Hellvellyn's Views
Lake District & North East England Photography
Dunstanburgh Castle, near Craster, Northumberland.
Dunstanburgh Castle sits amongst some of the most impressive of the Northumberland coastline. Built in the fourtheenth century, it is now a ruin and owned by the National Trust and managed by English Heritage. Admission is free to members of either and information is available by clicking the links to their websites.
The castle is accessed via Craster a mile and a half to the South. There is a car park in the village, although it's Pay & Display (£2 for a full day) and no concessions for National Trust or English Heritage members. Toilets are situated at the Tourist Information centre at the entrance to the car park. I'd recommend using these as there are only two Portaloos at the castle itself! I'm fairly sure some visitors use the privvies built into the castle walls, but wouldn't recommend that. The crossing times to nearby Lindisfarne (Holy Island) are also available at the Tourist Information centre if you're planning a full day in the area.
The village is famous for the Craster Kipper, although not being a great lover of smoked fish, I decided to give that a miss 
. Seals and an array of seabirds are common around the area, although more prevalent around the Farne Islands.
Today's lunch companion.
It amazes me how plants can grow in such small places and such inhospitable invironments!
The view North towards the Farne Islands.
The Farne Islands. The larger island to the left is Inner Farne, the largest of the Farnes and closest to the mainland. The island with the lighthouse on the right is Longstone. This was once home to Northumbrian heroine, Grace Darling.
The view South towards Craster.
Craster inshore lifeboat.
Cragside House & Estate, Rothbury, Northumberland.
Cragside Estate was bult on a hillside near Rothbury by Lord Armstrong in the 1800s. His house was the first in the world to have full electric lighting, fuelled purely by hyro-electric power. The estate originally had four lakes for the purpose of providing electricity and drinking water for the house; only three now remain. It also boasts a hydraulic lift (elevator) primarily built for use by Lord Armstrong's domestic staff.
Further information on Lord Armstrong and Cragside estate is available at the National Trust's Website. Unfortunately, the National Trust don't allow photography inside the house for "security reasons".
Chris decided the house looked like a typical haunted house on an old black & white film. What do you think?
That's all for now but I'll be going back to Cragside again. There's far too much to take in in one day!
