Holy Island
Overnight stay for the early morning Holy Island loop before the tides lets the masses on.
Etal Castles Tower House
The tower house is a fine example of a strong and well-designed residence of the 14th century.
Directly above this basement, with its 2.5m-thick walls and barrel-vaulted ceiling (now destroyed), was the hall. On the second floor was the private chamber of the owners, the Manners, and later their constables, the Collingwoods. Both rooms were comfortable and equipped with large fireplaces, traceried windows and latrine chambers built into the walls. The third floor contained a barrack room for the guards.
Etal Castles Tower House
The four-storey tower house contained the main living accommodation of the castle. It was built a little before, 1 34l and strengthened before 1368.
The floors were linked by a spiral staircase in the now-demolished forebuilding. On the left-hand side you can see how this forebuilding was joined to the tower. On the right are the remains of the staircase. Two holes for drawbars and the slots for a portcullis are visible at the entrance.
On the south wall of the tower, wooden stairs once led up to the doorway that opened into the first floor.
The magical Bamburgh Castle at Christmas
Ros Castle
Ros Hill, is also known as Ros Castle due to the 3,000-year-old Iron Age hill fort on its summit.
The summit is marked by a triangulation station and nearby there is a walk-in toposcope built into the wall with four separate plaques with a 360 degree panoramic view, on a clear day, a total of seven castles can be seen from the summit, including the one on Holy Island
Linhope Spout
Hike up to Linhope Spout following the amount of rain we’ve all been receiving, widest I’ve seen the falls and could hear it from further than usual.
First walk along Hadrians Wall since the summer past Sycamore Gap, definitely a huge miss not seeing the tree when coming over the hill from milecaste 39.
River Wansbeck here in Morpeth looking more like the Zambezi River, thankfully it has started to recede.
Frosty Bamburgh mornings.
Bamburgh Castle
Looking forward to the frosty Northumberland mornings, here’s Bamburgh’s Armada canon with the view heading north.