A bit of a break

Lindisfarne Castle. A wonderful home made by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1901 for Edward Hudson

The Farne Islands. Home to thousands and thousands of sea birds. The Arctic Terns protect their nests and eggs from marauding sightseers (us) by using their sharp beaks with accurate precision on top of our heads - I kept my hat on and a bit of me felt guilty for being there and causing them such angst.

We'd gone to Northumberland to meet friends and have a few days holiday exploring this empty part of the country.We didn't expect to meet Em and Dan! They live in Yorkshire. By sheer coincidence we bumped into them on this tiny island in the north sea. Time for a quick hug before they sped off to catch their departing boat. Come and visit us soon...!

If the Angel of the North had looked down he would have noticed two small boys playing on his feet. The two small boys didn't look up and notice the Angel of the North they were too busy playing on the climbing frame and didn't have time to consider the bigger picture..

From the North we drove to Cromford in Derbyshire to visit Ollie and then to Manchester to visit Robin. We passed Lyme Hall on the way. Some of Pride and Prejudice was filmed here - I think. The house was closed but the garden was delightful and very green

Back over the Boarder we did a detour to The Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel. I haven't included everywhere we went. We seemed to do a lot in a very short  time. But it felt like a good long holiday and it was lovely to spend time with some very good and old friends.