Whey Aye Man! Geordie Land; Newcastle UK

Newcastle

 

 

 

We had a fantastic time in my home town – Newcastle. We were lucky enough to make it here in Summer and catch some great weather – making everything a lot more accessible and beautiful than when we were here in winter last time! 

 

 

We arrived just a couple of days before the Stocksfied Agricultural Show started, so were able to attend.  The show had loads of farm animals on display, amazing food to try and loads of other activities to watch.

 We caught the train to Stocksfield from Hexham train station

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

We visited the historic Hexham, walking through the lovely streets and visiting the Hexham Abbey.  We also stopped by at the local favourite... Greggs.

 

 Hexham Abbey, exterior

Hexham Abbey, interior 

 Hexham Abbey, interior

Greggs, Hexham

 

We had to visit Hadrian's wall while in Newcastle, so we visited the housesteads which were barracks that accommodated 800-1000 soldiers. The housesteads also has the remains of a town that sprung up to service the barracks. With great information and the ruins being in good condition, it is easy to imagine what this place once looked like, nearly 2000 years ago.

 View from the housesteads

 

 An old well

 

 

 On the wall

 

A section of the wall

We took a walk through the small town of Acomb to the 'meeting of the waters', where the North and South Tyne rivers meet. This was a beautiful place to walk through and local fishermen were trying their luck on this particular day.

 

We drove to Kielder National Park one day while in Newcastle. We wandered around the reservoir and could not believe the size of it. Beautiful walking paths line the reservoir and many water sports are enjoyed here.

 

 

 

 

With a short day trip into Newcastle's town centre, we passed Grey's monument and St James' park – both very important places in Newcastle. We also wandered through the China Town of Newcastle and had some lunch here.

 

 Grey's Monument

 At St James' Park

The China Town entrance

While out on a lovely drive through the countryside with my grandparents, we visited a lovely town in Blanchland, considered to be one of the prettiest towns in the North East. Beautiful cottages line the streets of this gorgeous place and we saw some of the greatest vegetable patches here.

 An old church which was converted into a cafe

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 Inside the converted church

 

Scones with Jam and Cream and an Earl Grey tea

To finish off our great time in Newcastle, we had dinner at a lovely pub and some cider and a game of Bingo at a local social club. A 20 pound win wasn’t too bad for our first game of Bingo!

 

 

The Thames, The Tempest and The Tudor; The Cotswalds

 

The Cotswalds

Evesham, Stratford upon Avon and Oxford

While in the Cotswolds area, we stayed in a caravan in Evesham, facing the River Avon. Evesham was a nice town and was home to some beautiful Tudor homes that had been converted into shops.

 

 

Evesham Town

 

 A Tudor Building in Evesham Town

 

 A Tudor building which was converted into a museum

 

 

 The River Avon

 

The Barrage on the River Avon

 

We visited Stratford Upon Avon for a day, and fully appreciated the beautiful buildings and quaint feel in the town. The lovely river Avon filled with beautiful Swans made for a lovely place to relax.

 

 

 

 

We had to visit Shakespeares home, which was also an impressive building and held a lot of history.

 

 

 

 

Oxford was a bustling town with a huge main centre. We didn't stay long here, but managed to wander through the main shopping area and do a bit of window shopping. 

 

 

We also wandered down to the River Thames, a beautiful part of the river which was home to many house boats.

 

 

 

 

We took a trip out to Uffington while in the Cotswolds to visit the famous White Horse of Uffington. This stylized figure of a horse is made of white chalk and is said to be dated around 700BC.  We also had some amazing views of Swindon and the surrounds.

 

 

 

 View up to the White Horse

View at the top of the White Horse

 

View to Swindon and surrounds