Alnwick Castle

The Podlings are all Harry Potter obsessed (even Alex!), so during a recent weekend away in Northumberland we decided to take them to Alnwick Castle. Alnwick Castle was used to film parts of Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films, so we thought they would be excited to visit it. Unfortunately, they were expecting something rather closer to the CGI version of Hogwarts that you see in the movies, so to be honest they were rather underwhelmed with the real thing! We still had a lovely day out though. Tom, who has a very good memory for such things, was able to point out various parts that had been in the films. "This is where the flying car lands in The Chamber of Secrets and that's the arch it drove off through" were amongst his helpful observations as I didn't really have a clue! I would like to do the tour next time which tells you where different scenes were filmed. I am rather a fan of Harry Potter myself!

We all enjoyed the falconry display and were astonished at the size of the golden eagle. The state rooms were naturally very impressive and the girls enjoyed looking wistfully around the gift shop. We were able to upgrade our ticket (at no extra cost) to give us a yearly pass to the Castle, so we will definitely visit again. Emma was particularly keen to have a go at the broomstick lessons, which take place at the exact spot that Harry has his first flying lesson in the first film, so hopefully she will get an opportunity next time.

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

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.

Summer Holiday Adventures - Fountains Abbey

We have just returned from a delightful two week holiday in the North East of England and I now have the pleasure of re-living our time away as I go through my photographs (which is frankly far more appealing than the truly terrifying pile of laundry demanding my attention!).

We started our holiday with a visit to beautiful Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. The largest and best-preserved Cistercian monastery in England, we came here last year and loved it so much we wanted to visit again. The sun shone for us and we spent a lovely Sunday afternoon here. 

Mark with his lovely parents, the Podlings' much-loved Nanna and Grandad

A rare photo of the two of us (taken by Lily)