP – Andy

    “Can I ask what happened to your hair Gordon?” – Andy

    As an aside, I very much liked “they don’t let you forget any of your indiscretions in this group” from Susanna, after she was being reminded of a standing stones debacle from four years ago.

    MOST OFFENSIVE COMMENT – Gordon

    Which I obviously can’t repeat, but this was a unanimous decision and yet another prize for Gordon.

     

  • St Cuthbert’s Way Trip – Day 6 (Summary)

    St Cuthbert’s Way Trip – Day 6 (Summary)

    St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

    Day five marked the end of the St. Cuthbert’s Way walk for us, which meant everyone now had to get home again on day six. Andy and Sarah were getting an internal flight from Edinburgh, whilst Steve, Gordon and Susanna were getting a train back to Norfolk. My journey back would be shorter, going to Gateshead. We dd though have a few hours together in Berwick before all going our separate ways.

    Breakfast in the Manor House, which I’d say was the best of the week. Nicely done and nothing for me to complain about which was handy. It wasn’t cheap to stay on the Holy Island, but it was very worthwhile and much better than trying to faff about getting back off the island on the evening before. It must certainly all be a challenge for those who work on Holy Island but don’t live there.

    Susanna got locked out of the hotel twice……

    I decided I’d walk over on my own after breakfast to St. Cuthbert’s Island, to the chapel where Cuthbert was once buried. He had to be moved due to fears of a Viking invasion and he’s now buried in Durham Cathedral. It’s only possible to walk across during low tide, but it’s an easy little meander across and the small chapel felt a peaceful environment. I’ll write separately about the story of St. Cuthbert, but it was quite meaningful in many ways to be at the site where he was originally buried.

    With that, we all met back up outside the hotel ready to get a taxi to Berwick. I’m pleased to say that the taxi turned up on time, with Gordon mentioning it was a good job that Susanna didn’t book it. I didn’t get involved with that, I’d forgotten all about the taxi debacle earlier on during the week.

    The taxi boarding process as we were taken off the island. I was quite disappointed that the adventure was coming to an end, although at least we had a few more hours in Berwick.

    Gordon had absolutely excelled himself here in terms of bag storage. This wasn’t of relevance to me as I carted my bag around with me all week, but he found a local hotel that was willing to store bags in exchange for a donation to charity. The owner was, er, talkative, but it was very kind how she helped our party. As Andy said, it shows that Gordon can be competent when he tries.

    The Royal Border Bridge, constructed by Robert Stephenson between 1847 and 1850. We saw a lot of history in Berwick, I’ll write separately about that (along with many other things I’m meant to be writing about separately).

    Gordon at what is left of the defences at the base of the hill, under Berwick Castle.

    What are known as ‘Breakneck Stairs’ which went from the River Tweed to Berwick Castle. They’re closed off now, not least because sections are missing, but I can imagine people like Liam still trying to climb them. They look very scary, even when they were complete, so it’s no surprise that they have the name that they do.

    Under the road bridge.

    Walking back into town, we started to follow parts of the Lowry Trail. Sarah and Andy went off for some private time, which was much commented on by Gordon. He mentioned they’d been like Mills & Boon all week when others were around, so he couldn’t imagine what they were doing on their own.

    Berwick Bridge, which was constructed between 1611 and 1624, replacing the old wooden bridges which kept falling down or being washed away.

    ,Susanna on a very large bench.

    Our final meal together of the week was at the Lowry Cafe, a rather delightful little cafe near to the river. The key lime pie was delicious and Gordon made sure he got his chocolate sprinkles on his latte. We didn’t say anything. It was also time for the awards of the trip (which I’m about to publish), where there were the usual arguments, squabbles and moments of delight.

    With that, Andy and Sarah left for Edinburgh and I think it’s fair to say that they had an eventful time getting there. There are extensive military defences around Berwick and we walked around them, with it being hard not to notice how steep these sides are. I wonder whether any locals, whether drunk or not, have fallen into them in recent years.

    We were able to have a little look around Berwick’s parish church, one of the few to be constructed during the Commonwealth period. It’s a plain church given the puritanical standards of the time.

    A clever marketing trick   🙂

    We had a lengthy visit at the Pilot Inn in Berwick, a Good Beer Guide listed pub with an historic interior.

    This is an Elizabethan watch tower which was built in 1577 and is the only one like this remaining in Britain.

    With that, these three were off to collect their bags and get the train back to Norfolk. I was getting a later train, so I headed back into Berwick. That meant that this was the last photo of this group trip, one which has been really enjoyable and I’ve had a great time. I still have much more to write about this trip (which no doubt thrills nearly no-one, but there we go…..) but I will say here thanks to everyone who came along, to Bev who couldn’t make it, but also to Steve for organising it. And also, to St. Cuthbert for inspiring us. All very lovely.

  • St Cuthbert’s Way Trip – Day 5 (Summary – Part 3)

    St Cuthbert’s Way Trip – Day 5 (Summary – Part 3)

    St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

    After the drama of the crossing to get onto Holy Island, we decided to be grateful that God got us there safely and remembered that this was a pilgrimage route.

    A quick stop for coffee at Pilgrims Coffee House and Roastery (which was very good incidentally) we then carried on to the end of the walk. Although before we could do that, we had to work out where the end of the walk actually was, we decided likely with the statue of St. Cuthbert. But we didn’t know….

    This was also when Susanna told me that I had beautiful eyes when my face was tanned, which I took to mean that they weren’t beautiful when I wasn’t sun-burnt. Luckily Andy managed to change the subject by asking Gordon, “can I asked what happened to your hair?”. Gordon didn’t seem particularly pleased, but he tried to hide his complete anger. Susanna was busy at this moment on Facebook, claiming that her phone had changed ‘Holy Island’ to ‘Horny Island’. I expect the predictive text is used to what she normally types, but I didn’t say anything.

    This is the statue of St. Aidan in the grounds of the priory, with our hotel visible in the background (and our evening meal in the background on the right).

    These things look peaceful, but is the rest of the group faffing about with photos again. I didn’t say anything and I don’t normally show this behind the scenes activity that went on when we saw anything interesting.

    Inside the parish church, of which more all about this this in separate posts.

    A sculpture of the monks carrying the coffin of St. Cuthbert.

    Steve and Andy had a very good idea to try and get into Lindisfarne Priory without paying, which I thought showed great ingenuity. A staff member let us in to look at the statue of St. Cuthbert, which we wanted to see as it’s the end of the pilgrimage route (well, it might not be, but it’s the one that we decided on).

    And here it is. The end of the trail for us, in the grounds of the priory.

    The helpful member of staff from English Heritage took a photo of us with the statue.

    After this we went to check-in and this is my room at the hotel, one of the most expensive I’ve stayed at, but I did want to stay on the island and the options were limited. It was a peaceful stay and although I didn’t have the fancy view over the castle that Steve had, it was a quiet and comfortable room. I was though told at check-in that my towels weren’t quite ready, but fortunately Sarah had excess ones that I could borrow so that I wasn’t late for our venturing out to the pub. I had worried about an Andrew style towel moment as he experienced in Seville.

    We were hoping to try some mead, but the tasting bar at the nearby Lindisfarne Mead was closed. Instead, I bought some decadent crisps (which were bloody lovely) and some decadent beer (which was nice, but not world class).

    We’ve had this all week. Gordon wants photos of him to send to various people and our group has willingly obliged. No wonder we took so long to complete the walk on some of the days…..

    Lindisfarne Castle, which was booked up months ago so we didn’t get to see inside.

    The view from the island along its coastline.

    The Holy Island lime kilns which were constructed in the 1860s.

    More photos from our little walk around the island’s coastline.

    The Gertrude Jekyll Garden and I’ll pinch the National Trust description about this:

    “Jekyll was a friend and frequent collaborator of Edwin Lutyens, who’d transformed the Castle into a holiday home: he called Jekyll ‘Bumps’. Using the site of a vegetable patch which once provided the soldiers in the Castle with food, Jekyll designed a garden – with a dropped wall on the Castle side – that would flourish into a riot of colour in the summer for Edward Hudson’s guests to admire from the Castle. The combination of hardy annuals, colourful perennials and heritage vegetables provide glorious sights and scents in the summer and a leafy, sheltered oasis all year round.”

    Gordon was feeling quite lethargic at this point and I helpfully commented he was like a pensioner. This then annoyed some nosey woman who complained to Steve that she was a pensioner (which I didn’t see was of any relevance to me), but she shouldn’t have been listening in. Gordon agreed that he did feel like a pensioner, so I was right on that anyway. Gordon did come up with what became the quote of the week:

    “Normally I have a kip on these trips in the afternoon, but Steve is showing no mercy this week”.

    A quick couple of halfs in the Ship Inn, but we had to go as my battery was down to 4% and there’s no way that I can enjoy being out if my phone doesn’t have any charge. Both fine, although nothing overly exciting.

    This was where we were staying, the Manor House Hotel, and here we are leaving for the evening meal at the Crown and Anchor pub.

    The barman at the pub was jovial and the England match was taking place when we were there. I don’t much follow football, but when we were 1-0 down he said we shouldn’t worry as “Denmark haven’t done anything since they conquered Lindisfarne”. I think that’s quite an impressive line and was nearly a contender for our quote of the week.

    On the food, I rated this highly as the batter was light, the fish flaked away, the chips had a firm edge and the portion size was generous. Susanna and Gordon said their fish batter was greasy, but I didn’t care, mine was delicious. It’s a delight not to have a little whinge at the food.

    Here’s the happy group, just before Gordon managed to win the most offensive quote of the week, which I can’t of course repeat. Not wishing to go on about Gordon, but he was showing the group photos of when he was a boy (and some were in black and white). Susanna told everyone that “he used to be cute”, which caused more offence for Gordon as he thought that he still was. Sarah didn’t entirely help by adding “life changes people”.

    After that there was a quick walk around the island, which by now was much quieter given that the majority of tourists had left. It’s a spiritual place and it’s a useful time to think about life, the world and what I would be eating for breakfast the next morning. I’ll write a separate post about my reflections about the whole trip, just in case people are now a little bored about hearing about Gordon.