We spent a week in 'Whimbrel', Armstrong Cottages (Joyce's place) in Bamburgh, Northumberland. Jean, Alison & Peter plus Margaret and I ... and Ginny, made up the guest list. Plenty of walking on the dunes and beach for me and Ginny ...
... and for Peter and I - who walked a circular route, down to Seahouses, and out into the countryside ... then back towards Bamburgh ... about 6 or 7 miles.
We had some time in the second hand book shop in Alnwick - Barter Books - an old railway station with model trains running above the bookcases - a fun place with a great choice of books (I bought seven or so!) and a coffee shop.
Jean & I did the Farne Islands, which sit a mere 2 and 5 miles off the Northumberland Coast mid-way between Seahouses and Bamburgh. These spectacular Northumberland islands have been called 'Britain's ultimate wildlife experience'. We went out of Seahouses on Glad Tidings IV. We spotted plenty of seals - Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) - meaning "hooked-nosed sea pig" - is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus.
It is a medium sized seal, with the bulls reaching 2.5–3.3 m long and weighing up to 300 kg; the cows are much smaller, typically 1.6–2.0 m long and 100–150 kg weight. It is distinguished from Common Seal by its straight head profile with nostrils that are well apart, and fewer spots on its body. Bull Grays have larger noses and a more convex profile than Common Seal bulls. Males are often darker than females, with lighter patches and often scarring around the neck. Females are silver grey to brown with dark patches.
We saw Kittiwakes, which nest on tiny ledges on cliff faces and fulmars - which nest on isolated cliff tops. We saw Greater and Lesser Black-backed Gull and Rock Pipit, which nest around the lighthouse on Inner Farne. We also saw Cormorants which nest on some of the smaller, rocky islands, plus a lot of Gannets - which actually nest on Bass Rock off the Scottish coast but come south in search of food. Also saw Guillemots, Razorbills, Terns, Shags, Cormorants and Eider Ducks.
As we motored around the islands we passed the famous Pinnacles ... and enjoyed the control that the skipper exerted as the tide ebbed and swirled so we could get a good look at the seals.
Before we turned away from the Outer Farnes, to go land on the Inner Farne we got a treat ... a rare one at that ... an admittedly long distance, but nevertheless a view of the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla).
Jean and I landed on Inner Farne. We explored the tiny island having first visited St Cuthbert's Chapel - interesting that some of the mouse heads carved onto the seats had been chiseled off, and stolen as souvenirs, in WWI.
While on the Farne Islands, Saint Cuthbert instituted special laws to protect the Eider ducks and other seabirds nesting on the islands. These may have been the first bird protection laws anywhere in the world! Consequently eider ducks are often called cuddy ducks (Cuthbert's ducks) in modern Northumbrian dialects. We walked around the tiny island peering over cliffs at sea birds, especially Kittiwakes, that had no sense of acrophobia in any degree, such was the perils of their perch and their insouciance.
Jean and I slowly wandered around Inner Farne, past the medieval pele tower and Victorian lighthouse.
Some photos I took remind me of Andrew Wyeth's painting, 'Christina's World' (see above - the photos looking up the field to the lighthouse) and this one below - reminded me of Hopper's 'Lighthouse At Two Lights'
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