Just before we left the site at Powburn I went out on a bike ride with a couple of guys I had contacted through a mountain bike forum that lived up that way. Having not been on my bike for six weeks and with my fitness at a low point I wondered if I done the right thing. These guys although of similar age go out twice a week.

The weather was looking good so we set off from the campsite and within a mile we’re climbing up a big hill I had seen while out walking and then turned into a farm track. The scenery was spectacular and it was pointed out to me that the hills in the distance were where we were heading. My thoughts were… bloody hell if we’re heading out to them we also have to come back from them.

The eastern Cheviots as the hills around there are called were wet in places, steep in places but great fun and we ended up doing 23 miles mostly off road. My legs and my back can vouch for this. The next day was a rest day.

Next destination was York, the campsite being on the edge of York. So big city big lights. I had planned things to do while here. York minster, York railway museum, shambles, walk the city walls etc. Oh and of course have a beer and a bite to eat. Did you know York used to have 365 pubs, one for each day of the year. Not as many now but still a lot to choose from.

From the site a short drive of about two miles gets you to the park and ride which then takes you into York city centre. York is actually not that big so to walk around it is quite easy apart from all the other peaple who are in there. But to be honest it was not as busy as I thought it would be.

As we walked up the famous Shambles street it was obvious this is where the tourists were, which is why we were there and I expect they were saying the same. If you like Harry Potter this is the street to go to, they even have a ghost shop which had a queue waiting to go in and a shop called The shop that must not be named.

It’s the old buildings I like. The shambles is not very long and by the time you dodge half a dozen peaple you are at the other end wondering what it was all about. Next stop York minster abbey. A Anglian cathedral built between 1230 and 1472. It’s very impressive. I only took photos from the outside, to go inside was expensive and there were a lot of peaple in there so I will save that for another day.

The photos below don’t do the building justice really. It is really impressive when you see it towering above you. At the moment they are doing some renovation work so part of it is covered in scaffolding but there is so much of it that you can see. Some of the photos are of different angles. Arty farty photos I call them.

I could write so much about York minster and show many photos on here of it but you really should go and see it for yourself to get the feeling for it.

After looking at it, taking photos of it we were hungry so a lunch and a sit down was called for. Then a walk on the city walls. The city walls are the walls that surround the centre of York and you get onto them at different points so you can walk as far as you like and at the same time think of all the romans that would have walked along them walls. There view would have been different from the view today.

The old part of York was so nice with so many old streets and shops that had crooked windows, little doors, all full of tempting things to buy if you had enough money. Lots of tempting pubs but we had to drive back to the campsite after the bus so we resisted the pubs on this day.

The title of this blog today is Down Memory Lane and is dedicated to my dad who passed away a year ago. My dad is missed so much and when when ever we met up with him it was like a proper lads day. He used to love the old steam trains and even worked on them many years ago. So on the one year anniversary of him leaving us all we planned a day out with him in our thoughts. We would do the things he liked. Get a taxi into the city, visit the railway museum and have a meal and a beer out and then a taxi home.

Taxi booked and into York. We then walked through the old streets to a tea room by the river where we had lunch. I chose to sit outside overlooking the river that way if I shed a tear thinking about my dad I could blame the wind.

After a very nice lunch we headed for the railway museum. I walked on the city wall and Nikki on the paths around the streets. The reason being this part of the wall only had a wall on one side and a drop the other side which freaks Nikki out. We met at the other end.

York railway Museum is free to get in and donations are greatly received. I like this sort of system and always support it. I payed for three because my dad was with us which bought a tear to Nikki’s eyes.

Once inside we relized how big the museum is. It has to be really to show off the steam trains. As well as the steam trains and old diesel trains including the Bullet train from Japan there were lots and lots of memorabilia. We were in there for over two hours and I would go back another day and spend more time there. Some of the many photos I took below.

By the time we walked out from the trains we were thirsty so we headed for a pub. We would have loved to go in and out of a few pubs because there are so many nice looking ones but we can’t do that now so we headed for one we had seen, The old White Swan. Turned out to be a good choice so a beer or two and a nice meal was had.

I was told about a cocktail bar in York called the evil eye so I suggested to Nikki we went there to finish the evening off. My dad would have approved and laughed about it. I don’t like cocktails so I had a mocktail which is a cocktail with no alcohol. The Evil eye was amazing place with lots of different rooms and levels to it. I would imagine at the weekend this place would be packed. We had the one drink and then left to get our taxi back.

We got to our pick up point and rang the taxi and got taken back to site. Me, Nikki and my dad had a great day out down memory lane. And yes I did shed a tear or two which I think is normal even for a grown man.

Now before I sign off today I just have to tell you some spooky things that happened on the day out. Paying for three of us at the railway museum sent a chiver down my spine because my dad would have insisted on paying so I knew he was there and that was his way of reminding me.

In the museum were a lot of scale models of trains, I mean hundreds of them and you could not possibly see them all. But as walked along looking at some of them one caught my eye. The steam train was called Remembrance and was built by a guy who lived in Worthing which is where my dad lived. The final spooky thing really freaked me out. While waiting for the taxi, just stood there chatting to Nikki saying what a great day we had a classic car cruised by. Not just any classic car though but a Jenson intercepter which was my dad’s dream car. I always said if I won the lotto I would buy him one.

There is only about 135 of these cars registered on the road in the U.K. You just don’t see them very often at all. How weird was that and it had only been in the area for about a month. Nikki found it on line and had been sold at auction after a restoration. Just writing this now is making me shed a tear.

RIP Dad XX

We are still at River Breamish campsite but nearly left early. Let me explain. The campsite is right next to the river breamish hence the name of the site. It’s actually in a place called Powburn.

The weather had been good until the rain came and it came in force. Two days and two nights of constant rain meant the river levels were higher than normal. The managers of the site knocked on our door at 8.30pm saying the site was on flood alert and the pitch we were on was near the river so would be one of the first to flood.

So the choice was to stay put and risk it or move to another part of the site. They were advising people to move instead of possibly moving in the middle of the night. Not a good idea. I think there were about eight of us that had to move.

Now when we move the camper everything gets packed away and all put back out when we arrive at the next destination. It’s a well planned operation and Nikki has got it off to a fine art now after ten years living in this camper so when I drive off there are no rattles or bangs or even worse cupboards flying open and spilling out the contents all over the camper and with me on the move not able to stop straight away and pick everything up. I do all the outside stuff before moving off.

We decided to move pitch and as it was only around the other side of the site it would not be a full pack up just a basic one and I would drive carefully to another pitch. All done and Nikki took the car around to the other pitch and I drove the camper round. All safe and sound on anther pitch and off to bed.

The next morning Nikki complimented me on my driving telling me that in the rush of having to move and put a few things away she had left a full bottle of tonic water on the edge of a open cupboard and a full glass of water on the kitchen worktop and neither of them had moved luckily.

The next day the river levels went down and life was back to normal, the sun came out and it was a lovely day. As the sun went down and the blinds were put up to shut the world out another knock on the door from the site managers to tell us the northern lights were visible.

Having always wanted to see the northern lights I was outside with my camera and pointing it towards the sky. They were very faint but you could see the different colours. I was happy I had seen them and got some photos. Off to bed.

About half past midnight I woke needing a comfort break as you do when your old, long gone are the days I could drink eight pints and go to bed and sleep until the morning. Now if I look at a glass of water before going to bed, a couple of hours later I need to get up again.

Anyway I got up and had to look out the window to see if the northern light were still visible. WOW just wow I could see them as plain as could be. So shorts and T shirt on, I don’t think other people on site would have liked to see me running around the site naked taking photos at gone midnight. They were so bright and the changing colours were fantastic. I took so many photos, and then went back to bed with a big smile knowing that thousands of people spend hundreds of pounds going to Iceland and other places to see this. And some don’t even see it then. And here I was in Northumberland just stood outside my camper looking at it.

The next day we went off to Craster, a small fishing village on the coast. Another £6.50 to park. But it’s more than just a village in a way. It’s the best place to park and then walk along the coast path to Dunstanburgh castle. You could park further away and save the parking fee but would have to walk at least three miles to the castle. We opted for the £6.50 and walk along the coast path a mile to the castle.

Dunstanburgh castle is an English Heritage property but as we are national trust members it was free to get in once we walked there. The sun was out and it was a lovely walk.

The castle is 14th centuary so it’s been standing there on the north east coast for a while being battered by the winter storms. At least some of it is still there.

There is one part of the castle, the tower which you can walk up and get a view from the top. A stone spiral staircase takes you there. Nikki opted out of this part but I just had to go up the top. The view was fantastic but it was windy up there.

Amazing how these castles were built. The ground around the castle looked like an old quarry and the carpark we parked in was an old quarry so the stone would have been got from the area. But to carry it any distance and get it to those heights is just mind blowing.

We walked back to the car via the small harbour and headed out towards a beach for our lunch stop. The beach we were going to go to was called Sugar sands and looked just what we wanted for a picnic. I also wanted to sit on the beach in the sun with no wind and even go for a swim. But it was October and the sun had gone off somewhere else the wind had picked up and the sea looked cold. So we gave Sugar sands a miss and headed for another free car park at Boulmer beach a bit further down the coast. Parked right in the front row looking out to sea eating our picnic with the wind howling outside we were good.

Yesterday we headed off to Cragside house. Another national trust property only about twenty minutes away. We knew it would be busy being a Sunday and a nice day so we got there early and parked up. And set off to walk to the house through some of the grounds.

The house was home to William and Margaret Armstrong many years ago and they had their dream house built and the grounds landscaped with lakes etc. with experimental technology using hydroelectricity it was the first place in the world to be done like this. Britains original smart home.

The interior of the house was just as impressive. In fact I will go as far to say it was the best national trust property I have been inside. The national trust do a great job restoring and keeping all these old property’s going, it’s our history and should be kept going. They have a lot of volunteers working for them. In all the houses they have people in different rooms who are very knowledgable. Normally these people pounce on you and start telling you everything about every bit of that room. I normally let Nikki go in the room first and then she gets caught while I sneak around and carry on. This property though all the people were there but didn’t pounce on you but if you wanted to know some thing they would answer all your questions. I complimented one of the men in the room for this and he was pleased.

Below are some interior photos.

After walking around the house which seems like hours because it was so interesting we went back out into the grounds to go to the formal gardens and clock tower. The formal gardens would be where all the plants were and the greenhouses to grow fruit etc. The greenhouses had tiered levels so that the small fruit trees did not shade each other. They were also grown in large pots which were on turntables and would have been turned at different times of the day so all the tree was exposed to sunlight. The windows in the large greenhouses were opened by a series of cogs and handles. All very impressive.

By now we were hungry so walked back to the car and ate our picnic in the car again. From the carpark there is a six mile carriage drive which would have been built for the lady of the house to go around in her carriage or on horseback. We opted to do the drive and it was so nice. Passing lots of picnic areas, we will know next time where to have our picnic. Through lots of wooded areas and moorland, and around a lake.

So that’s us up to date. Tomorrow I am going out on my bike up in the hills and then Thursday we leave here to go to York with a couple of days planned in York to see things.

We left North Berwick and headed for Melrose. Only a short drive of just over the hour. The site is in the town of Melrose so I approached it from a different way being in the camper than Nikki in the car.

Melrose is a lovely old fashioned town near the river Tweed and famous for the rugby Sevens. It has a lot of independent shops and some nice pubs and cafes. Of course as usual before I go anywhere I do some research to see what’s in the area.

Within walking distance there is an old abbey, a viaduct and the old road bridge so I was happy that I should be able to get yet more photos. Driving there on the A68 I crossed over a bridge, a modern bridge but to my right I could see what would have been the old road bridge with its arches and beyond that the viaduct which would have been for the trains. These bridges were where I planned to walk to from the town.

After getting set up and chilling for the afternoon after the long drive 😂 The next day we had a walk around the old town and up to the abbey. The abbey was built in 1136 and at the moment has a lot of scaffolding around parts of it. No they are not still building it but checking the structure and doing repairs.

I noticed that in the abbey grounds amongst the gravestones were some big spotlights so thought the abbey must be lit up at darkness. So off I went to the ticket office and asked the question. The reply was I don’t know. My reply was and you work here. The only way to find out was to come back when it was dark. Luckily it’s getting dark earlier now so it would not interrupt my sleep pattern too much. And yes it is lit up at night as the photos show. Maybe I should have gone back to the ticket office and told them.

A short walk the next day took us to Gattonside suspension bridge which crosses over the river tweed. The bridge opened in 1826, was refurbed in 1928 and strengthened in 1991 by Travers Morgan. It’s a lovely old bridge and a sign on it says that no bikes to be ridden across it, no more than eight people to cross it at once and no intentional swinging of the bridge allowed.

We walked across the bridge and back again just because we could. The next day I planned to walk to the viaduct and old road bridge. A bit too far for Nikki to walk there and back so I went off on my own. It’s a lovely walk through the country and on through the village of Hawthorn and then the old road which is now blocked off. About three miles each way. The sun was out and the clouds were doing their best to cover it up but it was dry so life was good.

The Leaderfoot viaduct was opened on 16th November 1863 and carried the railway line. It’s now closed but looks impressive just standing there. It always amazes me how they built these things and they are still standing now.

I really wanted to get a picture of both bridges, I also wanted the sun to be out when taking that photo. To get that photo I had to walk a bit further on and then get myself down the river bank and walk back to the bridges and hope the sun would come out from behind the clouds for a moment. The things I do to get a photo sometimes amazes me. But I did it and hope you like it. I was very happy with the result.

The photo shows Drygrange old road bridge and the Leaderfoot viaduct. The other photo is from a different angle.

Drygrange old bridge would have carried the traffic years ago and is now replaced by the modern bridge on the A68 which I drove over to get to Melrose. Again I love the fact it’s still standing after all those years. It opened in 1779.

The photo above shows the new bridge, the old bridge and the viaduct. A lot of years between them but all still standing. The only one you can’t cross now is the viaduct which is fenced off for safety reasons. I did do a short walk to see if I could get the top of it. But I was stopped by some very serious fencing. I still took a photo through the fencing and imagined the old steam trains passing over it years ago.

My mission was completed and as I walked back, stopping at a bench to sit in the sun and enjoy the peace and quiet overlooking the fields where many years ago would have been a Roman settlement. That evening we went down the pub for a drink and a meal. We prefer to go out early so we can have a drink before our meal. When I say early I mean about 4 pm and eat between 5pm and 6pm. For the record Nikki had salmon with noodles and I had a bloody great big burger and chips. A good nights sleep followed ready for the drive the next day to a site called River Beamish in a place called Powburn.

At river Beamish which means we are back in England now. Or Northumberland to be precise. A lovely site away from the main road so very quiet. Apart from the lakes the other side of the trees which are where all the Canadian geese and grey lagged geese go for the day. But I don’t mind the sound of birds at all. It’s a great sight seeing them fly in every morning and leaving again early evening.

We had a walk around both lakes the other day and there were hundreds of geese and ducks out on the lake. There are a couple of bird hides also so you can sit in and watch them. After walking around the lakes we walked the backroads back to site which included going past an antique / retro shop. We had to go in because we love all the old stuff. Nikki fell in love with a coat which was very unusual. Not hundreds of years old but just very unusual and by a French maker. So yes she had to have it. It’s a very nice coat though and looks good on her.

While we were in the antique shop we got talking to the couple running it and they said the red arrows were flying over later. They told us what time and Nikki looked on an app when we got back to the camper and we hoped they would be visible from where we were. Sure enough at the time we were told 15.48 they flew right over us. I did wave to them but they were too busy looking where they were going to wave back.

After my research of the area I had a short list of things to do. One was to visit Holy island which is reached by driving over a causeway. When the tides out obviously, although some people think they can beat the tide and have to be rescued and their car written off. That was not going to happen to us.

Holy island or Lindisfarne as it’s also known is a small island just off the coast reached by a causeway. There are signs telling you the safe times to cross and it’s also on the internet. So no excuse really to get stuck. You have a window of about six hours and it changes daily because of the tides. There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing cars getting stuck and people having to be rescued. Personally I think these people should be charged if they are stupid enough to ignore all the warnings.

Our window of opportunity was between 9 05am and 16 15pm so plenty of time to get on the island, take some photos and off again. It’s not very big so not a lot to do. A castle and an old abbey being the two main things I wanted to get photos of.

What I never thought about was how busy it would be. I thought in the main summer season it would be packed but we are now into October and the weather is colder and the sun making less of an appearance. We got there at 10 30am so the tide was well away from the causeway and it was so weird driving across the causeway with sand and sea either side of us. I felt a bit like Jesus with the parting of the waves.

We got to the carpark which is big and it was heaving. And at £6.50 for a minimum of three hours I wish I owned that bit of land. I hate paying for parking but in this case I had no choice other than to turn around and go back. Ticket for parking got boots on and a walk towards the castle with the herd of other people. The crowds soon thinned out though.

Lindesfarne castle is a 16th centuary castle that sits on the end of the island perched on top of a huge big rock. I was not interested in going in the castle with all the crowds but wanted to get some photos of the outside. Nikki sat on a bench overlooking the bay while I marched on towards the castle to get my photos.

The weather held out for our visit although the sun was a bit shy in showing itself. The walk back from the castle towards the harbour was nice passing some very unusual sheds. Basically they are upturned boats with a door put on one end. Very unusual but look great. They look like they are covered and then waterproofed to keep out the harsh weather.

After looking around the harbour we walked towards the 12th centuary priory. Another building that has stood for many years. The monks would have settled on Holy island in AD635, that is a very long time ago. And again it amazes me how we know these things. No one is still around to tell us their grandad used to live there.

Back to the car and get back off the island before we are stuck on there for the night. The carpark was still filling up but we had seen what we wanted to see. So that’s us up to date we are here for another ten days and then off to York. It’s pouring with rain today so it will be a day inside.