Costa del Alnmouth...

...from the top of Church Hill.

Prepared to put the lining paper on to the walls of the 'Music room' this morning, and then realised that we needed to size the plaster first. And we didn't have enough paste or any size with which to do it! So we simply turned the plans for the day 'upside down', and the planned early evening walk and picnic became the lunchtime picnic and afternoon walk.

First, a trip in to Alnwick to acquire the wall sealer (and a sage plant that I happened to spot in the garden centre). Then to Alnmouth Dunes for a walk along the beach to Church Hill, on the opposite side of the estuary to Alnmouth. Alnmouth was as we'd never seen it before - blue sea, blue sky, warm sunshine, no wind, and the tide was in. Crowds on the beach and boats in the estuary - more like the Costa del Sol than North East England! It was glorious! Picnic eaten, we walked past the cross on the top of the hill, down past the ruined mortuary chapel (extras) and across the mudflats back to the car.

Lovely walk, and we enjoyed the best of the weather. The downside is that, after we've eaten I shall need to find the enthusiasm to size the walls. It may not be easy...