Hello.  I wrote the following post while in Alnwick and am just now finally publishing it.  So, “this morning” was actually 18 months ago!  Oops! After this post, there will be one more, my last, from my wonderful trip to the Scottish Borders along St. Cuthbert’s Way, and beautiful and historic coastal Northumberland.

I started off this morning feeling rather crabby after an awful night at Warkworth’s Sun Hotel.  My first “miss” with regards to accommodation choice! I had very little sleep due to the noise of a wedding at my hotel.  The loud music from the party room thankfully ended by midnight, but the drunk drama in the hallway outside my room went on until almost 2 a.m. Oh well!  Lesson learned – do not book a weekend night at a hotel that caters to weddings!

I left Warkworth after breakfast (my visit to the village and castle was otherwise lovely!) and travelled by bus to Alnwick, the biggest and busiest town I have visited since Edinburgh.  My first goal, while I waited for my check-in time, was to visit Barter Books which is a giant used book store housed in the old Alnwick railway station.  It was wonderful!  They have thousands of used books, lots of cozy chairs and sofas for reading, a cafe, and in one large section a model train circles above peoples’ heads atop the book shelves.  It was very busy, but in a good way.

There were people of all ages in the bookstore, and the two kids reading in one of the next photos reminded me of Sophie and Daniel.  The original “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster from the war era was found by the owners of Barter Books in a box in a storage area in the old railway station, and from there it became a world-wide phenomenon.

These gentlemen wanted me to take their photo.  They come here almost every day to chat and have a coffee that “costs only 35 pence.” They said that this area used to be the waiting room in the old station, with the newspapers and magazine racks where the coffee is now.  They said it’s a wonderful place to sit in the winter when the fire is on.

After my restorative and fun time at Barter Books, with several purchases, I headed back up the Main Street to do a much-needed laundry, check-in to my airbnb, and find some groceries. Here is my little two bedroom apartment, tucked in off Market Street, in the center of town with everything close by.  Obviously I don’t need both bedrooms, but the price and location were very good!

There was some olive oil and pasta in the cupboard left from a previous guest, so a quick shop later, I had enough food to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all three of my days here, at less than £15 (the average cost of one pub or restaurant dinner). I am impressed by food prices here in the U.K., and by the quality of the produce (though they tend to over package the produce in plastic).

Unfortunately, the wifi in the apartment was troublesome, so I spent the evening reading and watching a bit of television.  I was feeling a bit under the weather, so it was good to snuggle under a blanket on the couch and read and watch t.v.

This morning, I woke to a grey day of rain.  My outing for the day was a walk in Hulne Park which forms part of the estate of the Duke of Northumberland and was the former hunting grounds for the Percy family.  At 6,000 acres, part of it is farmed and the woodlands are selectively logged.  There are three paths available to the public, and I chose the red path, a distance of about 8 km.

There is a gatehouse at the entrance to the park, and the path passed manicured fields before dipping down towards the Aln River, which it crossed multiple times.

There were many old and beautiful trees, including some large Douglas firs, stately oaks, and a beautiful pine.

On the approach to Hulne Park, I had seen a sign that read “Percy Hunt Ride”, with an arrow pointing down a road.  Sure enough, in one section of the walk I began to see many horse trailers and riders across the river.  I asked someone stationed at a fence about the ride and learned that fox hunting is now illegal in Britain, and that this was simply a fun ride, with participants of all ages.  I arrived shortly after the end of the ride, but it was still exciting to see all of the horses.

The highlight of my walk was Hulne Abbey.  Built in the mid 13th century by Carmelite Friars, it was taken over by the Percy family following the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.

There was not another soul at these atmospheric ruins and I sat for quite a while enjoying the silence and sense of peace.  Then, I continued my walk in Hulne Park and had fun finding beautiful pheasant feathers alongside the path.  Here they are arranged on a table at my accommodation.  Such gorgeous colours!

I finished off my afternoon with tea and scones.  I bought a package of four because that was less expensive than buying one!  More for later I reasoned. 🙂