A trip to Berwick-Upon-Tweed

I’m in Australia as I write this but last time was in England, I went on an impromptu trip to Berwick-Upon-Tweed. I’d never been before but it had alway been on my radar because my Grandad used to go on an annual salmon fishing trip there.

The end of November may not the obvious time to take a trip to the North East but the weather was lovely – mostly blue skies and sunshine. We arrived Friday evening and took advantage of a unicorn – free parking in most of Berwick! The guest house owner gave us a recommendation for dinner so we headed to Amore Italian Restaurant for a lovely meal.

We were staying at Cowrie Guest House which I would highly recommend and after a delicious cooked breakfast (with haggis!), we headed out to explore Berwick with guidance from our host. 

We headed past the station to Coronation Park and followed the path down to the River Tweed. After wandering along the river, we turned back and headed to Berwick Castle and explored the ruins. Following the river again took us to the Quayside (no boats were running unfortunately because of the time of year) and then along and out to the lighthouse. From there we joined the ramparts and walked back towards the town for lunch. An enjoyable ramble. 

Went out for a drive in the afternoon to Eyemouth, a fishing town. More free parking and another wander. Didn’t stay long because darkness comes early in winter and headed back to Berwick for cocktails at As Good As It Gets before tea. A lovely end to a lovely day.

Sunday we headed to Lindisfarne. I’d never been to Holy Island before so it was good to see what other people talk about. Time was limited because of tide times which meant we only had a couple of hours before we needed to head back across the causeway. (The causeway itself was very exciting for me!)

We skipped the village and headed out to Lindisfarne Castle even though it was closed for the winter. From there we could see the white pyramid daymark at Emmanuel Head so we took the coastal path that way. As we didn’t want to go back on ourselves, we then headed inland to complete the loop back to the car park (which was not free). It got a bit boggy in places even though we were following the established path but in was fun tramp round the island. 

Then it was time to start heading homewards. Stopped for lunch at the Fleece in Alnwick, which was excellent, and then drove home through worsening weather. Thankfully the weather gods had smiled on us during the times that mattered. 

I had a great time and will need to go back one day because I still need to catch a boat out to see the dolphins (which was actually the whole inspiration for the trip).