Travelog for: Orpheus

After visiting the castle, we drove further down the coast to Seahouses. This was where my host caught a boat last year to take her out to the Farne Islands. This was not going to happen today!

Look at those waves.

I hope the lifeboat, called the Grace Darling, was not needed to go out in this weather. Grace Darling was a heroine of the 19th century - her father was a lighthouse keeper on one of the Farne Islands when disaster struck. She rowed out to rescue people from a sinking/wrecked boat in dreadful weather.

My host took me to another castle today.

It is the largest in Northumbria, built in the 14th century but was damaged in the War of the Roses.

It fell into decay and wasn't restored.

Today, we spent a little time in Alnwick. There is a big gardens here and castle. However, time was short and we wouldn't have had enough time to fully appreciate the gardens or castle.

We did walk around the outside of the castle.

This is the Lion Bridge.

Another entrance to the castle. There are statues all around the walls and there were gargoyles too.

We did have time to visit a small museum. Northumbrian Bagpipes!

Another noise/music making instrument.

Upstairs, there was an art exhibition. This is a nice painting, those berries look tasty.

I can sing this but my host has a terrible "singing" voice!

Outside, there was a statue to Harry Hotspur. He was a fighter, and fought against the Scots and the French.

He led a rebellion against Henry IV and was forming an alliance with Owain Glyndwr but died on the battlefield in Shrewsbury.

Today, we have come to yet another castle, this time it is a ruined one.

They have cannons and a portcullis gate.

Inside another castle entrance is a museum about the Battle of Flodden Field which happened a few miles away in 1513.


The castle was captured by King James IV of Scotland shortly before the Battle of Flodden Field.

This is one of the castle towers with the gatehouse in the background.

We were on the other side of that portcullis earlier. The curtain wall linked all 4 towers of the castle, but only this section remains.

That's the tower with the portcullis.

We've come to Flodden Field itself.

Here's the memorial.

Today, we stayed in the caravan park. We were counting some of the money we had left! These are Scottish banknotes!

Today, my host and her mother have taken us to Berwick-upon-Tweed. We walked around the walls. It'll be our last day before we head home.
The painter Lowry visited Berwick-upon-Tweed a lot and painted many scenes here. There is a trail we could follow visiting sites he painted. There is a GeoCache near this information board.

It started to rain so we headed to a cafe for lunch.

We are going home. It is sad to leave the caravan but we must go home. However, we can go via Hadrian's Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The wall stretches across England.

This section we are visiting is called Heddon-on-the-Wall.

We stop off at another spot along Hadrian's Wall.

This section is Blackcarts Turret.

Next, we stop at a third section along Hadrian's Wall. This time it is Housesteads Roman fort built in about 124AD.

There it is, up the hill.

The fourth and final stop we did on Hadrian's Wall is Steel Rigg.

The sun was fading but these rocks look impressive.

We have a new friend to play with

Hello Monkez

Hi Dad,

We are having a look at Christmas decorations.

Quack, or are they geese?

Hello!
It has been snowing so we've come out to walk in it.

The road is under the snow somewhere!

The mountains look pretty.

I don't like the look of those clouds.

Weee! Can I go sledging again?

Hello!
A number of houses on my host's estate have been adorned with Christmas lights. Here are some of them.