Northumbria and Coast

* Sophia's  under 11 Northop Hall hockey team came third in the National competition. A big effort!!

Northumbria is a bit of a secret - a place barely discovered by tourists yet clearly one of the most magically beautiful parts of Britain.

We were privileged to experience the best hospitality from our friends and their extended family located in Beadnell, Chathill.

The borderlands of this region were fiercely fought over for centuries. Hadrian left his mark with his wall, medieval lords also showed their prowess by building castles as protection from Scottish raiders; the area has some of the best, Alnwick (filmed in Harry Potter) and the one we laid on the beach beside, Bamburgh. This one is the third most popularly photographed sites in the U.K, I could see why!

Whin Sill crag and Bamburgh Castle

We were introduced to sand sledging! The girls couldn't get enough of it and wanted to return over and over again. Walking up a steep sand dune with a sledge, pushing a four year old is a REAL workout and coming down is a blast! 

Julia asked if she could go off a 1.5 meter drop off. After the drop the sand slanted off steeply to the bottom 15 meters below. I said yes assuming she would get cold feet. She didn't and after about three attempts even managed to stay on the sledge after hitting the sand. Naturally after this feet of shear madness we were all forced to attempt it with various degrees of success. 

Mmmm, won't go into the key loosing drama too much... it was a bank holiday and impossible to get a locksmith or courier to help until the Tuesday!! Was really overwhelmed with the generosity of our friends and our exchanges parents who drove 2hrs out of their way to deliver a spare set, and that was just one direction!!...Will never forget it!

As the week unfolds it seems like almost everyone has a 'lost key' story, some that can even top ours! But what seems to come through for me, is a people who will at every possibility do anything they can to make you feel better. I won't share how much it will cost to have another key cut and coded in to become compatible with the vehicle... o.k then, only to make you feel better about your 'losing money story' 169.99 pounds!!

Lots of warning posters around the island.

Back to Northumbria... Holy Island was AMAZING! Bare, windswept and flat, surrounded by sands which are covered by sea twice daily. Before crossing to the island via the causeway it is necessary to check the tides, lots of people get caught out.

The remains of the Lindisfarne Priory still stand, founded in 1083. Lindisfarne Castle was a highlight; it was originally an Elizabethan fort protecting Holy Island harbour. The fort had a fairly uneventful military history; however that it was garrisoned for over 300 years shows its importance to national security.

The Boatsheds- These are curious sheds "cut in half", upturned boats that are no longer seaworthy. They are scattered along the shoreline. 

Lowri, Soph, Iona, Jules and Holly
Lowri and Iona are fluent Welsh speakers and fun loving girls

Jon in the North Sea ready to catch Soph

No stay at the seaside is complete without a swim. To the English it doesn't matter how cold it gets. We all managed the jump but needed wetsuits. 

Boys off on trip to fetch spare key...girls just wanna have fun! Marshmallows and chocolate biscuits have never tasted better!!