Travel - a tour of the North East
Peter Richardson and his wife had never stayed in the North East. It was time to find out why so many people rave about the region.
Days 1 and 2
It's first stop Hexham, a market town for which the phrase history-steeped could have been invented. So where do we go? Straight to gaol!
This place hosts England's first purpose-built prison, dating from around 1330 on a site where they actually starting banging people up in the 1200s.
These days it's a cracking little museum dedicated not just to old fashioned law and order but to those interminable border wars with the Scots. I'll bet most people leave thinking today's thieves and vagabonds don't know they're born. Nick a few geese in 13th century Hexham and wave goodbye to an ear, not hello to a bit of fence-painting.
From gaol we head for Hexham Abbey which still has founder St Wilfrid's 7th Century crypt halfway down the nave. It costs 5,000 a week to maintain this astonishing place of worship. Money well spent, I'd say.
Hexham is the natural base for exploring Hadrian's Wall country. Buses leave regularly from the Tourist Information centre for all points along this 73-mile World Heritage site.
First stop for us is Housesteads, the most complete Roman fort in Britain, halfway along what was Hadrian's 12ft high answer to those "barbarians from the north." As visible remains go, these are world class – granaries, barracks, a hospital and even a multi-seated latrine.
Vindolanda, another jaw-dropping reminder of the Roman Empire's northern frontier, offers full scale replicas and images of ancient writing tablets. Excavation continues apace and, as the guide on our bus reveals: "Every year they unearth something amazing."
Fancy Hexham? The family-run Beaumont Hotel overlooks a park as well as the Abbey and does good set dinners (try the lamb cutlets) Tel: 01434 602331.
Day 3
We're in Newcastle – and about to bury some preconceptions.
Newcastle? That would be the place where brown-ale swillers watch football stripped to the waist. Well, it might be, but it's got more culture, more chic and more friendly faces than you could reasonably shake a beer belly at.
We're spoiled for choice but on our four-hour walkabout, we take in the Castle Keep on the site of the original "new" castle built by William the Conqueror's lad; the Laing Art Gallery with its world-renowned collections and Grainger, the Georgian shopping quarter. Here, perhaps, is the greatest surprise of all – 40% of Grainger's elegant buildings are listed, a bigger proportion than anywhere else in the UK outside Bath and London.
Fancy Newcastle? Treat yourself to Hotel du Vin, a luxury conversion of shipping company offices by the Tyne. It's easy to drive to, has a classy bistro and offers a 20-minute stroll down the quayside to the city centre past the tilting Millennium Bridge which leads pedestrians to Gateshead's equally resurgent waterfront. Tel: 0191 229 2200
Days 4-5
To the Northumberland coast. The causeway which links Lindisfarne (or Holy Island) to the mainland is an easy drive as long as you take due note of the tide times, otherwise take a wet suit and a few deep breaths.
We park up, take the shuttle bus to Lindisfarne Castle - quite modern in Northumbrian terms, being built around 1539 - then walk back to the Priory. Thanks to early missionaries Aidan and Cuthbert, Lindisfarne is the cradle of Christianity in the UK and there is no doubting the spirituality of the place. Even so we leave still giggling at the commentary of the shuttle bus driver: "Over there is the fire station. We have a fire engine but no firemen. We used to have volunteers but someone decided it wasn't safe. So now they send firemen by helicopter…usually half an hour too late."
Northumberland has so many castles it's not true. But the daddy is Bamburgh Castle, gloriously restored home of the Armstrong family, resplendent on a rocky outcrop overlooking the North Sea, as it has since Anglo Saxon times. We wander through its treasure-filled rooms, leaving via the dungeons to gaze once more across the seascape, reminding ourselves why it is that droves of folk from overseas remain in such awe of these islands.
Now I'm aboard the Golden Gate, the boat taking me and several dozen others to the Farne Islands. Seals and seabirds all but pose for the camera though the best-known former inhabitant is Grace Darling, the young Victorian heroine who, with her lighthouse-keeper father, rowed across stormy seas to rescue folk from the stricken Forfarshire.
On the way back to Seahouses harbour, a sightseeing couple (from Chorley, actually) move to the side of the boat for a better view and get a thorough soaking as the waters turn choppy. The skipper just laughs: "Just think what that would have cost you at Alton Towers!"
Fancy the Northumberland coast? The Bamburgh Castle Inn is a friendly hotel-cum-food pub in Seahouses, a little fish-and-chip resort ideally situated for exploring the "Secret Kingdom," its quaint villages and fabulous beaches Tel: 01665 720283
Days 6-7
Another day, another castle. This, however, is Alnwick, Windsor Castle of the North and home to the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. Its connections are the stuff of legend but we concentrate on the gardens, 12 acres of horticultural splendour with a breathtaking, cascading water feature at its heart. Picking a favourite bit, we opt for our guided tour of the Poisoned Garden.
Toxic plants? Surprisingly common as it turns out: "This plant is like cannabis for cats," says our jolly guide. "In fact the castle's resident cat is frequently to be found rolling about in it but he's in rehab at the moment…"
Our final two nights are away from the hustle and bustle, in Rothbury - gateway to the Cheviot Hills. We intend to visit Cragside, stately pile of inventor Lord Armstrong, but some of the most beautiful moorland in the realm is beckoning. So instead we walk for miles above a market town that provides yet more of the friendly hospitality we've been experiencing all week.
Fancy Rothbury? You will never experience more luxurious B&B accommodation than at Tosson Tower. The farmer's wife typifies the welcoming people in these parts and there are views to die for over breakfast. Tel: 01669 620228.
Factfile:
For all you need to know about the region, take a look at visitnortheastengland.com and create a few days away with the help of an innovative website planner called the Adventure Generator.
Don't forget to pick up your all new look Saturday Lancashire Evening Post
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Weather for Preston
Friday 03 September 2010
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South east
