I mentioned in an earlier post that after some 50+ years I had decided to take up the sport of fly fishing again and this holiday in Northumbria was arranged as a fishing holiday.
Our accommodation was lovely and in a spectacular setting overlooking farmland with the Cheviot Hills in the background. The house itself is situated on Tiptoe Farm, owned by Lucy and Anthony Carroll who grow heritage potatoes in all the colours of the rainbow it would seem!
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| Our holiday home on the left |
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| From our bedroom window at 2.30 am |
It is set on high ground above the River Till, a tributary of the Tweed, with a steep path leading down to the river some 200 yards long. It was only after booking our holiday that I noticed that the beat was only suitable to the able-bodied and this I must say filled me with some concern!
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| The River Till |
I will not bore my readers with a rambling diatribe of all my various defects, but will just say that I am definitely not able bodied and certainly not just at the present time.
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| What a fine specimen! Bad photo but trying to get the little blighter back into the water quickly! |
On only two occasions did I attempt the gruelling (for me) climb down and up from the river and indeed had great difficulty in getting in to the river and worst of all, getting out. What a wreck! But my final effort was rewarded with a miserable 5 cms specimen fry and I will be forever grateful to the little chap!
Thankfully I am perfectly happy driving and so we were able to enjoy everything that this lovely area can offer.
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| Lindisfarne Castle in the mist. |
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| The causeway to Holy Island |
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First port of call was Holy Island, in between the tides, sadly shrouded in a sea mist which I must say did add a bit of mystery to the place.
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| The mist did lend a sense of mystery to the surroundings! |
Bamburgh was next, with its fabulous castle and then on to Craster which was impossibly busy so I missed out on a crab sandwich, for which the tiny port is renowned.
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| Bamburgh Castle |
We had a fascinating day at Cragside, the home of Victorian engineer Lord Armstrong and his wife Lady Margaret Armstrong. Together they created Cragside (a National Trust Property), the first home in the world to be lit by hydoelectricity. using the newly invented filament light bulbs.
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| Cragside |
On a day when we were enduring cloud and mist while the rest of the country were enjoying record summer temperatures we drove to North Berwick , a lovely town on the Firth of Forth calling at the little fishing village of St Abbs where I was fortunate to have a wonderful crab sandwich overlooking the harbour, beautiful!
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| The harbour at North Berwick |
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| Across the Firth with Bass Rock in the murky distance |
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| Bass Rock, home to hundreds of nesting gannets. |
Super break, sad not to be able to make the most of the fishing but never mind we made the most of this glorious area.
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| ......and a little friend who came to visit us. |
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