Durham

On our way from our holiday up north in October we stopped by in Durham. Making use of the park and ride located just off the M1 we were soon in the city which was surprisingly on a very steep hill.

The city was founded just before the turning of the first Millennium when Anglo Saxon monks settled here with the relics of St Cuthbert hiding from Viking raiders.

Durham is a busy student city with part of the University in the Castle a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Durham Cathedral is a place we've wanted to visit and it didn't disappoint, it's huge and looked amazing with natires autumn colours.

This Anglican Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Durham and is the Shrine of St Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede. St Cuthbert, an early Christian monk, became Bishop of Lindisfarne on Holy Island. Bede who lived in the late 600s and early 700s was England's first historian, famous for The Ecclesiastical History of the English People which included the life of St Cuthbert.

A replica of the Sanctuary Knocker is quite a welcome on the Cathedral door. Safety and sanctuary is a focus in Christianity and in medieval times anyone who had committed a great offence could rap the knocker and would be given 37 days of sanctuary within the Cathedral.

The Galiee Chapel with it's beautiful arches was initially the Lady Chapel. It is at the far end of the Cathedral and was the area women were allowed within the monastery. In 1022 the relics of St Bede were brought from Jarrow, his tomb is now a place of pilgrimage.

The stone font with its intricate wooden casing stands at the start of the nave. It's quite a sight looking down the 150 metre long nave with it's vaulted ceiling towering 22 metres above. The space is so still, Durham Cathedral has a very calm atmosphere which is enhanced by its vast openness.

The resting place of Prince Bishop Thomas Hatfield is a stunningly colourful tomb, more so when the sun shines through the Cathedral windows. Prince Hatfield was a long serving Bishop holding office from 1345 until 1381.

Behind the Quire is St Cuthbert's Shrine, also a place of pilgrimage. St Cuthbert was buried on Lindisfarne but was moved in the 9th century to Dun Holm. In the mid 1500s King Henry VIII commissioned the Shrine to be dismantled but when uncovered the tomb contained an unconsumed body in priestly clothing instead of the expected dust and bones. This was seen as a sign of St Cuthbert's holiness and the tomb was reinterred.

The cloisters in Durham Cathedral give an inner view of the great towers, a different aspect of the vast building. The cloisters also lead to the Chapter House which was used as Professor McGonagall's classroom in the Harry Potter films. It was a little sad standing there as Dame Maggie Smith who played this magical teacher had passed away only a month earlier, there was certainly an added quietness and air of appreciation surrounding the Chapter House visitors, ourselves included.

We had a lovely visit to this amazing Cathedral that has played, and is still, an important part in Christian life.

Berwick upon Tweed

After our few days in Edinburgh we stayed in Berwick-upon-tweed along with our friends. Although the Haven site is quite large our caravans were nearby each other so not far to walk home after our evenings together.

Hubby and I visited Berwick-upon-tweed in 2021 when there were still restrictions so we were looking forward to revisiting. However we were still restricted as one day it poured down with winds over 65km, nice to watch the rough sea but not great for walking around. 

We did manage to walk the ramparts around the town. The bridges are quite a sight and as the tidal river Tweed was low there were herons on the shoreline. Each one on their own dotted along river edge, we wondered if each had their own patch.

 

Berwick-upon-tweed is a place often visited by L. S. Lowry. The famous matchstick people painter loved to holiday in Berwick-upon-tweed, The Lowry Trail around the town features many of his paintings.

We didn't follow the trail but did see this Lowry board on our rampart walk. The buildings are still quite similar today, just a few changes showing how life is different now - yellow lines and vehicles instead of people. 

In the centre of the town is Berwick Barracks, this was closed on our last visit. The Barracks were purpose built in the 18th century to protect the Border. Today the buildings house various museums about the history of Berwick-upon-tweed and the King's Own Scottish Borderers museum. It was interesting to visit this English Heritage property but wasn't wheelchair accessible so not suitable for one of our friends.

On our final day we drove inland and across the border back into Scotland to visit Coldstream. The museum there was really good with lots of information about the Coldstream Guards as well as the local area.

We stopped by the Union Chain Bridge on the way. Although construction of the Menai Bridge had begun the Union Chain Bridge was the first wrought iron suspension to be opened. In 1820 it was the longest vehicular Bridge with a span of 449 feet. The bridge was very much needed and although free today people were happy to pay the crossing toll as the alternative route was either 11 mile round trip via Berwick-upon-tweed or a 20 mile route via Coldstream.

Crossing today is on foot or one vehicle at a time. It is a narrow crossing and the suspension bridge does move up and down with the weight of a vehicle as it crosses, it looks quite drastic and I'm glad we drove across before I saw a crossing. It was a lovely location, the River Tweed was very full and fast flowing after all the rain.

We had a good time with our friends, we always do when away... good food and good wine. Although the weather was typically British our short stay in Berwick-upon-tweed was lovely, it is somewhere I would visit again.

Edinburgh

We previously visited Edinburgh in March 2022 spending a whole week exploring. This visit was a weekend with friends to see the highlights, although autumn we were very lucky with the weather.

We stayed in Leith at the Premier Inn, a bit of confusion as their parking is no longer free (no notification of change when we booked). It's a standard hotel but a great location as the new tram is only a few minutes walk away, as is HMY Britannia. 

As we had visited most places whilst our friends explored we went to The Georgian House now owned by the National Trust. They actually own three of the houses in the row including the house used by the First Minister of Scotland.

The house was an example of Georgian living, it wasn't a house owned by anyone in particular. There is currently an exhibition of design and clothing on the second floor, the dresses were beautiful.

The first floor had examples of Georgian living. The fabric and floor design in the bedroom was beautiful and as always I love a large set dining table and the promise of a good evening.

Below stairs was the kitchen, a huge room filled with shining mould. It must have been hot hard work but I would have loved to have been a chef in a kitchen such as this. 

In one of the pantries we found a lovely pewter set of measuring jugs, they look nicer than my glass Pyrex ones in our kitchen.

We had a super time with our friends especially revisiting Johnnie Walker Princes Street and enjoying a wee dram in the rooftop 1820 bar that overlooks the castle we visited earlier.

Leaving Edinburgh we headed to Berwick-upon-tweed for a caravan holiday. On the way we called again at Glenkinchie, a Johnnie Walker lowlands distillery. We had no time for a tour but did enjoy a coffee and browse through the shop.

It was lovely to be in Edinburgh again, a little steep in places for pushing our friend in her wheelchair but everywhere was sufficiently accessible especially HMY Britannia. We all had a great time, thank you Edinburgh.

Aryshire

Our Scotland holiday began with a few days in Ayrvon the west coast, an area new to us. Staying on Craig Tara caravan park we were a little surprised by the shape of our caravan, a very strange sloping lounge roof. It was a comfortable stay but not the best Haven holiday we've had.

Settling in we enjoyed a couple of wines we had brought with us, perfect for our prawn starter and steak main. I do enjoy cooking and even on holiday I like a bit of wine pairing.

Ayr is the birthplace of Robert Burns, Scotland’s famous poet. Being English I taught Shakespeare in school and although I had heard of Robert Burns (we do have haggis every January) I knew very little of his work. 

We visited the Robert Burns Museum and the cottage he was born in .... and I fell in love with his writing. Full of Scottish dialect and old words I took great delight in realising their meaning and connection to English or other languages, I have always been fascinated in where words came from and how languages are intertwined. 

We walked to the Brig o Doon, a lovely little bridge that features in one of his poems. In Ayr we had a lovely meal in the Tam o'Shanter pub, named after his poem about fleeing on a horse. The straw sculptures at his cottage were great images of himself and Tam.

Having a while to wait for the returning bus we wandered into The Twa Dugs, a great whisky bar also named after a Robert Burns poem. There was such a choice of whisky, all with price labels that started at a reasonable couple of quid per dram to some whiskies being over £15 a dram... so much choice.

Hubby kept with the Ayr theme and tried Robert Burns whisky and I opted for Antiquary 12 year old. It was so smooth, I'm on the hunt now for a bottle as it was the nicest whisky I have had for a while.

Our Ayrshire holiday ended eith a visit to Dumfries House, owned by King Charles and offers learning and working opportunities for many trades. 

It was in a beautiful setting and was a stunning house with many fine pieces of furniture, Axminster carpets and delicate porcelain. No photographs can be taken in the house so the only way you'll see inside is to visit yourself, definitely recommended.

We had a lovely time in Ayrshire, I think our next visit to the west of Scotland will be touring the islands with their stunning mountains.