Wednesday was Bird Day
Very cool and misty morning today, and not much in the plans except for a pub lunch somewhere. Oh, and also a stop in Embleton to pick up Elaine’s new phone. Her Moto G has been acting up, off and on, for awhile, refusing to take a charge when it doesn’t feel like it. So today it will be replaced, via Amazon UK, with a new Moto E.
Elaine took her obligatory constitutional with Dorothy at 6:30 am. Then after a leisurely morning around the house doing a load of wash, we decided to visit the Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre run by the Northumberland Wildlife Trust. The wildlife here is birds. We’ve mentioned how the Brits love their gardens and their cuppa (tea). Well, they also love birds. Clearly people here set up in the “hides”, small wooden buildings with benches and slit windows that open for viewing, and stay for hours on end in the odd chance of seeing a Lapwing or a European Spoonbill. We saw lots of birds and geese. We actually saw a rare pink footed goose. Yay! They are usually about only from October to March and spend the rest of the year in Iceland or even Greenland. A birder told us this one had probably been shot (legally in season) but not killed and was unable to partake in the long journey to his homeland.
Click on the galleries to bring up scrollable windows with complete pictures – (the gallery previews below show just thumbnails of the pictures)
After our fill of bird watching (an hour or so), we headed for Rennington Village for lunch at the Horseshoes Inn. Pints of beer all around – I tried locally produced Farne Island Bitter. We visited the Farne Islands last years and viewed the huge colony of puffins (and other species). The appetizers were excellent: deep-fried crispy-coated Camembert with homemade onion marmalade and local Craster smoked salmon with salad and buttered farm bakery bread. Elaine had a magnificent (and huge) fish and chips and I had beef and chicken strips in barbecue sauce (meh!). I should have had the fish and chips, but I did get a bite or two. Forgot to get a picture of the fish and chips – I would have needed a wide angle lens to get it anyway. 🙂
After stopping to pick up the Moto E, we went home for a quiet afternoon. I got a good nap in and we did some more laundry. Full from lunch, we skipped dinner. Of course, we didn’t skip cocktails. It was too chilly to sit outside. Then a little TV and off to bed.
Thursday – A Walk Around Craster
Thursday was quiet. We drove into Alnwick in the morning to get cold cuts, water, and petrol for Hi Ho. Sandwiches for lunch at home. In the afternoon we took a walk from Craster Rocks through town and out along the cliffs to the south. Not much more to say except show the pictures in two galleries.
Patterns Along the Walk
Dinner tonight will be at the Jolly Fisherman with Geoff and Dorothy. Tomorrow morning (Friday) we will pack up Hi Ho and leave early for Cromer, about a six hour drive to our next week-long stop at Valonia Lighthouse. No posting tomorrow. Be back on Saturday night. See you then!
A beautiful walk and lots of lambs and bright flowers along the way. Would love to have a daily walk just like that one. Safe travels. Cindy
Felt the cool through those pictures, lovely!
Arrived in NYC today, getting acclimated to the humidity. Good dinner near the Flatiron building. Told Kris, in 37 years, I never once explored that area.
Wow, the food, the views, the birds, Goldilock’s cottage. All fabulous. I could stay at Craster Rocks forever. Can’t wait to see Valonia Lighthouse.
Travel safe.