Sunday, 15^th June                          BLYTH  -  BAMBURGH CASTLE  -  COCKENZIE

Robyn writes: Another travel day, and a very nice one. We were up around 7 in our Blyth apartment, chatted to Cait and Danny (Cait and Mikeal are still both sick; Danny is pretty good now, but suffering from cabin fever!) It didn’t take us long to gather up all our belongings, as we’d packed the big bags last night. A system is emerging which is working pretty well – unpack at the start of the stay, then you’re not living out of a bag all the time.

We got away about 8.30, and headed north up the coast to the seaside town of Amble, just to have a look. Here on the bayside we discovered a market, so stopped and had a walk around, and even bought some goodies for tea so we didn’t have to shop when we arrived. The market had all sorts of cheap goods – a little fresh produce, no crafts, lots of cheap Chinese made goods (also some better quality ones like the Sketchers shoes for around $70AUD.)

                                                              Amble market

After this, we set our course for Bamburgh Castle, the most dominant of all the northern castles – it is visible for miles around by land and sea. It started as a Celtic fort, then along came the Anglo-Saxons, and the Normans. It’s changed hands many times over the centuries, but for six generations now has been the home of the Armstrong family. They still live there and rake in a sizeable amount from visitors to help with its upkeep. It cost us about $70AUD to go in, and another $12 for parking, so not a super cheap excursion! Still, it is a magnificent castle.

                                                   Bamburgh Castle

                                                                     Great Hall

                                                            So much medieval weaponry

Our first port of call was the café in the old tack room, where we bought soup, tea and coffee, and then ate them in the old stables. We then enjoyed a wander through the main body of the castle and the staterooms there, which held items from over a thousand years of history. Some of the rooms were set up as in the 1800s or 1900s, others were medieval. The castle is in a very strong defensive position, high above the sea and surrounding land, but it was still the first castle in European history to fall to cannon ball attack in 1464 during the Wars of the Roses, when Warwick the Kingmaker bombarded it with cannon for nine months until he finally breached the wall enough to enter. We enjoyed a walk around the ramparts and admired the view. Today was very windy, but cleared to a gloriously sunny day and about 20 degrees, so very pleasant. They also have a museum of military and aviation inventions (Lord Armstrong was very much an inventor).

We enjoyed ourselves for several hours, then stayed to watch the start of today’s jousting tournament. It’s wonderful the way they get the children in to flourish swords and march around and join in before all the action of the joust began. We’ve seen jousting before, at Dunfermline, and they put on a wonderful show.

However, we had to leave before the end, as it was nearly time to book in at our next accommodation, Turret Cottage in Cockenzie, near Prestopans, right on the Forth of Firth. It took just over an hour to drive up, and for the last ten minutes or so, we realised we were actually following Glen and Carol, so we all arrived together, found the cottage (despite the incorrect instructions!) and moved in quite happily. Turret Cottage is part of the manager’s house of the original Cockenzie House, which was a grand manor. It’s steeped in history; our bedroom looks out at the garden where Bonny Prince Charlie brought his victorious soldiers to eat apples after they had won the Battle of Prestonpans. (Things did not, alas, go all that well from there for him.)

Glen at the doorway of Turret Cottage

The Firth looked gloomy and forbidding this evening.

But another lovely view from our kitchen window!
There has been a music and food festival in the garden here this evening, but it was winding up by the time we popped out for a look. We went for a walk along the Firth, then Lex, Glen and Carol continued along further and I came home to start tea. We’re here for five nights, so plenty of time to explore the borders country!