We left the Lake District on Monday morning, heading for an area in Northumberland called Seahouses. (We were staying in a small village about 5 minutes drive from there called Belford)

The drive was pretty straight forward along motorways the whole way, really. However, we did stop along the way at a place called Housesteads, which are the ruins of a Roman fort set next to a portion of Hardian’s wall. It was quite a walk from the car up to the ruins and they sit at the brow of a hill. At this point Hadrian’s wall runs along the ridge of the hill so we got a really good view of the wall in both directions. It was very windy at the top and there was a nip in the air too. I couldn’t help but think of the poor Roman soldiers who had been conscripted to build that wall and fort in that place. Set on the hill it would get a great view of the area but working in that bitter wind would have been a challenge. The wall was built in about six years.

On Tuesday morning we visited Bamburgh castle which is built right on the edge of the sand dunes. It’s a huge place, still owned privately, not lived in by the owners (they farm in the area) but a number of apartments in the castle are privately rented out.

Then in the afternoon Raewyn achieved a long held dream….seeing puffins. One of the main reason for going to Seahouses was to go on a boat trip around the Farne Islands just off the coast. The Farne Islands are home to a range of different birds but the puffin was the one of most interest as it is so unusual, nothing like anything we have in NZ. We were very blessed with the weather as it was one of the few sunny days we’ve had and little or no wind. As well as going close up to a number of islands the trip also stops at Inner Farne Island where you have an hour to walk around and view the birds. It’s nesting season so there are thousands of birds and of course they are very protective of their young (and eggs) so as you walk past they are inclined to fly at you, squawking and attacking. We were warned to keep our hats on as they can peck you. The skipper called it the Northumberland Kiss. Puffins dig burrows to lay their eggs and nurture their chicks. Sadly due to the masses of rain the previous week many burrows had been flooded and chicks had died. Apparently it’s too late in the season for them to have another chick so the population this year will not have increased as much as usual. Mother nature, taking its course.

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