[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1432835155423{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]We’ve had the week off this week for reading week (or half term, if you teach in a school!) and it has been lovely to have a few days at home. Last week was completely manic with the busiest week of the year in the day job, combined with playing in a show every night, but we survived and have been able to get some rest this week. Phew! 🙂 A lot of sorting out has been done (see my post on decluttering – it has begun!) and I finished my dress for the Simplicity Blogger Challenge too. We also had a day out in Craster in Northumberland – it’s a beautiful seaside village with a few quaint shops, a lovely little harbour and a great restaurant. Perfect for a day trip! 

We got the bus from Newcastle along the coastal route – the timetables are a bit odd with buses switching in Alnwick, but if you plan ahead then you can work out which ones you need to get. We stopped over in Alnwick for a couple of hours and had a trip to Barter Books (click here to read my post about that from a while back) where I bought some lovely Observer books – a new collection has begun! The bus only takes half an hour from Alnwick to Craster so we were there in time for lunch. And what a lunch we had at The Jolly Fisherman! We both had the smoked haddock fishcakes and they were amazing (Tom said I was uncouth for taking a photo of my lunch – see below!). After that we wandered around the harbour and along the coastal path to Dunstanburgh Castle. We didn’t go in as there wasn’t really time, but it’s a great castle. It was lovely to wander along the cliffs, and I spotted some wild primroses – a great opportunity for a photo with my new wild flowers book!

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Other things to look out for include the traditional fish smokers (which smells amazing – you can’t fail to miss it really) and the gorgeous cottage gardens in the harbour. If you’re in the area and you fancy a day out, then I’d highly recommend going to Craster!