Dunstanburgh, Howick Hall and a dunk in the river

First thing F joined us and we did the tourist thing, we planned on visiting Howick Hall Gardens but when we got there at 10:30am, we found they didn't open until 12. In a way this was a good thing because it meant we had time to take a drive (and then a wander) along to Dunstanburgh Castle. It cost to get in to the castle so instead we had far more fun by wandering round the back. Behind the castle was some "crazy geological funk" a.k.a. Greymare rock, folded limestone strata formed during the creation of the nearby Whin Sill. I had fun poking the rocks and hypothesising what had gone on to form them. Caught this shot of a swallow on the fencing of the castle as we walked around.

After that we headed back to the Gardens, enjoyed some very tasty lunch (poisoning myself in the process - really must learn to ask for the ingredients in EVERYTHING!) then wandered around a section of the gardens. We didn't have long in the gardens as we wanted to get back to the river for high tide.

Around 4pm we geared up in our old clothes, windbreakers and life jackets and headed to the river. B took people out one at a time in a little boat and taught them how to sail, the rest of us pottered around in sea kayaks or stood and watched. I wasn't too fussed about the sailing, but had a great time kayaking. I'd never been in a sea kayak before, they're far more open than a normal kayak and they have holes in the bottom of them. I felt rather unstable to begin with but as I paddled around the estuary I realised that most of it was only around waist deep so I soon overcame my worry of capsizing. Towards the end I was chasing B and Kitface who were in the sailboat. They came along side and we had a little chat. I don't entirely know what happened next but the kayak moved away from the boat and next thing I was capsized. Typically they'd been right over the natural river's course so I couldn't touch the bottom. Being in the water didn't panic me but the cold gave me a bit of shock, still after being hauled in to the boat and taken back to shore it won me the first spot in the shower!