Saturday. Cloudy start. Cloudy end. Sun and clouds in between. No rain. After arising, I walked around town for a bit and took a few snaps of little Craster. Elaine was on her power walk around the coast.
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OUT AND ABOUT IN CRASTER
At 9:30 we hopped in the car for what I expected would be a boring day overall and early return to Craster Rocks for naps and cocktails. It wasn’t to be. Our first stop was Alnwick Castle and Garden. Just another castle, yes? No. Alnwick is the home of the 12th Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. It is closed from October to April as they are in residence. From May through September it is open to the public. The castle has some notoriety as a venue for film. It was the location for the first two Harry Potter films. It was the setting for parts of Cate Blanchett’s movie, Elizabeth. It was the setting for Brancaster Castle, the location for the last two Downton Abbey Christmas episodes. The beautiful formal dining room is still set as it was for the Downton Christmas dinner, and the have the actual outfits worn by the cast on display.
The castle exterior is stunning. No photography allowed inside the castle unfortunately. They have a Dragon Quest where you hunt dragons. They have the Northumberland Fusiliers Museum. The Alnwick Garden is brilliant. Good thing it was entertaining because it cost £21 per person (after senior discount) to see it all. What we expected to be a 30 minute glance at another castle took up the better part of three hours.
From there we moved on Cragside House, a National Trust property, so our membership saved the admission charges. Cragside was home of Lord William Armstrong who was quite the water related inventor. It is a country house and was the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power. It is built into a rocky hillside above a forest garden of just under 1,000 acres. Cragside was built in 1863 as a modest two-storey country lodge, but was subsequently extended into an elaborate mansion in the Free Tudor style. At one point, the building included an astronomical observatory and a scientific laboratory. It is surrounded by one of Europe’s largest rock gardens, a large number of rhododendrons and a large collection of mostly coniferous trees. One variety of rhododendron is named after Lady Armstrong.
In 1868, a hydraulic engine was installed, with water being used to power labor-saving machines such as laundry equipment, a rotisserie and a hydraulic lift. In 1870, water from one of the estate’s lakes was used to drive a Siemens dynamo in what was the world’s first hydroelectric power station. The resultant electricity was used to power an arc lamp installed in the Gallery in 1878. The arc lamp was replaced in 1880 by Joseph Swan’s incandescent lamps in what Swan considered ‘the first proper installation’ of electric lighting. (Thomas Alva Who?) The use of electricity in many of the houses gadgets and systems has also led it to be described by some as a smart home as it was the first private residence to use incandescent lighting, a dish washer, a vacuum cleaner and a washing machine. One of Armstrong’s stated aims of both using and funding these new automation technologies was to “emancipate the world from household drudgery”, as shown on a plaque at Bamburgh Castle, his other residence. (We may visit there later in the week.)
CRAGSIDE HOUSE PHOTOS
We drove home after that, stopping only to fill Vic up with diesel. It was cocktail hour by the time we got home, so we indulged. Tonight we had reservations at the Jolly Fisherman in Craster, just a short walk from the house. The restaurant is very popular and rightly so. I had their famous Crab Soup (Craster is a crabbing mecca) for a starter and a wonderful Cold Fish Platter for my main. Elaine started with Crab Thermidor and had a delicious Game Pie for her main. We shared a trio of ice creams for dessert. No pictures as we forgot the camera. We go back there again on Thursday.
You all are really going to miss all that fresh seafood when you return home. I like the town of Craster and your visits to the castles and gardens. Looks like Elaine is getting good use out of her new jackets. She will not need them at home. Love Cindy