Weather: Fine, cloudy, breezy
Distance:
26.5 km (16.5 miles) Total Distance: 3131 miles
Margaret and the boys had taken off to Ireland for half-term
and the weather was looking kind so I took advantage of the fact that I had
been asked to give a lecture in York University on Friday afternoon to make a
weekend of it. The lecture went well I felt and the 10 or so students were pretty
responsive, unlike some lectures I have given in recent years at Warwick which
have been painful!
I got caught in
traffic going around the northern York ring road but once I got onto the A1 it
was fine. I had booked at Charlton House
B&B in Alnwick, the youth hostels not being open this
time of year. The B&B was a real
treat. It was nicely furnished and there
was a warm welcome. I had an en-suite
attic room and the owner directed me to a pub just down the road for a
meal. It was real northern prices and I
had superb chicken enchiladas and a pint for under £5. As the beer wasn’t too brilliant there I
headed up the road in the opposite direction to a Jennings pub I had spotted
driving in and had a pint there and read the newspaper.
In the morning I felt I had to have the Craster Kipper that
the B&B had been advertising on the breakfast menu. Unfortunately I think
it was THE Craster kipper – the only one they had that had been residing in
their freezer for a year or two – at least over winter. It was pretty tough but put me in the mood
for a walk. I drove to Craster, parked
on the harbor front therefore avoiding the car parking fees and set off to
Dunsterbourough castle I could see in the distance. The castle was deserted at that time in the
morning – a good time to see it without anyone around, not that I went in of
course, just wandered around the outside and then headed north.
Embleton Bay was the first time I got down onto the beach
and appreciated what people say about this part of the world, rolling
windswept beaches etc. Low Newton by the
Sea had a great little village square in it and a hospitable looking pub but
unfortunately no tea shop for a cup of coffee so I pressed on around a couple
of headlands and onto the beach again
at Beadnell beach. A sizeable river
entered the sea half way along the beach and no matter how long I stood by its
edge and wished I could wade across it appeared much too deep for that and I
went inland and up over a sizeable footbridge that had been put there fore the
purpose of preventing ramblers from drowning.
The village of Beadnell appeared in the distance. It must
have a coffee shop I thought – but no.
After walking through the rambling village and finding nothing I almost
gave up all hope when I chanced upon a village shop that doubled up as a bakery
and a cheese and onion pasty and cake was the order of the day. I sat on a bench outside the shop and had my
lunch before making my way across the dunes and onto the beach again for the
next stint up to Seahouses.
Just before
Seahouses the path took a few doglegs up and along the road and then across the
golf course before picking up a coastal path into the town. A large trawler type vessel had been washed
ashore and it appeared that the locals were busy salvaging what they could even
to the extent that welding equipment was being used.
I wasn’t too impressed with Seahouses – it looked a bit
resortish, and especially since I had
booked an above average price B&B/hotel to stay in here tonight. I sped through the town keeping to the
promenade paths, spotted what I thought was my night’s accommodation and then
descended onto the beach once again for the long trek up to Bamburgh .
As I walked past the castle itself the sun
was beginning to set behind it making good views. I still felt I had a bit of energy left so
not wanting to leave too much to do tomorrow I pressed on around the northern
headland of Budle Point. This was more
isolated and it was difficult to know whether to walk on the beaches or on the
paths above them. I came back up onto
the main road via a farm track and then had a mile walk into Warren Point.
I had a bus timetable but as it was still an hour till the
bus was due to arrive plus the fact that I couldn’t find the bus stop I started
to hitch. A car that had been parked up
for a while in the distance tooted and pulled up. It was a couple from Burnley on holiday in
Bamburgh. He had worked for Lucas but
had taken redundancy and she didn’t say a word.
He decided that although they were only going to Bamburgh he would offer
me a lift all the way to Craster because he wanted to see what it looked
like. She didn’t want to! We dropped her off at the hotel and he drove
me all the way to my car! I felt in
hindsight I should have offered him a drink in the pub but I left with him
peering out to sea wondering I guess whether to ever go back to Bamburgh.
The hotel at Seahouses was pleasant and the owner Malcolm a
real character, chatty to say the least!
I had been put in a twin bedroom as the single room was in the part of
the hotel where the roof had been blown off in the gales and was being
replaced. I think that was the story but
the thing was Malcolm had such a strong accent it was difficult to tell. To be honest I am not convinced his name was
Malcolm – the way his wife pronounced it sounded more like Martin.
I ventured out for tea but failed dismally. I tried a local pub/restaurant or two. The restaurant was still advertising a
Valentine’s Day Special menu and was completely empty. I didn’t have the nerve to go in there. What
could be more sad that a single man eating a Valentine’s Day special in an empty
restaurant! I can't think I would have been all that welcome anyway.
The pub was bustling with rowdy drunks and
again no room to sit and eat a meal.
That seemed to leave the fish and chip restaurants. Plenty around I thought – lots of competition
to encourage them to make a special effort.
How wrong could I be. It was one of those places with a surly teenage
waitress who made me feel I wasn’t welcome in the town let alone the
restaurant. I ordered chicken and chips
– sorry chicken off! Made do with fish and chips but had to force it down.
I went to another pub for a pint to numb the stomach so it would digest the awful meal. I went back to the hotel so early and blind date was still on but didn’t
have the will power to stay long in the lounge and make conversation with
Malcolm(?) so went to my room, watched TV and had an early night.
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