Several of the family have springtime birthdays, so it’s not uncommon for us to gather together to celebrate a “royal birthday,” mine was the significant one this year so I got to choose the location.
One place we’ll never get to on board Firecrest is Northumbria, and a place I’ve always heard good things about is the Northumbrian coast. I chose to rent a house in Alnwick. (Of course when we made this choice we thought we’d be cruising over the leeds and liverpool canal, which meant it wasnt quite such a long drive, but there you go, plans change) The Physicians House in Alnwick sleeps 10 so plenty of room for my closest family and friends and ideally located for us go off and do our own things during the day and gather to eat drink and make merry in the evenings.
Alnwick itself is a perfect little market town, protected by its castle,
And birthplace of Henry Percy, who became known as Harry Hotspur, because of his speed when it came to doing battle with the marauding Scots. (also known for his part in the downfall of Richard II, his part in Shakespear’s Henry IV part 1, and for his family lands being the site of a certain London based football club.)
The castle is open to the public, but our packed weekend meant we just didn’t have enough time to visit it. Instead we took a short drive out to Craster and walked along the beach to see the dramatic Dunstanburgh castle. Turner had a similar idea but he thought it needed to be a bit more dramatic when he painted in in 1798
I’m not sure that I agree.
Due to its isolated location, it wasn’t maintained and fell into ruins after the war of the Roses (1455-1487)
Nowadays it’s home to the seabirds.
I’ve always loved being by the sea, and one of my favourite childhood pastimes was playing French Cricket on the beach. In those days it was usually with a pieces of driftwood, but Amanda had come prepared.
Diana and Chris had also come prepared with some silly races
But we generally just enjoyed being a family all together
We went on wild walks through the rock pools
Bamburgh castle was magical
I even learnt to fly, albeit only for a few seconds
Whilst we couldn’t squeeze in a look inside Alnwick castle, we did go into the gardens with its amazing water features and scary poison garden
It was hot enough to eat lots of icecream but we were too full of maltezer birthday cake,
It was a truly memorable weekend, and I wish I could have included so many more of my friends and family
Eric and I will return to Northumbria, in a smaller property for a proper explore in years to come but for now, I am a happy 60 year old and I have a rail card.
Many many happy memories, thanks everyone.