out and about in Northumberland Archives - Hello! Hooray!

A day out in Craster

Clare Albans — Fri, 29 May 2015 07:00:18 +0000

[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!

[vc_gallery type=”image_grid” interval=”3″ images=”7652,7634,7653,7635,7636,7637,7638,7639,7640,7641,7648,7643,7654,7649,7644,7645,7646,7647,7650,7651,7655,7657″ onclick=”link_image” custom_links_target=”_self” column_number=”2″ grayscale=”no” choose_frame=”default” img_size=”large”]

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!

The post A day out in Craster appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

A trip to Barter Books

Clare Albans — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 21:30:02 +0000

Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland is possibly the best bookshop in the world. I have to plan a day trip whenever I go up to Alnwick to allow for lots of looking-at-books time! It is such an incredible place. I visited the shop many, many months ago when my fab friend Tiffany came to stay, and realised this week that I haven’t yet done a post! So better late than never – and better to post this before it gets to a year since our trip…

The bookshop is housed in the old station and retains so many of the original features. You can even grab a cuppa in the station buffet, and they do amazing cakes too! We can also thank Barter Books for rediscovering the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ posters, as they found some originals there in a box of old books! If you want to find out more, you can visit their website. I hope you enjoy this gallery!

The post A trip to Barter Books appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

RE – found objects

Clare Albans — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 10:00:44 +0000

RE is my favourite shop EVER! It’s tucked away behind a garage in Corbridge in Northumberland, and I could spend hours browsing their amazing homewares, stationery, haberdashery and everything else you didn’t know you wanted. The staff are always welcoming and helpful too – it’s generally a brilliant place I’ve been quite a few times over the past few months and have put together a little gallery of photos. But don’t worry if you can’t visit in person, you can buy online on their website!

There is also the most amazing till in RE – thanks to my lovely friend Becky for these fab photos!

The post RE – found objects appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.