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.

Carlisle

Carlisle was our stopover on a recent trip to Scotland which although drivable in a day we like to explore new places. 

Staying in the Ibis hotel once in our room we could have been back in France but we've never seen this on our travels across the water.

As members of English Heritage we visited Carlisle Castle which began life as a Roman Fort in AD72 used for troops invading Scotland.

In the 7th century the Kings of Northumbria sited an abbey in Carlisle and for half a century the fortress was a stronghold against the Scots until the crowns of England and Scotland were united in 1603.

The castle has had many royal occupants since William II in 1092 until it became under army control in the 1960s as the Border Regiment's headquarters.

The castle keep, a stone structure with towers and fortifications, was built by Henry I in the early 12th century. David I King of Scotland took over the castle and reinforced its walls. Henry II and King John both influenced how the castle grew in size and dominance.

Edward I was based here for three months during his fighting against the Scots in 1296. After this line stay the tower was built to provide better accommodation.

Carlisle has been the centre of fighting for centuries including a unsuccessful seige by Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland in 1315 after his victory at the Battle of Bannockburn. The War of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York was one of the bloodiest sieges in 1461.

With Scotland and France becoming a strong alliance Henry VIII reinforced the castle in the mid 16th century, and not long after Mary, Queen of Scots, lived in the castle at a huge cost in food and wine to Elizabeth I. The castle was not used as a residential palace again.

The Union of England and Scotland in 1603 in theory would make Carlisle Cadtle obsolete but it became a main part of the Civil War under the reign of Charles I in 1642 when the Parliamentarian army surrounded Carlisle with the plan to starve out the city. 1645 brought reinforcements as the English troops increased the pressure on the city and in June the city surrendered.

Still more trouble beseiged the castle during the second Jacobite rising when Prince Charles Edward Stuart captured Carlisle in 1745 as he travelled south. Having met resistance in the Midlands he returned to Scotland but left an army of over 400 at the castle to keep the English at bay. However this was not the case and several Jacobite soldiers were imprisoned and 31 publicly executed.

Quieter times then passed with the castle having needed repairs and defences increased including the addition of a drawbridge. Carlisle Castle became an important army barracks from the early 1820s which were extended in the 19th century when it became the headquarters of the Border Regiment. The Regiment moved out in 1959 and now English Heritage shares the site with many organisations including Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life.

Athelwold was the first Bishop of Carlisle when the church became a cathedral in the 1100s. Two friaries were founded in 1233 close to the cathedral which was refurbished a couple of hundred years later when Edward I held his parliament in Carlisle. 

Hey VIII was responsible for the Dissolution of the friaries and during the Civil War stones from the cathedral were used to reinforce the castle. The cathedral has many uses, including housing Jacobite prisoners, and hosting the marriage of Sir Walter Scott in 1797. It now houses a memorial chapel for the Border Regiment.

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We didn't have long to look around but the wooden carvings, screens, stained glass windows and painted ceiling were amazing. As were the painted panels on the back of the choir stalls. They depict the 12 Apostles, St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, St Anthony of Egypt and St Augustine of Hippo. The words are written in Anglo-Saxon and were painted in the late 1400s. 

After a great time exploring the castle and cathedral we rested our weary legs in the Coco Mill with two flights of beer. Our selections were (from left to right) Tropical Pale, Pinky Promise, Subway to Venus, Raspberry Ripple Screwball, Wylde Moon and Neck Oil, a great way to try them all.

Carlisle was a great place to stopover on our way to Scotland, a lovely start to our autumn trip north.