The Borders
This year brought us to the east coast again but a little further north this time. We rented a cottage in the small village of Coldingham, basic but fit for purpose. So a typical British holiday so time on the beach, visits to tourist places and some shopping. And on arrival in Eyemouth we chanced to see a few seals in the harbour.
And would the weather allow us to do on our first day; not much so we went into the metropolis of Eyemouth. It even has a museum, so in we went, and out we came. Okay we did have a look around but it was brief and the shop was more engaging than the exhibits; about the local disaster and the fishing industry.
Day two however was fine, dry and warm so okay for a visit to the famous Seabird Centre in North Berwick. A short trip in the car and we arrived in time to park in the sign posted place. A short walk into town and we were in. An enthusiastic volunteer showed us the screens showing the scenes from the remote cameras. Unfortunately the sea was too choppy for any boat trip so we adjourned to the beach after lunch and shopping in the statutory gift shop.
Alnwick
Back to overcast and slightly windy fare for our trip back across the border; marked by a lay-by that was only manned for food provision on the Scotland to England side. Most noticeable on the trip down the A1 were the signs telling us how many people had been killed on the treacherous road. We cruised down it at a steady 50mph behind an articulated lorry over taking it just in time to miss our turn and having to back track a little through the town to the popular Alnwick gardens and castle.
Straight into the world's largest tree house and a cup of tea; it was chilly and we had been in the car for an hour! Next vigourous exercise via a few trips round and round the rope bridges. The gardens were good and Claire and I enjoyed an educational excursion into the poison garden with an expert in the one hundred and one ways to kill people (you have been warned!). We also enjoyed the castle Battle axe and Broomstick tour; they filmed some of Harry Potter here.
By mid week we wanted after somewhere more local and just trolled up to St Abbs and its cute little harbour. David investigated the crags and rock pools. I scrambled down onto some rocks for pictures of the local bird life (feathered variety). Back to the cottage and no power! The whole area was out and the local pub was struggling with orders but we tried it anyway (the cottage had an electric cooker so no point trying for hot fare back there).
Edinburgh
The hottest day thus far coincided with a our trip into Edinburgh. We parked up in Dunbar and caught a train into town necessitating a walk into the shops while we awaited the train. First up, literally, was the castle decked out in full tattoo garb. The one o'clock gun caught us by uprise E had earlier estimated we would miss it so we had forgotten about it. We needed refreshments to cope with the heat and enjoyed some ices before going inside to see the museum and then the Scottish crown jewels. Later we hit Prince's street and the park for some bungey action for the littlest of us!.
Our final day in the borders and we stayed very local, Coldingham Bay. We checked it out earlier in the week. A short walk and we grabbed a spot on the beach before heading into the water. The beach is primarily a hot spot for surfers but the nearby caravan park also attracted general holiday makers. The beach side cafe provided us with drink and food. The kids on the beach were mostly engaged in building damns in the small stream or they were in the water on floats. Not a noisy place but neither could it be described as tranquil. The kids enjoyed it and it rounded the holiday off nicely.
Such typical British beach fun!
Oh! what fun we had; typical Brits on the beach. We did bury the poor lad - he loved it. And of course we built sand castles, and had ice creams, and some of us had a cup of tea.
Nice!
