Craster, Amble and Castles

We woke this morning to a lovely sunrise ...

which turned into a beautiful sunny day so we decided to eat breakfast al fresco …

After studying the map we made plans to visit Craster and then travel south as far as Amble. We arrived in Craster and the car park ticket gave us all day parking so we could wander around for as long as we liked. We went down to the harbour …

and then spotted that Dunstanburgh Castle was free for National Trust members so thought we’d return to the car for our walking shoes. On the way back we found two coach loads of teenagers heading our way and obviously making for the Castle. No offence to teenagers but we didn’t fancy looking round it in their company! We thought we’d go on our travels and then come back in the afternoon to do the Castle. So back on the road and a lovely little arch to negotiate …

No problem! We pulled up in a lay-by as the scenery was great …


and then moved on to Boulmer where a free car park overlooked the sea and Hamish could have a run …

It was a lovely walk on the sands and there was a handy log for me …

After coffee we set off again and headed for Alnmouth followed by Warkworth with the Castle standing proud above the town …

We were now on the outskirts of Amble and parked by the weir on the river …

We could see back to the Castle …

and there was a sculpture made from railway sleepers …

We had lunch here and then drove on into Amble and the harbour …

then retraced our steps passing the Castle again …

and parking back in Craster. With walking shoes on and not a teenager in sight we went through the gate and began the long trek …

Once there we went under the grand entrance and walked anti-clockwise around the Castle. Here are a selection of photos …







On the way back Hamish met two sheep and he was brilliant. He just sat there and looked at them …

Once back in Craster we saw the statue by the RNLI Station ...

and then made our way back to the RV. I was exhausted! I can’t remember when I last walked for 3 miles non-stop! At the end of the day we had a beautiful sunset which hopefully means good weather again tomorrow …

Valentine's Day

Why are hotel rooms so hot? Even with the door to the balcony open all night it was still like an oven in our room!

I was up early and looking out to see the sun rise ...

A good sign for a topless drive around East Devon today - the car that is!

After breakfast and a stroll along the prom we all met in the car park and were joined by four cars from the local area. Mike and Sharon (our leaders) used to live at Ottery St Mary and so they knew all the best places for us to visit. We began by driving out of Sidmouth through the ford where a friend of theirs was waiting to take our photo and as we made our way to Sidford, the eventer Mary King passed us exercising two of her horses.

From Sidford and Sidbury we made our way to East Hill ...

where we stopped for a look at the fantastic view of the Otter Valley ...

We then turned down towards Tipton St John, driving very narrow lanes and praying that nothing would be coming up the hill!

On through Metcombe ...

and over the main road towards Woodbury Common where we had a coffee break ...

Exmouth was our next destination and we parked at the far end of the prom near the toilets ...


which were locked! It may be winter-time but people still need to pay a visit. Most inconvenient!

So back to the cars, out of Exmouth and on to Otterton Mill where we were booked in for lunch ...

As we had Hamish with us we couldn't eat in the restaurant but they said we could have it at our car ...

It was very yummy too ...

and Hamish wondered if he was going to get any!

After lunch it was just a matter of driving along the coast road back to Sidmouth. We passed a tree with a bird of prey sitting and watching us and then a short distance further there was another one which just took off as I went to photograph it ...

This is a lovely road to approach the town by as you drop down the hill and the view is great ...


We all parked up and returned to the Hotel as the men wanted to watch the rugby!

While we'd been out all day a friend of Sharon's had been decorating the table for our Valentine Dinner and it looked really lovely ...

This was a beautiful light in the Hotel entrance ...

Once again the food was excellent and Hamish was allowed to join us in the Lounge for coffee. We had a raffle, where we won two 'Tales of the Unexpected' DVD's and then the table decorations were drawn for and I was lucky enough to get one ...

Sunrise

Just happened to look out and see this lovely sky this morning ...