Sea, Sand and Castles

I spent last week on holiday in Northumberland. I couldn't believe how many castles there are! We were staying in Bamburgh, so started with a trip to Bamburgh Castle:

The castle looks out over the lovely Northumbrian coast, and is in excellent repair. I was fascinated by the life story of Lord Armstrong, whose family still owns the castle.

The next outing was to the Farne Islands, which lie just off the coast and are managed by the National Trust. We took a boat trip around the islands where we saw the lighthouse

and basking seals,

and then landed on Inner Farne where we could walk around and see the thousands of nesting birds - cormorants,

kittiwakes

and best of all, puffins!

These windows are in St Cuthbert's Chapel on Inner Farne.

Our third trip was inland to Hadrian's Wall, which I had never visited. We went to Housesteads Fort, where you could see the ruins of one of the great forts along the wall,

and then walked along a section of the wall which adjoins the fort. I am now determined to return to the Wall and walk a substantial section of it next year.

On the road back from the Wall we passed Alnwick Castle, which we did not have time to visit this year. And on the road past a big stately home we stopped to look at these amazing dragons heads in stone:

Aren't they fab!

On the last day we drove to Craster, just along the coast from us, and walked out to Dunstanburgh Castle, which was destroyed by artillery bombardment during the Wars of the Roses.

It is perched on a cliff edge and right by a golf course.

We walked out to the castle and then back along the sea shore.

What a lovely, relaxing holiday in one of the most beautiful spots in the British Isles!