Anyone for Quidditch?

When I woke up at 5am to get ready for our trip to Northumberland I was sad to read that Stephen Hawking had died - what a loss of a brilliant mind for mankind. On our journey north I enjoyed listening to all the news coverage and interviews about the great man.

We had a very easy journey north - first stop was for a coffee and then on to Newcastle. I was so impressed by the city, I found it a wonderful mix of beautiful Victorian architecture and shiny new buildings. We wandered along the quayside looking at the wonderful bridges and then had a light lunch in a quayside restaurant. See extra of the wonderful curved steel and glass building that is Sage Gateshead.

Then on the A1 north, passing through Morpeth and then Alnwick. This image is of Alnwick Castle, the home of the Duke of Northumberland. It was closed to the public as the duke is currently in residence but I managed to get some photos from Lion Bridge. We were surprised to still see large drifts of snow on the roadside and you can even see bits of snow in this image. The wind was by now bitingly cold despite the sunny day. This castle has been used for many film sets, most notably a few of the Harry Potter films.

We then went on to Berwick-on-Tweed, a charming coastal town that is the most northern most town in England. I have included an image of this town in the extras.

We are now in Bamburgh, and have checked in to the hotel ready to meet up with the rest of the group for a pre-supper drink. While I was editing some of my photos Gavin went for a walk on the beach and has just got back saying it is absolutely freezing cold with a strong wind. There was a film crew in front of Bamburgh Castle and they stopped him taking photos of the castle in case he got shots of the set!

Forecast tomorrow is a yellow weather warning with freezing temperatures, gale force winds and rain - Gavin says he feels sorry for me as he knows how I feel the cold!