The Lord Crewe

 
I was up early and up first.  I knew BB would not be ready, so had to make sure he got up and got himself sorted out.  Meanwhile I made some sandwiches for him.  Eventually, following much procrastination we left.  He had to be at school by 8am.  We got there after 8am and were last, but I was heartened that one of his pals had just got there in front of us.  From chatting to his dad, there morning sounded much like ours.  There is six of them off on this practice expedition – four boys and two girls.  I took a team pic and then they were off, no hanging around. 
 
I then headed home, feeling like I had already done a day’s work, to do some tidying and to pack my own bag, as TT was taking me away for the weekend, to a destination unknown (to me).  I was told there would be walking involved, so to bring walking gear.  TT headed out to get a haircut, which gave me time to pack my bag.  Once he was back we headed off down the A68.  Our first stop was Corbridge for a wander and some lunch.  While it was a lovely bright and sunny day, there was still a cold wind.  I sound like a broken record, but I am really fed up of the cold.  You can’t leave the house without a jumper or a jacket.  I had a look in a couple of shops, and we then went to a café for lunch.  We both ordered soup and a toasties and neither of us expected it to be quite so big and quite so filling – though we both agreed it was very nice.  We had been eying up the lovely selection of cakes, but we had to pass on them.  Next stop was the wonderful Forum books – which TT declared is his favourite bookshop.   A couple of purchases made and we continued on our way.
 
Our next stop was Blanchland, a lovely wee village which had been recommended by a friend.  We parked up and went for a  walk by the river, making a figure of eight route and ending back in the village.  There were lots of wild flowers growing by the river and the bluebells were still in bloom.  When we left Blanchland I had no idea where we were, as it was all new territory to me, but very dramatic moorland.  The road went up and over the top and we spotted chimneys which were associated with the mining that went on here in the past.  We eventually came down from the tops and ended our journey in Middleton in Teesdale – which is our base for the weekend.  We booked into the hotel and got ourselves ready for dinner.  Dinner was lovely and the portions were huge – probably too big, as we were still getting over our enormous lunch.  Having been brought up to never leave anything on my plate, I very rarely leave anything.  I did tonight though.  Normally TT would have helped me out, but he had no capacity.  Where is BB when you need him?
 
After dinner we went for a wander round the village, and TT was reminiscing about playing cricket here when he was much younger. It was too cold, so we didn’t linger.  We took refuge back in the bar to warm up  and enjoyed a night cap.
 
This is the Lord Crewe hotel in Blanchland which is on the border between Northumberland and County Durham.  The extras are a bluebell by the river,  TT walking along a lush green lane, and the bridge over the River Derwent.