"On the Border"

Northumberland, 14 to 17 June

We have just spent a long weekend in Northumberland.  For a lunch stop on Friday, we detoured off to a National Trust property, Nostell Priory, which is well worth a visit.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/nostell-priory/

Apart from the house and gardens, which we didn't have time to see, there is a lovely walk around two lakes and the vista from the  house is most impressive.  And we can recommend the cafe!  The weather was a bit mixed in the short time we were there, but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm for a return visit sometime.

We stayed at the Camping and Caravanning site in Bellingham, which is situated about ten miles from Kielder Water, having rejected the idea of using the Caravan Club site on the edge of the reservoir, to avoid the midges.  The site at Bellingham is superb, nestling among the surrounding hills.  There are 70 pitches, mostly fairly level, with plenty of hardstandings and the facilities are first class.  It seems that a lot of people use it to break their journey to Scotland, but it is certainly worth a visit in its own right as there is plenty to do in the vicinity including Kielder Water, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham.  There is also a bus service from outside the site.

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/siteseekerlite/aspx/details.aspx?id=9025

On Saturday morning we walked into the village of Bellingham (pronounced Bellingjam), about 1 mile away, on the road for part of the way, and then along a footpath beside the river.  The village has just about everything you need: newsagent/PO, butchers, bakers, Co-op, chemist, garage with some caravan and camping supplies and a second hand bookshop.  No Penguins, John N, sorry.  At the far end of the village the old railway station has become the Heritage Centre, which houses an exhibition about the area and the Tourist Information Office, and adjacent to which is Carriages, a coffee shop converted from a railway carriage.

Having purchased the Saturday Times, for the crossword more than for the news, we got back to the 'van just before Louise arrived, for a day visit.  We headed off to Kielder Water and while having lunch in the cafe overlooking the reservoir, the weather took a turn for the worse, with heavy rain, wind and poor visibility, but it passed quite quickly and we were able to walk along part of the shoreline.

Dotted around the reservoir are various “installations” and on our walk we came across the Wave Chamber.  This could best be described as a brick igloo.  Once inside with the door closed, it was very dark and really focussed your sense of hearing on the noise of the water lapping the banks outside.

From Bellingham there is a mile and half walk to a waterfall, Hareshaw Linn, which we decided to do on Sunday.  It was a very pleasant, gradual climb through the woodland by the river and the waterfall provided a photographic opportunity.  Then back to the site for a relaxing afternoon and evening before returning home on Monday.