Travel Musings

 Saturday night at Hexham Racecourse was....exposed. That fantastic view, out of our main window, of the rolling hills also meant there was no shelter from the wind. And Lord did it blow!. That old phrase of "If the van's arockin', don't come aknockin'" took on a totally different meaning. The wind continued to blow throughout Sunday, but all the time there was no hint of rain, and out of the wind it was reasonably warm. We had booked ourselves a visit to Falconry Days, a Bird of Prey visitor centre about half an hour drive away down some very narrow lanes. Had we wanted to we could have paid extra and practiced a bit of falconry ourselves, but as the wind was so strong they were reluctant to fly the bigger birds. However we were allowed to watch another couple who flew Plop the Barn Owl in a sheltered open barn, and Henry the Harris Hawk who was strong (and hungry) enough to fly outside. The rest of the birds were in their cages, which obviously had mesh in f

 You have to be of a certain age to know: 1. Alnwick is pronounced Annick 2 The title references a song from the Singing Nun, way back in 1963 - All very tenuous I know, but you try a think of something humorous about Alnwick! On the way from Durham to Alnwick we stopped at the very imposing Angel of the North, constructed by Anthony Gormley in 1998. Gormley also made the enigmatic Another Place - a load of identical statues spread out across Crosby beach, near Liverpool. That is Ann underneath it! Alnwick Rugby club should be studied by all sports clubs around the country. They have some spare ground available and have turned it into somewhere for (mainly but not exclusively) motor homes to park up for a night or two. There were at least 50 vans there, all paying £10 per night (£15 if you wanted a mains supply). That is some serious income, especially as sport is curtailed at the moment. This includes access to the club's toilets and showers, and the clubhouse bar is open every ni

   Roger Whittaker knew what he was talking about with those lyrics, for Durham is a very pleasant place and we shall be sorry to move on tomorrow.   Amazon had done everything they promised, and a new water pump was waiting for us on arrival at the Durham Amateur Rowing Club. Half an hour fiddling around and all was well with the world again. The site here is compact, but tidy. We are right on the river's edge, and have access to the club facilities - unfortunately not the bar as it is too long and narrow to allow for social distancing. The first night we took a stroll along the riverside path to the edge of the city centre and back, mainly just to gauge Ann's ability to do it. She managed but would not have been able to do any more, which meant we would need a taxi for our visit to the cathedral the next day. The taxi driver gave us a great overview of the town on the way in this morning, which made up for the fact that the main bridge into the centre was closed - it had caug

  There was quite a rainbow last evening! We caught a bus from the local village, Dunnington, into York centre this morning. It was really strange not being in the driver's seat. York was much as we remembered, or at least half remembered, from our last visit over thirty tears ago. It is probably now a bit more pedestrianised, but still had all the lovely tiny passageways, nooks and crannies. All the lovely names were still there. It was the intention to visit the York Minster, but because of  the lurgy they were limiting the numbers allowed in, so the queue was too long for us. We could still walk around it though. It was interesting watching the mask etiquette. As Welsh residents we don't have to wear masks in shops, so found them a bloody nuisance. It was evident most people thought the same, for as they left shops they ripped off the masks immediately and walked the streets without one. Of course, if they wanted to go into a shop they stood outside amongst mingling with man

   It's been a while since my last blog, mainly because I didn't take my laptop to anywhere we visited, and typing a blog on your phone is not fun.   We had long planned to visit Durham, a place neither of had been to (childhood visits excepted), and decided to make a trip out of it. The plan so far is York, Durham, Alnwick, Hexham and Brough - two nights at each. We'll then decide whether to continue exploring or just head home.   By chance, there seems to be a sporting theme to the trip. Not that we will be partaking of sport, but will be staying at various sporting venues. It came as a pleasant surprise then that our first stop is on the edge of a cricket green, and we can hear the thwack of leather on willow from the match going on.   Tonight, and tomorrow night, we are in a brand new small site in a village called Dunnington, just a few miles from York. The cricket match has finished, and....it's now raining! We couldn't be bothered to cook tonight so a pizza i