If there’s one thing that stops me planning holidays at home in the UK, it’s the weather. The thought of spending a week off work holed up in a hotel room while rain buckets down outside is usually what sends me trotting off to the travel agent to book a flight to somewhere hot.
It’s a shame, really, because there are some absolutely stunning places all over the country: a lot of them are more or less on my doorstep.
Yesterday, Neil and I jammed on up to Northumberland in my green bean for a bit of adventure. We ate crab-filled stotties at the Ship Inn in Low Newton before walking south along the curving beach to the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. Luckily for us, the weather was good: sunny, but not blazing hot, and just a bit hazy.
We climbed the hill to the ruins and followed the fenceline to the back of the castle, which sits atop rocky cliffs overlooking the North Sea. We plonked ourselves down on the cliff top (I stayed a few feet back: all those years of Mutti screeching “Stay away from the edge!” must’ve had an affect on me) and stayed there for… well, I lost track of time but it must’ve been at least an hour. It was warm, with hardly anyone else around. There were seagulls and the sounds of the waves hitting the rocks pretty far below. I didn’t think about work, or about my Stupid Essay (which still isn’t finished), or about fixing my bike or writing a blog or doing any knitting. I didn’t think about the huge, wobbling pile of ironing sat waiting for me at home. I just thought about where I was, and who I was with, and how I could have happily stayed there for a long, long time.
awwwwwwwww!!! you lurrve him, you lurrrve him
How very discreet of you, dear!
Sorry, will whisper next time
[...] along the coast, past the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle (which some of you may recognise from last year), the cliffs… and the sheep, of [...]