Platinum birthday!

Having just celebrated the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, her 70 years as our monarch, there is no denying my own link to that, since I was born in the same year that she acceded to the throne. My goodness me! I mainly tried to forget about that coincidence but on my birthday in mid-June, the weather was so lovely that we decided to repeat the walk we did last year, through the wild flower meadows above Hebden Bridge and then down though the woods. It's so very beautiful. 

The grandgirls were on top form, racing about and making up stories. I don't actually know what this manhole cover relates to but they swear that underneath it there's a pub! 'We can hear someone pouring drinks!'  The power of imagination...  

For the sake of a complete record of the day, I have to include this, since they gave me my very own crown! It's metal, studded with 'jewels' and actually really heavy. (I can't imagine what the real Imperial State Crown feels like!)  Forgive the selfie, which makes my nose look rather more 'imperial' than it is!  

The best bookshop in the universe?

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Barter Books in Alnwick is the stuff of legend, and somehow - unaccountably - I had never been, so I was determined to put that right this time. It certainly lives up to its reputation. Housed in what used to be Alnwick's Victorian railway station (which closed in 1968), it buys and sells secondhand books. It is the general quirkiness of the place and its wonderful atmosphere that make it stand-out extraordinary - and it has a huge selection of books too, from children's literature to rare volumes, through everything in between. It has open fires, comfortable chairs, reading nooks, kids' toys and a very unhurried, un-pressured ambience. 

There are quotes from books painted above the shelves and, in a nod to its railway station origins, various model trains wind their way continually round the shop above the bookshelves (as you can perhaps see in the top photo).

Its railway station past is clear - from the glass canopied roof to the waiting rooms with their fireplaces and wonderful tiles, traces of the platforms and the well (now filled in) where the tracks ran. That is if you can keep your eyes away from the multitude of enticing titles on the shelves! 

There are colourful artworks too, including one by Peter Dodd that shows many famous writers. (There is a key to who they are, on the website - see HERE) . 

It also has a very good 'station buffet' serving food and drinks, so that you (by which I mean I... 😉) could happily spend the entire day there, browsing. I came away with a small but eclectic pile of beautiful books, including a Penguin paperback of 'Bonjour Tristesse' by Francoise Sagan (originally retailing at 2s/6d) which I last read when I was at school; 'The Book of Joy', a conversation between the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu; 'Eight Feet in the Andes' by the (recently deceased) travel writer Dervla Murphy; a memoir by Joan Bakewell and a couple of novels. Alas, I did eventually have to leave, to come home. But I will go back!   

Howick to Craster

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From Howick Hall, I went the short distance to the coast, where there's a rocky outcrop called Rumbling Kern (named for the noise the sea makes rushing through the rocks). The building you can see in the photo above is The Bathing House, a cottage that was used by the gentry from Howick Hall when they wanted to go swimming. It's now a holiday cottage. 

The weathered cliffs made me think of other famous rock sculptures... who needs Mount Rushmore or the Sphinx when you have these? Do you see the faces? 

I could have spent hours just watching the waves crashing on the rocks - though in truth they weren't very fierce, the wind coming from the land rather than the sea. 

It's a lovely walk along the Northumberland Coastal Path to Craster, rather up and down as coast walks tend to be, but with good views of the varied rock formations and, on approaching Craster, a glimpse in the distance of the ruined Dunstanburgh Castle.

Dunstanburgh Castle sits to the north; its jagged outline reminds me of teeth for some reason! It was an important stronghold during the turbulent 14th and 15th centuries but has been a ruin since the 16th century, attracting artists like JMW Turner and, of course, lots of tourists.  

Craster is a sweet little fishing village with a harbour, a pub and a few cottages (now mostly holiday lets). Possibly its main claim to fame is the Fish Smokery, turning herring into kippers that are prized as delicacies. (I always want to like them but they have too many fine bones that, for me, spoil the enjoyment.) As I was passing, smoke was pouring from the vents - clearly another batch underway. 

The Bog Garden

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Wandering round Howick Hall Gardens, I arrived at this attractive pond - the Bog Garden - surrounded by luxuriant planting. It really was rather lovely. I was tempted just to sit and contemplate it all from one of the seats but there was so much else I wanted to see in the day that I didn't dally. 

I didn't recognise some of the plants, though there were bulbous yellow blooms that were possibly Trollius - the globe flower - and mauve lupins. Lots of flag iris too, both yellow and purple. They were one of my mum's favourites. 

 

There was also an area of garden set aside as a sensory garden for those with autism. It had lots of texture, interesting objects and shapes, different surfaces and colour, all carefully curated, I understand, to offer a safe and stimulating environment for neurodiverse people,  There were some discreet signs asking people to leave things exactly as you found them, since predictability of surroundings can apparently be important. I was really impressed with Howick Hall Gardens; if you're ever in Northumberland I recommend a visit. 

Howick Hall Gardens

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This was a new find for me - Howick Hall Gardens and Arboretum - an extensive estate of delightfully lush planting, arranged in distinct zones. The Hall is the ancestral seat of the Earls Grey since 1319. And yes, Earl Grey tea is named after the 2nd Earl, Charles, who was Prime Minister from 1830-34. It was the 5th Earl and his family who created the beautiful gardens between 1920 and 2001. 

The gardens are huge and I only saw a fraction of them, but I very much enjoyed the informal, natural style of planting. The rhododendrons and azaleas were at their peak - stunning colours. I love the new pink leaves of the Pieris Japonica too: 

The Dicentra - Bleeding Heart plant - is aptly named:

Another vibrant azalea - and there were lots of candelabra primulas too:

There were also a few of the rare Himalayan blue poppies - Meconopsis - which I think are quite hard to grow successfully, needing cool, moist conditions with well-drained slightly acidic soil, which presumably Howick Hall provides. 

I was rather taken with this field of bright green, unfurling ferns:

By the bridge over to the church, a shrub - perhaps a hydrangea? - was insinuating its presence between the pillars. 

The present Hall itself was largely constructed in 1782 but was refitted internally after a devastating fire in the 1920s. Only a small part of the ground floor is open to visitors, as a tea room and information centre. The family still live in one wing of the property. 

 

After the storm

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After the storm came the rainbow... and I wandered over to the other side of the harbour. There are a few small fishing vessels and some leisure craft. The fishermens' shacks made from the upturned hulls of old boats tend to feature heavily in everyone's photo records of the island. Every time I go, they are more weathered and patched and one wonders how much longer they will survive. 

There seemed to be a bit of a 'blue and yellow' thing going on. 

Inside Lindisfarne Castle

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I wasn't really planning to go inside Lindisfarne Castle, but a particularly heavy squall of driving rain made it seem like a good idea! It is a National Trust property too, so it was free entry for me, as I'm a member. Inside it turned out to be fascinating... 

After the castle's use as a garrison became unnecessary, it was left as a coastguard lookout and became something of a Victorian visitor attraction. It was spotted by Edward Hudson, the owner of Country Life magazine, who bought it in 1901. He commissioned the famous designer Sir Edwin Lutyens to refurbish it as a holiday home in the Arts and Crafts style, and it is that incarnation which we now see today. The house is arranged as though in the middle of one of Hudson's house parties, just after WWI, when he would bring guests up from London, among them the cellist Guilhermina Suggia, to whom he was briefly engaged, and the writer Lytton Strachey. 

It feels as though the ghosts have barely left.... 

Rather improbably, across a field, lies a walled garden, originally the castle's vegetable patch but redesigned as a flower garden by Gertrude Jekyll, who often collaborated with her friend Lutyens on his projects.