Christmas Day, Alnmouth beach, Northumberland

We went for a walk around Alnmouth, it was very warm for the time of year, with occasional full sun, but a very strong south westerly wind blowing sand on the beach and spume from the waves.

Hadrian's Wall

The section of the wall just to the west of Housesteads is one of the most dramatic. I probably used my old Olympus 50mm f1.8 Zuiko lens for this shot, which takes in Hotbank Crags, looking east.

Cragside early May 2015

Cragside is my favourite National Trust property, the Rothbury based estate and house developed by the Victorian industrialist Lord Armstrong. We normally try to get to Cragside at the end of May or the beginning of June when the azaleas and rhododendrons are at their best, but this year we are off on our hols at the end of May, so we decided to take an earlier visit.

There were a few small azaleas in bloom, but nothing like the show that you can expect later in the year, however a surprise bonus was the display of tulips in the formal garden next to the glasshouses.

Inside the house we noticed the William Morris designed ceramic tiles

and the Four Seasons stained glass at either side of the fireplace.

The panels were originally back lit by daylight, but further building construction cut off that source of light. They are therefore illuminated electrically, not quite as evenly as would have originally been the case.

Sony NEX 6 Various manual focus lenses.

Warkworth to Amble, Northumberland

We drove north to Amble, under grey skies most of the way. The weather forecast did not lie however, it was cold but bright in this part of Northumberland. Our walk went from Amble to Warkworth and return, along the course of the river Coquet.

I had forgotten the wealth of wildbirds that you see in this part of the world. There were eider duck in the harbour, a heron fishing along the river bank, the cry of a curlew, and oystercatchers above.

Carol spotted a seal catching a fish in the river.

Warkworth Castle

The river Coquet, with a mirror smooth surface

Last of the winter sun for the day at Amble marina

Sony NEX 6 Pentax 28 f3.5 K and 35mm f2 lenses

NE coast walk

A cold but bright December day was the occasion for a walk from Blyth to Whitley Bay

Approaching Seaton Sluice 

Fish and chips in the Harbour View cafe - that's the so called small portion!

St Mary's Island

Sony NEX 6

Views Zuiko 50mm f1.8, food Sigma 19mm f2.8

Wallington, Northumberland

We try to get to the National Trust property at Wallington once a year, primarily to see the fabulous walled garden. Click on any photo to enlarge.

A NT gardener told us that the pink flowers are lobelia, but they don't look like lobelia to me

He might have been referring to these small pink flowers?

Fuchsia in the greenhouse

Butterfly on Buddleia - infinite patience required for this shot!

The water lily lake, seen on the walk to the garden.

See also Wallington Hall and Gardens

Sony NEX 6 Manual focus lenses

Seaton Deleval Hall - Northumberland

A relatively recently acquired National Trust property, now undergoing restoration.

The hall gets a face lift, clad in scaffold, but you can still go in

Work is in progress to provide cathodic protection to the corroding iron supports of the statues around the hall.

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The garden looks better each time we visit.

 Bees enjoying the fragant lavender

I took this photo a few years ago, I'm not sure if the architectural plans are still on display.

Sony NEX 6

Fishing Boat Entering Blyth Harbour

Cold but crisp yesterday in Northumberland as a fishing boat motors past the lighthouse at the entry to Blyth harbour.

NEX 6 Sony 55-210 mm

Rothbury Traditional Music Festival

Rothbury Highland Pipe Band begin the proceedings with a march through the town.

This hat doesn't fit!

Alistair Anderson and Dan Walsh perform together

Dan Walsh

Benny Graham sings Bonny at Morn

Start them young! Members of Keep Calm and Ceilidh On

Sony Nex 6 

Cragside, Rothbury, Northumberland

We try to get to the National Trust property Cragside at least once every year, and the best time to go is normally early June, when the azaleas and rhododendrons are at their best. This year we have had a severe winter and a cold wet spring, so things are a tad out of joint. There were some fabulous flowers to be seen, but nothing like the profusion of bloom of previous years at this time. However there's always something of interest to see at Cragside, our all time favourite NT location.

Click on any photo for an enlarged view.

Sheep with lamb, Tumbleton Lake

Blossom, cherry?

Stream

Carved into a fallen tree

Tree sculpture covered with toy trucks

Tulips too!

Sony NEX 6 various lenses.

Wallington Hall and Gardens

We are fortunate in this neck of the woods in that there are two of possibly the finest National Trust properties within maybe 15 miles of each other.

Cragside, in Rothbury, Northumberland, has so much to offer with an interesting, if eccentric, house, thousands of azalea bushes and rhododenrons, extensive moorland walks, and the world's first application of hydro power to light a domestic building.

The house at Wallington is not quite so attractive, at least to me, but the walled garden is a real jewel. I have known it for years, but it seems to become more entrancing every time that I visit.

No visit to the North East of England should be without a trip to these places!

These few snaps show Wallington, I apologise in advance that I find it impossible to properly show the garden in a 2D photograph. You have to be there to enjoy it to the full.

First the house

Taken from the public road, this one is on sale at Alamy C4DN44 and will shortly be appearing on a calendar.

From the rear, showing cattle grazing. Taken from a public path, but not good enough to offer for sale!

The interior, no flash or tripods allowed, so only the advent of cameras that work well at an ISO speed of 1600 or above will adequately record what's on offer.

The glorious mural within the main hall, the original painting for the scene on the right is hanging within the Laing art gallery in Newcastle.

How the other half lived. My 24-105 lens shows considerable distortion at its widest setting, and, although  Canon's DPP program provides a fix, it comes at the cost of sacrificed sharpness.

The servants would have to hump the hot and then cold water back and forwards so that their betters could bath in comfort.

The knife cleaning machine within the kitchen.

That fabulous garden!

Canon 5D 24-70L and 5DII 24-105L and 70-200L lenses