Northumberland/Newcastle Holiday 2016

Hey Guys!

So two weeks ago I was on holiday in Northumberland and Newcastle with my family and best friend. This is an annual thing, where around this time of year my family, my best friend and I go somewhere for a week in the UK. We chose Northumberland and Newcastle as our destination because in September I should hopefully be moving further up north to Newcastle for university. It was a great week overall and we did quite a lot of activities throughout the week and got to explore a lot :) Normally when I go on holiday in the UK the drive is around 6 hours so this was a nice change as it was only a 3 hour drive in total. We stayed at the caravan park Sandy Bay Holiday Park in Ashington. It was a very cute and small holiday park that was right on the coast so we got to take the dog on the beach almost every day :) It was refreshing and relaxing being able to go down to the beach everyday and take some photos. 

Our caravan was very nice, but smaller than the usual caravans we have been in, so it was tight for space and considering I pack a lot I struggled for storage haha :) 

Billy was fast asleep as soon as we got in the car :) didn't help that he had to lie on me the whole way though haha!

The beach at Sandy Bay Holiday Park | Billy was happy to finally be out of the car and able to stretch his legs

The caravans all looked over the beach and the sea on the cliff side which was so pretty! In this photo the tide was in but in the early morning when the tide is out the beach is huge :)

Day 1 - Tuesday 21st June | Amble Harbour Village

On our official first day in Northumberland we went to Amble Harbour Village which is an old fishing town south of Alnwick. It still has a traditional high street with independent shops such as the butchers and bakers. 

At Amble Harbour Village they have these cute little shops that are all in pods. Instead of a shopping center they have little pod shops next to the fishing bay and boats :)

We ate lunch at a small little pub on the edge of the village called The Wellwood :)

Sunbathing outside the caravan when it was 19 degrees :D 

Day 2 - Wednesday 22nd June | Warkworth 

On our second day in Northumberland we went to the small village Warkworth to visit Warkworth Castle and Hermitage which is linked with English Heritage. Its a ruined castle and only one part of the castle still remains intact. But the one thing I loved about this castle is that I could take Billy in with us. All dogs are welcome as long as they are kept on leads which was really key for us, because it was very hot weather so we didn't want to leave him in a hot car. So being able to take him in with us was easier and we didn't even have to pay for him to come in with us :) a very dog friendly place!

The view was spectacular from the castle because of how far up the hill it was located

The view from the castle of Warkworth Village is so beautiful and in the background you can even see the sea!

After visiting the castle it was around 12:30pm so we decided to grab some lunch from the local pub/hotel that was opposite the Castle. It followed the theme and had knights and guards outside the hotel and inside it was the same :) We sat outside because of how hot it was and had some lunch before getting back in the car and going back to Sandy Bay.

Day 3 - Thursday 23rd June | Newcastle

Thursday was the hottest day of the holiday and I even burnt my shoulders and arms. We decided to go to Newcastle on Thursday because if we had gone on the Saturday or Sunday it would have been much busier and hectic in the city centre, so I think we chose the perfect day; due to weather and timing. We had a great day in Newcastle and I was able to show my mum the university and explore more of the city. I even found a Chinese supermarket where I can get my ramen from and found some great bars :) 

For lunch we stopped off at the Crow's Nest located just opposite the cathedral and sat outside considering how nice the weather was and because Billy was with us. I ordered the Louisiana Burrito and it was amazing! Highly recommended :P 

Newcastle University Student Union 

China Town is located right next to St James Park and right in town which is perfect for someone like me haha :P 

Day 4 - Friday 24th June | Alnwick

On Friday we decided to stay local and popped to Alnwick to explore a little and visit the White Swan Hotel which has something special we wanted to see :) For most of the week we had really good weather  and it was sunny most of the time but on Friday we has really bad rain. When we reached the White Swan Hotel it actually started to torrential rain with both thunder and lightning so I was glad to be inside and not walking around haha! Alnwick is quite a small place so their wasn't much to see or do but overall it was a good day out :) 

This was the reason we wanted to go to the White Swan Hotel. Inside towards the back of the hotel up a very elegant staircase is the First Class Lounge which was located in the S.S Olympic which was the twin ship to the S.S Titanic. Below are photos from the actual hotel where we ate lunch in the front bar. 

And this is the First Class Lounge which was situated in the S.S Olympic, the twin ship to the S.S Titanic. It follows the exact lay out as it was on the ship and all the woodwork is intact. When you enter the room there is a weird atmosphere but its so interesting to think this room was taken from such a famous ship. I recommend a visit if your interested in famous ships like myself. 

The original fireplace 

In the first class lounge there were even little booths to make it a bit more private for some passengers on the ship. Those who were wealthy enough could afford to have a booth and dine more privately

This is the exact stairway from the S.S Olympic and was taken to show the entrance to the first class lounge. Before you enter the room at the hotel in the hallway there are numerous framed photos showing different parts of the ship and the crew at work. The photographs are very interesting and shows what life what like on board. 

Day 5 - Saturday 25th June | St Mary's Island | Whitley Bay | Cramlington 

Saturday was a lovely sunny day and very hot so we decided to visit Whitley Bay and see St. Mary's Island which has a lighthouse. The lighthouse is now decommissioned but you can still visit it and climb the lighthouse. The drive from Ashington to Whitley Bay isn't very long and when we got there there were so many people. Lots of families and dog walkers so it was a really good day out :)

When we walked around the lighthouse a gentlemen told us that at the edge of the rocks towards the sea there were seals sunbathing. Luckily he has some binoculars to he let us borrow them and we were able to see a whole group of seals all lying in the sun. It was so cute! I managed to zoom in on my camera and capture a few pictures of them to show you guys!

It was quite a large climb up to the top of the lighthouse and was very steep so if your scared of heights I wouldn't recommend climbing a lighthouse haha :P it took a while and you had to go slow as the stairs weren't the safest but the worst bit to climb was at the top

This was the worst part of climbing the lighthouse, this is the part just before you reach the light and climbing it was horrible. It was like a ladder and really steep so I was holding on for dear life haha!

The top of the lighthouse! The view was amazing and was great for photos of the island

We even took Billy with us to the island and we enjoyed jumping in and out of the little pools of water :) we met some other cute dogs as well!

Sammy and I grabbed some ice creams on the way back to the car and enjoyed a blast to the past. Sammy and I used to grab ice creams on the way home from school when we were at secondary school :) It's been a few years since we have had these ice creams 

After getting back in the car we drove to Cramlington and went to a Wetherspoon pub for lunch. We both had the Shanghai Noodles which was amazing! Wetherspoons are always good for relatively cheap and good food :) 

For dinner we all decided to eat out at this local pub that was recommended to us. All the staff were lovely and there was a band playing in the corner to entertain everyone. I ordered the rump steak and it was the best! The way the food was presented was so cute, the chips came in little plant pots and all the plates were slate. The pub was called The Half Moon in Stakeford.

Day 6 - Sunday 26th June | Tynemouth 

On our last proper day in Northumberland we went to Tynemouth and to see Hadrian's Wall. We walked around where the wall used to be and then took a walk with Billy. There isn't much of Hadrian's Wall left so there wasn't much to photograph but this main part of the wall was still intact. We traveled home on the Monday morning so Sunday was our last day to explore and see places. 

Tynemouth beach is huge and I really wanted to take Billy on to have a run around and paddle in the sea but unfortunately its not a dog beach. The beach strip is huge and leads to the castle 

The houses in Tynemouth are so cute! They are all terrace houses and are in a huge row looking over the beach and sea :)

Tynemouth Priory and Castle. It's such a lovely view and there were so many people around the castle grounds seeing as it was such a sunny hot day :)

The town clock just outside the entrance to the castle 

The town was so pretty! Flowers everywhere and there were so many cute little cafes and shops on the high street. It was very busy and lots of people around taking photos and spending time with their family :)

Like Warkworth Castle you can also take dogs to this castle too and they are allowed in all the grounds as long as they are kept on a lead. This was great for me as I was then able to take Billy everywhere with me and not leave him outside or in the car as it was too hot to be leaving a dog in the car

Billy enjoyed his day out :)

Overall it was an amazing holiday and we had amazing weather. It was a nice little getaway to see somewhere different and explore some places we haven't seen before :)

Northumberland is a lovely place and I highly recommend it if your looking for a coast holiday where you can visit the beach every day!

See you soon lovelies!

Amy xx