Some beautiful things from our holiday last week…

1) From our cottage conservatory, we could see the sea, and the lighthouse on the north coast of Lindisfarne, the Holy Isle.

2) From the back garden, without the glare of Grangemouth, star-gazing became, once again, a favourite occupation.

3) At Cocklawburn beach, we clambered over the Skerrs, ambled along the beach, and built sandcastles and moats

4) We spent ages watching as the birds dive-bombed the sea, fishing.

5) Megan learned to knit, and both kids spent some time working on knitting their blankets for their special teddies.

6) We picnicked on the Bamburgh Dunes, watching the river of sand drifting along the beach. A and M pretended they were on Mars, and went exploring leaving “flags” to mark how far they got.

7) At the beach at Seahouses, we explored and walked and scrambled over and around the sand dunes.

8) We walked through the wind to Linhope Spout, a spectacular waterfall in the Cheviot Hills; and were blown back to the car on our way back.

9) We ate dinner together every evening.

10) At Bamburgh Castle, we loved seeing the castle in its splendour, and playing games from “days gone by”…

11) One of my lovely cousins came for tea…

12) The kids had a ball running around and climbing at Lindisfarne Priory – they learned a fair bit too!

13) At Spittal Beach, we found a fab play park, ate ice-cream and wandered along the promenade.

14) We visited Cragside House, ate lunch at the top of the estate, explored the rhododendron Labyrinth, were fascinated by the house and all its inventions, walked through the rock garden, and crossed the Iron Bridge. We loved it.

15) We went to visit my aunt and uncle. The kids had lots of fun playing at the park with my cousin, whom they haven’t seen in over two years.

16) We stopped for another walk round the Formal Garden at Cragside on the way home, followed by a delicious afternoon tea.