Northumberland 250
Sunday 20th July
Day 1
After a leisurely start to the morning we finally left home 10.30, we filled up, well almost filled up with fuel, I stopped at £99.00, then off to check the tyre pressures only to find the machine was out of order so didn't bother, the tyres are normally fine, we hit the motorway and made slow progress along the M5 onto the M6, the weather was appalling torrential rain all the way up, when we hit the lake it was raining in biblical proportions.
We arrived at our first nights stop at Bolbec Manor campsite as the skies began to clear, Bolbec is a small independent site with about 25 or so pitches and overlooks the Northumberland countryside over Derwent water.
We had a cup of tea and a relax, it had taken 6 hours to get here with a stop at the services for half an hour.
I took Archie for a walk before returning to the van for tea, tonight was a curry bought from home to make things easy.
After tea we sat read a little and wrote the diary and listened to some music, the mist is returning and has just started to rain again, at least we will sleep well.
Monday 21st July
Day 2
Woke 7:30 after a good nights sleep, showered then took Archie for his morning walk, returning for a well deserved breakfast
after breakfast we got the maps out to double check the start of the Northumberland 250, we are going to travel in a clockwise direction so the first few miles will be crisscrossing Cumbria and Northumberland, we emptied the tanks and filled up with water and were on the road by 10am, we started the route at the most southerly point at Allenheads heading out across the North Pennines moors, it was really remote with some breath taking scenery, we had some lovely weather to enjoy it in too, it would have been very bleak if the weather had turned.
Our next point was the village of Lambley but we got caught up in some road closures which put a 40 mile detour which was a pain but we eventually got to Lambley found a park up to walk to the Lambley viaduct, a former railway bridge built in the mid 1800s.
This is one of the main problems touring in the UK it is sometimes so difficult to get a camp spot.
We arrived early, checked in and put our feet up.
We booked a table in the pub for tea at 6:30, after a wash and a spruce up we waked over to the pub, Archie came with us as dogs were welcomed, it was very nice inside, we went to the bar and were shown our table in the resturant, Archie wouldn't relax so I took him back to the van, we ordered a couple of pints of Pennine pale ale, a local beer, whilst we decided on what to have to eat, the menu wasn't vast but that only goes to show its all freshly cooked, Adele decided on Haddock and chips and for me a ribeye steak. The food was excellent with fresh home cut chips, they even had proper French mustard, we had another couple of pints before returning to the van.
Feeling rather stuffed we sat with a cup of coffee and got the maps out, tomorrow we plan to have a full on Roman Day exploring some Roman sites and of course visiting 'the wall'
Tuesday 22nd July
Day 3
We woke after a good nights sleep, although we did hear a little road noise it didn't disturb us, after washing and putting away the bedding we decided not to have breakfast at the park up but to find a spot out on the Hadrians wall trail, we left the pub stop just after 8am.
It wasn't long before we found a car park run by Northumberland National Park, it was £3.00 for the first hour then an additional £1 per hour, we carried on as there were no views.
After 10 minutes we came across Cawfields, the parking cost were the same, we pulled up opened the rear doors and tucked into a flying start, egg, bacon, sausage, tomato and fried bread.
After breakfast we put on our walking boots and took our first steps along Hadrians wall.
After a couple of hours walking the wall we returned to the van for a well deserved coffee before moving on to our next Roman Experience, this time to Housesteads Fort, one of the best preserved Roman forts in Britain, standing over the remains of the fort looking out over scenery that has changed little over the last 2000 years.
We were told the the famous Sycamore Gap was a two mile walk from the fort so decided to visit, after 3 miles we were still nowhere near, poor Archie had had enough so we returned back to the fort following the line of the wall, thing about what it would have been like in Roman times.
We have walked miles today so made the decision to find a stop-over and not to travel on anymore today, now the daily problem of finding somewhere to stay, as it happened the first call found us a CAMC CL at Haining Head Farm at Bellingham.
We parked up and relaxed before tea over looking some beautiful countryside.
Wednesday 23rd July
Day 4
Woke 7am after a very peaceful night by the sound of turkeys, we showered and had breakfast, before we leave this park up we top up with water and empty the tanks.
We continue our Northumberland 250 tour as we make our way around Kielder water and take the Kielder Forest Road, the drive around Kielder water, there are many stopping places but they all want £3 to park so could have been an expensive day, we ended up just stopping for a few minutes for that Insta picture.
It wasn't long before we got to Kielder Castle and the start of 'The Forest Drive' a spectacular 12 mile drive on unsurfaced forest roads and one of Englands highest roads at over 1500 feet, we paid our £5 toll fee and started the drive which for the first couple of hundred meters was tarmac but then the rough gravel track started although it wasn't as bad as I had thought there were some rough parts to navigate.
The views and the peace and quiet more than made up for the rough ride and 15mph speed limit.
We stopped just over half way at Blakehope Nick to visit 'The Nick' a unique tilted pentagon sculpture built from larch wood by students from Newcastle university.
We came through our rattling journey through the forest and continued out Northumberland 250 route that took us over the border into Scotland, we couldn't resist another photo opportunity before continuing to the town of Jedburgh for the night.
We found a smashing park up at Castlewood Farm, this park up is more like a continental aire, a large hard standing area with enough room for about 14 MoHo or camper vans, there are showers or toilets but there is water, drive over grey waste, CDP, rubbish and recycling facilities, its also very quiet with just the sound of sheep bleating in the fields around us.
Once parked up we had a cup of tea, read and wrote this diary before tea which tonight is Scottish trout with a pea risotto and a nice bottle of white wine.
We relaxed after tea trying to plan tomorrow, we do need to push on but there is such a lot to see in Jedburgh we might not get far.
Thursday 24th July
Day 5
Chores done we returned to Jedburgh for sight seeing, Jedburgh Abbey was first up, our English Heritage cards got us in free.
Jedburgh Abbey is one of the four great abbeys established in the Scottish Borders in 1100s, during its long history its been fought over many times especially during the wars of independence (1296-1356) and again in the 1400s and 1500s.
Back to the van for a cup of tea, its gone quite humid so after a little break we walked a couple of hundred meters to Mary Queen Of Scots house, a 16c tower house where Mary stayed during her months stay in Jedburgh in 1566.
Time is now pressing and we still have the Jedburgh Castle Gaol to visit, built in the 1820s it gives a taste of what prison life may have been like in the nineteenth century we walked through the original cell blocks and could see some of the inmates and read their stories.
By the time we were released from gaol it was getting a little to late to continue on our travels along the Northumberland 250 so we decided return to last nights stop-over at Castlewood Farm.
We relaxed in the late afternoon sunshine before having tea. We had pork belly with ratatouille which was lovely, it was still early after clearing away so out came the Othello, our first game of this trip, we both were a little rusty, the rhubarb liqueur probably didn't help, it was a good game, well it was for me, the first time in a long time that Mrs.P didn't wipe the floor with me.
Friday 25th July
Day 6
Woke 7:00, we had lots to do today so planned to get off by 9:30. however, for one reason or another we we an hour late leaving. We planned to do that last of the northern leg of The Northumberland 250 and make it up to Berwick upon Tweed, it looked a lovely drive through the foothills of the Cheviot Hills, it was a great drive through some beautiful scenery.
We called into the village of Etal to visit the Medieval castle, not too much left of it but what was there gave an impressive picture, attached to the case buildings was cider house selling local ciders and fruit wines, after a little tasting we came away with some brambly apple cider and a bottle of gooseberry wine.
The path around the castle continued we came across a narrow gauge railway, the train was just leaving, we jumped aboard, a bit spontaneous for us.
The 15 minute ride took us to Heatherslaw, we embarked and had half an hour to wander around the station and an old watermill before jumping back on for the return to Etal.
We had only just left the station when the train came to a complete stand still, the guard came running past saying they thought they had forgotten something.
Now I don know why but Adele found this highly amusing and had a fit of the giggles, she was imagining that the was a carriage with passengers on still sitting on the platform, she was still giggling when we got off the train.
It was mid afternoon when we got back to the van and the daily task of finding a park-up began, most were expensive, offering full services, something we did not want or need, eventually we found a site at Ford & Etal Camping, a non-electric grass pitch for £20, they did have toilets and a shower.
It was only about 10 minutes away.
On arrival we had a very friendly greeting, we were shown the facilities, the shower was like a portaloo, the toilets were on the back of a trailer.
More tittering from Adele.
But to be fair to the site, all the facilities were neat, tidy and very clean, we pitched up next to an old oak tree as the sun began to set and enjoyed a glass of wine as the sun went down then a nice steak for tea.
We hadn't made it as far as we thought today, Berwick-upon-Tweed would have to wait until tomorrow, we were both surprisingly tired so decided on an early night.
Saturday 26th July
Day 7
The alarm, yes alarm went of at 6:45am Adele wanted to make sure that we were able to have a shower in the Tardis without queuing, as it happened I don't think anyone was awake so we both had showers before the rest of the camp site had awoken.
We had breakfast, our flying start, the last of the farm eggs from Haining Head Farm, Scottish sausage, bacon, tomatoes and a slice of haggis.
We were off site at 9:30am for the drive to Berwick-upon-tweed, we had problems to begin with trying to find somewhere to park, eventually finding a carpark below the old ramparts.
We took a walk around the medieval ramparts that surrounded this garison town.
We couldn't have arrived on a better day as today was Minden Day, where the town celebrates the Battle of Minden from the mid 1700s.
It was quite an impressive sight to see the old KOSB (Kings Own Scottish Brigade) members marching through the town, there were also displays of Scottish dancing.
We continued our walk along the ramparts before returning to the van for a spot of late lunch and again the task of finding a site for the night.
We have decided to take a jump down the coast to a temporary holiday site (THS) at Beadnell Bay and take trips out to visit the places we want to visit from a central point rather than touring, as the hassle of getting somewhere (affordable) to stay is becoming a real pain.
The drive to the THS took about 40 minutes so not too bad, we arrived mid afternoon and booked in, explaining the we would only book by the night as we were exploring The Northumberland 250 and didn't really know where we would end up at the end of each day, the stewards were fine with this. The THS is HUGE, bigger than any we have stayed on before but well organised so should be ok for a few nights, we were shown our spot and were positioned exactly to a marker peg, we had a cuppa before reading and writing this diary.
Tea tonight is maple glazed chicken with green lentils.
After tea we took Archie for a walk on the beach which was just over the road from our THS
Returning back to the van for a night cap and bed.
Sunday 27th July
Day 8
We woke to rain, although the forecast was for fair weather, by the time we got up it was only spitting, I took Archie for an early morning run on the beach, it was a little blowey to say the least but Archie didn't mind.
We returned just as the rain started again for breakfast.
Our plans today were weather dependant so we were both really please as the rain stopped and the skies brightened. The first stop on todays Northumberland 250 tour was the small seaside village of Beadnell Bay, we pulled on the car park and as we have found here its pay and display, however, on this one we had an hour free as long as we put a ticket on the screen.
We walked through the sand dunes and onto the soft sandy beach, walking towards the small harbour, the only south facing harbour on the east coast of England, where there were three lime lions dating back to the 1700s, where limestone and coal were burnt to create lime for building and agriculture.
The second stop of the day was at Craster, an unspoilt fishing village but we are not here for the sceneryneven though its beautiful, we are here to visit the smokehousenfor itscworld renowned kippers.
I have to say these were the best I have ever tasted, naturally smoked, so moist, so tasty.
After our lunch sitting at the Harbourside we walked out along the coast to Dunstanburgh Castle, the most northerly that's maintained by English Heritage (so we were told) this now ruined castle was build in 1313 to defend this part of Northumberland coast and formed a stronghold in the war of the roses.
Its a one and half mile walk to get to the castle and to be honest it looks a lot more impressive from the outside with little remaining within the castle walls, although you can climb a spiral staircase to the top of the tower and get great views of the surrounding coastline.
It was late afternoon by the time we had returned to the van, suddenly realising it was Sunday and we had little food or drink in the van, the inter web said that there was a Co-op store open until late at Seahouses, we headed there.
The inter web was wrong.
The store shut at 4pm, however, there was a small independent shop open a few doors down so we managed to get a few things from there, pop, was the main thing as we both have been very thirsty over the last few days, tea however was another matter, there was nothing that we both fancied, as we walked up the street we noticed a long queue outside a fish & chip shop, tea sorted.
We returned to the THS, sat with our impromptu tea with the sun shining down, the end to a lovely day.
Monday 28th July
Day 9
Woke 7am, took Archie for his morning walk on the beach, it was a lovely morning, sun was out but still a little windy, we returned for breakfast, bacon butties this morning.
We left the THS to drive back up the coast to Lindisfarne to visit Holy Island, we had to watch the tides as the drive took us over a causeway that gets covered by the sea.
We arrived just after 10am, Paid the car parking another £9.10 and wandered out along the headland to the castle which is under National Trust, there were lots of people there, dogs are not allowed inside the castle so we took turns in going in, the cable was a 16c fortification made into a family home by Edwin Lutyens in 1901, it did feel more of a family home that a castle and was worth the visit. We walked around the headland and back to the van for a spot of lunch.
After a bite to eat and a snooze we visited the Lindisfarne Priory now ruins from 12c when Norman Monks settled here but originated in 634AD.
We sat in the priory grounds soaking up the peace and quiet not realising the time, the tide was coming in and we only had 10 minutes of 'safe time' to recross the causeway, as it happened they must give you extra as the waters had not reached the road.
We wanted to see Bamburgh Castle before we left but found that dogs are not allowed within the castle only the grounds, this made the visit too expensive, so decided to wander the small town and take in the views of this grand castle from afar.
You can book overnight stops on some of Northumberland council car parks, Bamburgh was one of them, we booked a space, number 4 online for an expensive £12 for 6pm-8am but was right opposite the castle, we arrived just after 6pm expecting someone in our booked spot and all the hassle that involves but NO, it was all good when we arrived, I took Archie for a walk around the castle to get some photos and video, it took a lot longer than I had thought, when we go back to the van it was gone 7pm, we had tea, chicken curry and chips.
Later, after tiding up we took the short walk into Bambough and were treated to a wonderful sunset, casting the most amazing light on to the castle.
We eventually got back to the van at 10pm and went straight to bed, only to be woken half an hour later by fireworks, we didn't bother checking them out, just turned over and went back to sleep.
Tuesday 29th July
Day 10
The alarm went off at 6.45am, we needed to be off this park up by 8.am or have to pay an additional £7.00, I took Archie for a quick walk to the village green and back to the van.
We left spot on 8.00 and moved a couple of miles up the coast to Seahouses, where we could park next to the dunes, free of charge for breakfast, I took Archie out through the dunes onto the beach for his morning run, it was so peaceful with no=one around not even dog walkers, we returned after about half an hour for breakfast.
before we moved on we decided to take the short walk to Seahouses harbour, we walked across the beach and struck up conversation with a local lady who amongst other things told us about a lovely local cafe that made home made cakes, we said we would call in as it was on our way to Alnwick. we eventually made it to the harbour and watched the tourist boats leave for the Farne Islands, it was so busy but once the boats had left it went so quiet.
After a couple of hours we returned to the van and made our way to The Rocking Horse Cafe at Rock just a few miles away from Alnwick, we both had the most amazing freshly made cake, Adele had Courgette, lime and pistachio, I had rhubarb, custard and ginger jam with a big pot of tea.
it was 2.30pm when we left to make our way to Alnwick, we had a difficult time trying to find the car park but after numerious attempts we found it but you needed a Northumberland County Council park ing disc which was available at the tourist office, Adele went in search of said disc as I stayed with the van in case a parking attendant came.
Adele returned with said disc, cost £1, we didn't see a parking attendant.
We wandered around Alnwick taking photos, the place had lots of references to a Harry Porter, apparently he was in a book and a film, we have read or seen the film so it was a little lost on us.
Before leaving Alnwick we called into Adli to get a few provisions, then out a few miles to out park up, its a motorhome aire at Shilbottle, a lovely country park up and we were the only ones there, with all amenities except EHU for £12 per night, its so peaceful.
We had nibbles and a beer before tea, reading and writing this diary.
Tea is Pork with ratatouille, we sat outside enjoying the last of the evening sunshine before having an early night.
Wednesday 30th July
Day 11
Woke at 8am, no alarm call this morning, we planned a more relaxing day, showers first then took Archie for his morning walk, up the lane from the stop-over to the farm, we met a guy at the stables with a Jack Russell and had a chat for a while, then back to the van for breakfast bacon and tomato butties.
We tidied the van, topped up with water and emptied the tanks before leaving.
We made the 15 minute drive to visit the village and castle of Warkworth, the 12c castle has more to explore than most with its tower keep surviving in pretty good condition, when we arrived the car park was full we were asked to park on the verge next to the cricket ground, at this point we should have realised that there must be something on there. We parked up and walked the short distance to the castle, it was heaving with people, mostly 'little people' there was a medieval mischief day on, not the day to visit by a miserable old crinkley.
We did make the most of it, the castle was in fact very good but too many people there to fully immerse ourselves in its history, we spent a cripple of hours having an explore before returning to the van for a spot of lunch, cheese and pickle cob, crisps and a couple of slices of malt loaf.
We had a snooze for a short while before making our way to Amble, we have booked another car park space with NCC hope fully it will be as straight forward as last time, it was.
We pulled onto the carpark and all 3 spaces were free, our booking was for bay 2, I reversed in opened the rear doors and then had a ill judged idea that I could reverse a little closer to the rail, I did but promptly hit the rear doors bending the flange a little, should have stayed where I was.
We walked into Amble, to check out where the fish bistro we have booked for tonight was, it was in fact a little further from the park up than we had expected but that's ok.
We wandered around the harbour and out onto the harbour wall before retuning to the van for a rest before supper.
Feeling refreshed we had a quick change, put Archie in his create and took the short walk to The Old Boat House, a bistro style restaurant.
Out table was waiting, the menus looked great plus there was a specials board with even more temping dishes.
We pondered over a drink, decision made.
Adele started with roasted scallops, I had Lindesfarne oysters.
For mains Adele had the langoustines and for me, baked mackerel.
The starters were beautiful but nothing prepared us for the main course, my mackerel came with a beetroot and goats cheese salad with was great but when Adeles Langoustines arrive at the table it was a feast of seafood, we have never seen so many on a plate, we tucked in to the most beautiful flavours, wash down with a bottle of our favourite seafood wine Pinapoul de pinet.
We finished the wine looking out over the harbour at a beautiful sunset, the end of a great day.
We returned to the van, took Archie for his evening walk before retiring for the night.
Thursday 31st July
Day 12
Woke at 7am after a good nights sleep, even though we were on a NCC carpark there was little noise until the bin men turned up at 7.00.
I took Archie for his morning walk, then back for breakfast, just cereal, croissants and fruit juice this morning, we had no need to dash off this morning as once out over night time had expired the car park became free to use.
After a short planning meeting we made our way to the National Trust property of Cragside which turned out to be more of an adventure rather than a day trip.
Apparently there are over 42 miles of walks around the estate, we particularly enjoyed the walk through the gorge, a man made gorge to harness force of the water to power a hydroelectric plant to power the estate with electricity in the 1800s by Lord and Lady Armstrong, pioneers in engineering and natural sciences.
If we thought the estate was amazing we were blown away by the house, stunning interiors as they were in the early 19c, we could have and perhaps should have spent more time but we all were getting a little tired and it was getting late in the afternoon.
We found a CAMPRA aire at The lakes at Linden, a great park-up next to private fishing lakes, with water, grey waste and CDP, all for £10.
We parked up had G&T with some nibbles, halloumi fries then a chicken tikka curry with a couple of glasses of beer.
We ended our day reading and writing this diary, an early night I think.
Friday 1st August
Day 13
Woke after a good nights sleep, so peaceful here.
We are coming to the end of our Northumberland 250 Tour, but before we start our way home we still have a few places to fit in, we had a short planning meeting over breakfast, we don't want to miss anything out especially after all the research Adeles put in.
First stop today was Aston Manor House, one of the best examples of a fortified medieval manor, begun in the 13th century, Aston was progressively turned into a miniature castle as the Anglo-Scottish border warfare grew fiercer.
But today it was closed!
We spoke with a local lady who said she was still unsure why it was closed but gave us directions for a lovely wooded walk.
We left a little disappointed but carried on to Corbridge, the site of a Roman Town, built before Hadrian's Wall and was the most northerly town in the Roman Empire.
We walked along the 'Main Street' on the cobble stones roman soldiers walked on almost 2000 years ago, we could see the foundations of many buildings of this busy roman high street.
There is an great museum with many items found on site during the excavations but the Corbridge Hoard was, to us amazing, an astonishing collection of personal possessions, weapons and armour buried by a roman soldier.
We spent a couple of hours here before visiting the 'New' town of Corbridge, with its quaint buildings, we walked over the old bridge into the town.
Its our last full day on this trip and as we walked the old streets we came across Grants, a paper French style patisserie, we had to call in.
I stayed with Archie as Adele entered the shop, we could smell that special smell from the outside so it was no surprise that Adele came out with a box, a box packed with sweet treats.
We left Corbridge for our last night in Northumberland and we thought it would be quite fitting for us to stay where our tour began ay Bolbec Manor, we called in on spec and found they were full but when we mentioned we had started our Northumberland there a couple of weekend ago they found us a pitch, which was really good of them.
We sat in the van with the last of the days sunshine coming through the windows having to make a difficult decision, which cake were we going to have.
Saturday 2nd August
Day 14
We woke early, had breakfast, bacon butties.
Before the trek home we had one last place to visit on The Northumberland 250, the small picture postcard village of Blanchland, set besides the river in the Derwent valley.
We arrived about 10am, there was no-one around, no locals, no tourists, we wandered through the streets.
The small community shop was open selling essentials and a small gift shop with arts and crafts from local artists.
After our mosey around we returned to the van, a quick drink and a snack before putting in the DY10 postcode in the Sat-Nav.
The drive home was uneventful and in fairness quite enjoyable, we chatted almost all the way back about our first tour of the north east and what an enjoyable holiday we both have had, beautiful scenery, great walks, immersed in history, some lovely food and met some really nice people.
We arrived home late afternoon already missing our vanlife experiences and thinking about where to explore next.
benivanadventures - travels in our campervan
Trip Details:
Miles: 1011
Ave MPG: 32.2mpg
Fuel Cost: £ 221.98
Car Parking: £ 37.00
LPG £ 8.29
Eating Out £290.39
Nights: 13
Camp Fees: £ 170.00
Camp Ave per night: £ 13.07 pn
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