Wallington

Ah, Wallington! What a delightful place! A National Trust property in Northumberland, Wallington consists of a beautiful Grade 1 listed house set in 13,000 acres of land and we barely scratched the surface of the estate on our visit. The house was simply wonderful and I could have spent hours here. The dolls house collection alone would have occupied me for ages. I would dearly love to go back to the house again.

The weather was not great the day we visited, but that didn't stop us from taking a Thermos to the adventure play area. The Podlings are not bothered by rain showers! It was late in the afternoon and it kept raining, so we had the place to ourselves! The play area was fabulous, but we did eventually have to admit defeat with the weather!

I was utterly captivated by Wallington and it now ranks as one of my favourite National Trust properties, along with Cragside (also in Northumberland) and Lanhydrock House in Cornwall. We will definitely be returning here in the future.

The side of the house. I neglected to take a photo of the front

I loved the carpet in one of the bedrooms

Beach fun!

Morning fun at Crimdon Dene beach. We were so lucky with the weather on our holiday.

Dunstanburgh Castle

Our family have lots of lovely adventures together, but some days are just special. Our visit to Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland stands out as one of my all time favourites. Standing on a remote headland between the villages of Craster and Embleton, the impressive fourteenth century ruin is well worth the mile and a half walk required to get there. The car park is just outside the village of Craster and then you have to walk through the village and then a mile and a quarter along the coast.

The day we went was beautifully sunny, but extremely windy and since Alex is currently going through a phase of being afraid of the wind the little chap wasn't happy unless he was being carried...and only by me! A mile and a half with a hefty three year old on your hip is hard going! Thankfully Alex loves castle ruins, so once we actually got to the castle he seemed to forget the weather and just enjoyed exploring with his brother and sisters. It really was a wonderful place and well worth the walk.

By the time we started to walk back the wind and dropped down again and with some encouragement from us and his siblings Alex consented to walk most of the way back. My back was very grateful! We finished off the day with the most delicious fish and chips in the town of Seahouses before driving back to our caravan and putting four very tired Podlings to bed! It was a very lovely day the memory of which I will always treasure. 

Exploring ruined castles...one of the best parts of an English childhood!

The smug face of a little boy who managed to persuade someone to carry him! Daddy was allowed to carry him on the way back!

The village of Craster

At the end of a three mile walk and still smiling.