The weather has been great with sunny intervals and a light breeze, perfect for a boat trip so we headed down to the harbour so Billy Shiel could take us round the Farne islands.
Huge numbers of seabirds come here to breed including Puffins, Razorbills & Kittiwakes and these Pinnacle Rocks are a favourite. It is late summer now and most have left, although the fishy aroma of the rocks remains as do the grey seals.
We also saw two lighthouses, this one on Inner Farne, the island where St Cuthbert lived in solitude and prayer …
… and the Longstone Lighthouse on Outer Farne where Grace Darling lived and from which she and her father rowed out to make their rescue.
We could see Bamburgh in the distance as we returned …
… then picked up some bits for a quick lunch, namely a crab sandwich from the harbour for me, then set off to Alnwick for the afternoon.
Henry de Percy became the 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick after acquiring the castle and barony in 1309.
Over the following decades, it was transformed it into a mighty border fortress, with strong towers and a well-defended curtain wall.
By the C15th the Barbican was both the main entrance to Alnwick Castle and a first line of defence and following a series of sieges during the Wars of the Roses, the 4th Earl of Northumberland added his badge to the archway.
Alnwick was used less by the Percy family over the following years and had fallen into disrepair until the heiress Elizabeth Percy and her husband Hugh, returned to Alnwick. They restored the castle as their northern seat, creating a grand palace in the fashionable Gothic style with grounds by Capability Brown and in 1766 were made the 1st Duke and Duchess of Northumberland by King George III.
After taking the grand tour, the 4th Duke wanted the lavish style of the Italian Renaissance reproduced in the state rooms which we walked round but couldn’t photograph, but here is the library and dining room from their website.
Today Alnwick is home to Ralph Percy, the 12th duke and the castle is visited by many to see the location of films such as Harry Potter and Downton and broomstick training was in progress in the outer bailey!
We listened to a movie magic tour, telling us various tales such as how the fake snow made of paper and water paste for the scene of Hagrid dragging the Xmas tree into Hogwarts ended up drying out and blowing all over Alnwick town during filming and also how the huge tv screen in the library had to be concealed for the Downton Xmas special.
The late afternoon made the most of the honey coloured stone as we took a last picture from the best viewpoint.
That evening, walking back after dinner, we ran into the lifeboat being launched to help a yacht which had been caught up in fishing nets.
Next day their Facebook page reported the yacht had been safely detached then towed back to harbour for repairs. The Seahouses lifeboat has an average of 42 call outs a year, sadly many to rescue people stranded on the Lindisfarne causeway when they should know better, which is why we have researched tomorrows outing most carefully!
Off Travelling Together 