Lindisfarne, Bamburgh Castle and into Scotland

Another beautiful start to the day, and unlike yesterday the sun kept poking out from time to time throughout the day. We packed up again and were on the road by about 9am again, this time headed east and then north.

We were on a timetable today that was based on the tides. Our first stop was Holy Island, a tidal island off the coast of Northumbria that can only be accessed by car when the tide is low, so we had to get there as early as possible and make sure we were off the island by 2:20pm. We managed to get there by 11 and went straight to Lindisfarne Castle, which is on a rocky outcrop overlooking the North Sea...

Beautiful inside as well as outside.

After the castle we had a wander around some of the other sights - the ruins of the Lindisfarne Priory and the beer garden of one of the pubs stick in mind.

Having escaped the Island well in advance of the 2:20pm deadline, we headed slightly south to the very pretty village of Bamburgh and its spectacular castle. You could see Bamburgh Castle from Lidisfarne Castle (and vice-versa).

Anyhow, we took a wander around the Bamburgh Castle and even had a late lunch in the Castle Cafe.

By the time we were finished at Bamburgh it was time to move on to tonight's accommodation, a hotel in Dunbar, which is about 28 miles east of Edinburgh. Crossing the Scottish border was probably the most exciting part of the drive, but we arrived regardless. Dunbar is basically a fishing town so we went for a bit of a walk by the harbour before returning to our hotel for dinner.

Not sure how we'll go for internet in the next few days, but will continue to write the blog and publish when we can.