Backblip NT Cragside, Northumberland

On the Sunday the weather wasn't great so we popped out for coffee and cake and got the Sunday papers and then had a nice day in. However on Monday we had a great day out at National Trust Cragside about 50 minutes from where we were staying. Gorgeous scenery driving there and then the site itself is beautiful. When William Armstrong bought the land for Cragside in 1863 it was fairly bleak and bare. Thanks to him and his wife planting 7 million shrubs and trees and creating lakes for hydro electric power, it is now stunning. I could wax lyrical for hours on the place, we both felt it was the best NT site we have been to. Cragside was the first house in the world to be powered by hydroelectric power and the NT were showing the house in a bright style with colourful and warm decor, there was a dish washer, a telephone system and a dumb waiter system, it was effectively a smart home of its time. The forests, the pinetum and the formal gardens were all beautiful and when the Rhododendrons are out it must be a sight to behold. We will try to time a future visit for late May when that would be the case.