Kielder

I couldn't leave without blipping Kielder Water. What a beautiful place. We stopped this morning for a walk after we had packed up the holiday house. We all went our separate ways and are now home which is always nice. 

While I've been away I haven't had time to try hard with photography nor with commenting. I haven't written much so what follows is for myself so that I can remember the past few days. Please don't read it all unless you're really keen :-) 

On the way down we stopped in St Boswells for coffee. It there transpired that we hadn't packed Flora's lead and harness. She now has a very smart new set bought in Jedburgh. We stopped at the same place in St Boswells on the way home too. Very pleasant. I haven't been in St B.  for about 20 years. 

Falstone, the holiday destination, is a tiny village about a mile from Kielder Water. It is very pretty; quiet and peaceful. It has a pub, a tearoom and a very good play park but no school. We were so very lucky with the spring weather. 

The house was perfect for our needs with seven bedrooms, two sitting rooms, a big kitchen and an enormous dining room. It had a games room and cinema screen in a garden room, plus an EV charger, a hot tub and an outside space big enough for picnics, football and general racing about. It accommodated ten people and one dog with no effort. 

Our meal out on Sunday night wasn't ideal because we had chosen the pub about a 20 minutes walk away rather than the one in the village. A bit daft. It was slightly chaotic when we arrived but it worked out in the end. And it was delightful to walk home in the cooling air. It certainly has been chilly overnight but the day time temperature has been superb for early April. 

I was excited to see an osprey one day. They're back at Kielder and on the prowl. 

It's been warm at home too and a lot of my spring bulbs are done. Tomorrow I'm going to spend some time sorting out the garden. It really does need attention. 

The main is Kielder Water and the extra is some sort of puffball fungus which I saw in the woods on this morning's walk.