From the North Sea to a Hill Farm

Today started out misty and cool, with dark low hanging clouds, but as our coach got closer to the North Sea coast, the mist started to burn away and the sun appeared. What a difference 10 miles can make.

First stop was the village of Bamburgh where we explored Bamburgh Castle, walked the sand dunes, and some of us dipped our toes into the chilly North Sea. The outlook towards the North Sea and the Farne Islands was hazy but much better than we had anticipated. The Castle is privately owned, and it has holiday flats that can be rented. The Castle has served as the setting for movies such as a version of Macbeth and also a version of Beckett starring Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton. Look for these titles in the oldies section of the video store!

We were sharing a coach with the undergraduate program today, and we found that they aren't as prompt at following gathering times as we are. After a 20 minute delay in the appointed time, we pulled out of the coach park at Bamburgh and headed north to Holy Island.

Despite being called an island, Holy Island (also known as Lindisfarne Island) is connected to the mainland by a causeway. However, the causeway is completely covered by water during high tide, so there are only certain times each day that are "safe crossing times". For those who choose to ignore these times, there is a large wooden hut on stilts that can be reached by a ladder. If you are caught in the fast moving tides, you get the opportunity to spend some quality time in the hut as you watch your vehicle being submerged, or on a particularly strong tide, being swept away!

No such excitement for us however. Our crossing was uneventful. We had just two hours today to explore the entire island, which is not nearly enough time. Choices to see include the Lindisfarne Priory and Museum, the parish church and graveyard, the Castle, the walled garden, and the rocky shore. And of course, the island does have shops and pubs, plus private homes, holidays lets, and bed and breakfast accomodations. (There are less than 200 actual residents of the island, but in the summer especially there are many tourists during the safe crossing hours.) Merton and I chose to buy a fresh crab sandwich (crab caught by the island fishermen), then eat lunch on the rocks along the North Sea. We then took lots of pictures in the walled garden. By the time we walked back to the village, it was time to board the coach.

Our final stop of the day was Bellshilll Farm in Belford. Owner John Renner gave us an excellent tour of his farmyard and fields. He obviously loves his job as well as the land. He talked about conservation measures that he practices as he manages the crops, his herd of sheep, and his small herd of beef cattle. The views of the Cheviot Hills to the west and the North Sea to the east were spectacular. We walked in warm sunshine, light winds, and the scent of sweet clover, planted to attract and increase the bee population. I think that our group of "mature" students got a lot more from the tour than the undergraduates...or at least we had the most questions. To learn more about Bellshill, check out the website under the links section to the right.

Our time is starting to get short. It's hard to believe that this is the last weekend in Britain for most of us. Some students will stay in Alnwick this weekend, while others will travel to Edinburgh to see the sites of the city landscape. Merton and I plan to go to Newcastle tomorrow to spend the weekend with our friends who live there. No more posts until Monday night when we'll talk about dungeons and wild white cattle!