One of the lovely things about staying in hotels is that you feel entirely justified in eating what’s generally known as a full English breakfast. At one time (as a direct reflection of the harshness and rationing of the war years) English cooking was pretty dire and the best that anyone would say about it was that we made excellent breakfasts. Actually, given time to enjoy it, I think English breakfasts are probably still one of the best things about English cooking.
Starting with porridge and moving on to bacon and eggs, followed by toast and tea or coffee, there really isn’t a better way to start the day. Working means you rarely have time to have a “proper” breakfast (though what on earth could be classed as improper about muesli or an egg, I don’t know) so weekends and holidays are the only time we really have to enjoy them.
Because we had been to Craster the day before and smelled the delicious whiff of kippers smoking in the smokehouse, the Bear decided to have a grilled kipper.
That quite surprised me because he really isn’t truly Omnivorous yet and besides being convinced that beans and celery and other “stringy” vegetables are out to strangle him, he’s also very much against eating any fish with bones….
And bones are something a kipper has a lot of. Still, that’s the Bear. Full of surprises.
I think the Bear was quite surprised as well but he masked his horror and dug in and even enjoyed it.
I suppose a kipper is something everyone ought to try at least once and the Bear has now tried it. He might even have them again.
Next stop on our jaunt was the Alnwick Garden, in the grounds of Alnwick Castle, which some of you might recognise from the Harry Potter films.
The Alnwick Garden is possibly the most spectacular contemporary garden in the UK today and features one of Europe’s largest treehouses,
which is a fantastic restaurant… if you want to eat there, though, you have to book well in advance as it is so popular
And the grounds are packed with beautiful water features
and elegant gardens….
Bamboo labyrinths and rose gardens… water sculptures
and this …The Poison Garden. Walled off and separate – all the plants inside are poisonous and you are escorted around by a guide.
.. the detail on the gates is incredible
and what’s really marvellous, is that they were made by a genius artist, Ridley Amos, who happens to be the father of one of the Bear’s friends! The detail is incredible, with each leaf perfectly made and distinct from each other leaf.
If you are in Northumberland then you should try to visit Alnwick. You really cannot fail to be impressed.
We set off next, crossing the causeway to visit the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, where St Aidan set up his monastery in 635 AD
and walked out to the Castle,
which is stunning in its stark beauty.
The Bear loved it.
We crossed back to the mainland as the sun set.
We had walked at least 7 miles that day – not a lot, I know, but the fresh sea air and the biting winds made us ravenous and we ate, that night, in Bamburgh, the freshest fish you could imagine
and the Bear confessed that before he met me he used to like eating mushy peas (that’s some, in the picture) on top of crumpets! I have no idea how he came up with that concoction and no real desire to explore the reason why. All I can say is that no other chef has come up with that as a recipe to be proud of and as for the Bear, well, he doesn’t do it anymore.
I told you he could be surprising at times… and then he surprised me some more, by teaching me to play Table Football with three coins and our fingers as goalposts. You have to keep flicking the coin between two other coins all the way across the table to get to the goal. Why this hasn’t caught in in restaurants across the world, I really don’t know. I suppose it may have something to do with the fact that we were laughing a lot. Wine may have helped, I agree.
And then it was time for bed… the last night of our weekend away.
Back to home and me to start a new job… and start cooking again.
Beautiful photos and I love those tree houses, I am sure I saw them on the Hairy Bikers when they did a Christmas special a few years ago.
Very nice post – even if I say so myself.
Wow, pictures are beautiful. I’m so jealous!
Love all the beautiful photos. What a lovely trip! Thanks for sharing. Have a fun weekend!
Nice to see more of the photos from your weekend. Alnwick was closed the last time we went to Northumberland, so I will now definitely have to go back as I love a good garden!