Chillingham

Another good night's sleep. Last night we had tried to ensure that everything that we needed in the morning was accessible. So when it came to making the first cup of tea this morning, everything went really smoothly. It does take time to learn to get these small details right, but it makes such a big difference. 

Walked into the village to get a paper, another beautifully sunny morning.

Went into the farm shop's cafe for breakfast, which was excellent, and then packed up the van and looked at the map to decide what to do today. Plan A was to go and do some bell ringing in Berwick, but that was fully booked - clearly our planning needs to improve here.

Chillingham castle was not far away, neither of us had ever been, so that would be our destination. But calling into the town of Wooler first, as again neither of us had been before.

The road to Wooler, nestling at the feet of the Cheviot hills, was very picturesque

Wooler itself was soon dealt with. A high street with a variety of shops, and this interesting planter with four nest boxes at the top.

Chillingham castle turned out to be very interesting. With origins going back to a bronze age cave, this medieval castle had been restored from a crumbling ruin. It was full of so much stuff.

The garden had also been brought back into something resembling a garden befitting a castle. Clipping these hedges must be so time consuming

We walked up to a couple of lakes in the castle grounds

In this one, fish were leaping out of the water to catch insects. A good 12 to 18 inches into the air before flopping back into the water. Quite mesmerising. 

Then back to our roadside parking spot at Low Newton. We had booked a table at the Ship Inn for dinner tonight.

Sampling all of the ales from the pub's microbrewery

The food was excellent. I had a whole roast wood pigeon, stuffed with haggis. Vera had dressed crab. And sticky toffee pudding.

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