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Saturday 9 April 2016

Berwick Upon Tweed

So after the excitement of Liverpool we were bound for Northumberland.  

Mark has been working near Berwick for a few months now but this is the first time that i have been able to take time off  work to stay with him. 

I was left to occupy myself during the day while he was at work, that's ok, i don't mind wondering around with my camera :-) 

The river Tweed, looking towards Berwick town, the clock tower is the Town Hall,




What strikes you when you first arrive are the 3 bridges across the river.
And you get a good view of all three together from the road towards Spittal.

In the foreground Berwick Bridge, or the Old Bridge as it is known as.  
It was built between 1611 and 1624 and is Grade I listed, traffic on this bridge is one way from the town.  
The middle one is the Royal Tweed Bridge a concrete construction which was built between 1925 and 1928 and is a traffic bridge.

The third bridge is the Royal Boarder Bridge, and is a Grade I listed railway viaduct, built between 1847 and 1850 and designed by Robert Stevenson (of The Stevenson's Rocket fame). 


 I must admit that i have a bit of a weakness for bridges, and never got tired of this view.  
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Berwick is home to the oldest known Barrack buildings.  I didn't visit the Barracks themselves but did spend many hours walking the Ramparts following the Lowery Trail, (which goes for miles).  Apparently LS Lowery spent quite a bit of time in Berwick and a lot of his paintings show scenes he sketched whilst visiting the area.


There is a lighthouse, a small one admittedly

Coming down from the ramparts there are several ways to access the estuary and the sea.

These lovely houses have a perfect spot



When i was walking into the town across the old bridge on the Monday i spotted something in the water.  Can you see that little black dot in the middle of the river?



I was so excited when i discovered that the black dot was a seal enjoying a bit of sun :-)

  
There must be a bit of a sandbank where he is.  I saw him again, in the same spot on Thursday.


I walked down to Spittal one day, just about a mile away, lovely quiet place.  Not a town as such, there are no shops except for a local general store.

But there is a rather lovely beach.
It was very windy the day i went, but in the summer i bet it's heaving, unlike now when there were only walkers like me or with their dogs enjoying the peace and quiet.


 


I fell in love with these houses on the front

How lovely it must be to wake up, open your bedroom curtains and see the sea every morning!


Local sea rescue

I took the river walk one day to get a better look at the Stevenson bridge


The 3 bridges from the other direction


I took a few photos in black & white, i think this one looks better in B&W

Berwick had a castle, you can just see the remains at the far end







I walked right round to that little cottage you can see in the distance to the right


It was a holiday let, so the notice in the window said.  Wonder how you would get yourself and your luggage to it? 

I retraced my steps, walked up through a little park, which was once a spot for local hangings and found myself at the top end of the town centre.

There is a caravan park here overlooking the sea and a small beach


Loved the view from high up


A lonely Sandpiper

Some people were enjoying exploring the rock pools

And who could blame them with such interesting things to find :-)





While walking down by the lighthouse one day i could here a lot of birds singing, then i noticed that someone had put up lots of bird boxes in the trees.

I noticed this little fella first, singing his little heart out he was

Another one keeping watch

Some activity at one of the bird boxes


I was glad to be able to get this photo


Some rather loud chirping got my attention and i looked up to see this little guy on some cable

Looks like he was wondering what i was doing 'down there', lol

Now, i'm no good with bird species, except for the obvious, so if anyone knows what these are i would very much like you to let me know in the comments.

I really enjoyed my week away, i managed to do loads of walking, something which i really enjoy but never seem to have the time to do very often, plus the walks i took were much more interesting than around housing estates!

Thank you for indulging me in posting my pictures, i realise that looking through other peoples holiday snaps is not something that a lot of people like to do, (although i will admit that i am from a strange breed that love to look at other peoples photos, lol)

Normal blog service will resume next week with some stitching and crochet updates :-)

-X-

15 comments:

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

Another great trip, Maggie! It looks like you got a ton of walking in. The bridges are amazing. The one built in the 1600's is still in use? incredible! Loved seeing the seal - what a treat!

Tina said...

Lovely photo's Maggie,nice to places i have never been to,what a treat seeing a seal x

Ann at Beadlework. said...

I've not been to Berwick for many years. My sister in law used to live there before she went back to stay in the States. There used to be a lovely Danish design shop at the end of the main shopping street and they kept some neat things. It's a popular tourist area in summer. I enjoyed seeing all your photos.

Jo said...

I loved seeing all your photos, we went to Northumberland for part of our holiday last year and though our cottage was further down the coast, we did visit Berwick as well as further north in to Scotland. When we were there, the beginning of August, Spittal beach was still empty. I don't know why as it's a lovely beach. Your bird in the box is a tree sparrow, the one after that is a starling and the one under the eaves is a male house sparrow.

Maggee said...

Wow! That's a lot to walk through, and see! Interesting historical information, which I did not know. The bird looks like a House Sparrow...over here they are invasive and a sort of pesky bird species. Don't know about over there! Thanks for sharing!

Vickie said...

Oh what a trip! Seems to me you should invite yourself to go with your husband more often.

Julie said...

What a great and knowledgeable blog post filled with such delights. Love the 3 bridges, I too like to see a nice bridge and like you love holiday snaps where I can learn something. I've never been to Berwick ... perhaps i'll add it to my list of 'one day' places.

Brigitte said...

What a great trip this must have been for you. Such a wonderful region full of things to discover. I can understand your excitement for bridges, these three are very impressive, particularly when you see them one behind the other on your pictures, and all of them different. Thanks for sharing all the wonderful pictures from your trip.

Mary - Lecoeurceltique said...

Thanks for the trip around Berwick with your photos. I enjoyed this blog post.

butterfly said...

What a lovely trip , thanks for sharing , looks a great place .
How lovely to see the beautiful Seal .

Penny said...

Your pictures are beautiful, Maggie! I'm really impressed that the bridge built in the 1600's is still in use today. Thank you for sharing - it was kind of like taking a little trip without leaving the comfort of home. : )

Angela said...

The pics are fantastic and I really enjoyed taking a trip with them.

Crazee4books said...

I'm enjoying your vacation very much Maggie. Please feel free to post as many pictures
and write as much information and history as you like because it's fascinating. My trips
to England were many, many years ago but I think of my travels there and the places
that I visited and the walks that I made and yearn to do it all again ... and more!

Berwick Upon Tweed looks like a lovely spot and being able to walk by the sea ...
oh lovely time. Those bridges are amazing structures. You can't appreciate
their size until you see the photo of the people walking near the footings of one.
That picture of Spittal is one of my favourites. Lovely old church. And that seal
really looked like he was enjoying himself thoroughly.

I wonder about having a house facing the sea without barrier or break. Nice in the
lovely weather but can you imagine during a fierce winter storm? Brrrr!!

I love the colours of the bricks in the structures and the orange tile roofs.

Are those European sparrows in your pictures? We have them here too. Your camera
takes nice, clear shots with the telephoto lens.

Thanks for sharing. Cheers!

Christina G said...

I so enjoyed these pictures. They reminded me of where I was born and raised in New York and the sea shore in that region of the US. I live in Florida now, a very different shore there. Anyway, thank you for these pics.

Salaneuloja said...

Awesome pictures! I believe that seal had a place where he lived. Maybe somewhere nearby. And those bird pictures were great too, not to forget the bridges. Awesome!