Bakewell

Today we enjoyed a day out in the beautiful Peak District of England. We met up in Bakewell so several groups of our friends, from various cities in England, could gather. Bakewell is known for its origins of the Bakewell tart.

“The Bakewell pudding consists of a flaky pastry shell lined by a thick layer of jam and filled with an egg custard mixed with ground almonds – making a hot dessert that is considerably more substantial than the more modern tart. The pudding was invented by Mrs Greaves, landlady of the White Horse Inn around the late 18th or early 19th century. Three shops in Bakewell now sell puddings that each claims to be made using the original and highly secret recipe.”

We visited all three shops, but our family chose to purchase a treacle tart instead of the Bakewell tart since we are not too fond of raspberry jam and ground almonds. This was a good choice as it was quite delicious! 😋

Together we enjoyed a picnic lunch along the river where we enjoyed chatting and watching ducks. 😊 On this date we celebrated two friends with whom we have worked closely alongside. One friend will return to family next week for a few months before returning here and another friend will be moving on. We have greatly enjoyed these ladies and gave them a parting gift of an artistic depiction of Leeds.

After lunch we popped in and out of shops, wandered into a craft fair, and enjoyed purchasing a few items. Our family is very thankful to the Lord for this sunny day out enjoying the Peak District village of Bakewell with like-hearted friends!

20th Anniversary Holy Island and more!

This is part two about our anniversary holiday…We began one day of our anniversary holiday driving across the road to the Holy Island at Lindisfarne as the ocean was receding; the only way to access this island is during low tide. This is our second visit to the island which helped narrow down all that we wanted to accomplish.

We walked near Holy Island Castle but opted not to go inside as we were not interested in the art on exhibit. However we took many amazing photos seaside and bought some souvenirs before enjoy a crab sandwich lunch in the sunshine.

After lunch we toured the monastery and St. Mary’s Church reviewing the history of the Lindisfarne Gospels. There is much spiritual history here; it’s remarkable the influence this island continues to have on our understanding of Christianity.

Ryan and I hiked seaside to St. Cutherbert’s island where perhaps he went for silence and solitude marked by a cross and verse. The seals also enjoy it as do many tourists. This island affords many beautiful views which we enjoyed sitting on benches and taking it all in.

After tiring from our many steps of the day, we returned to our holiday let to put our feet up to a picturesque view of the viaduct. The next day we continued our holiday by visiting an English Heritage manor home and castle called Belsay Hall. Whilst the hall was under construction, we enjoyed the castle and I tried my first stottie (a northern sandwich)…delicious!

Our final evening we paused at Redworth Hall Hotel for a spa evening, three course dinner, and a full English breakfast. We felt like this was a fitting romantic end to our week anniversary celebration!

20th Anniversary Northumberland Holiday

After seeing our children off for the New Day youth conference bright and early…

we drove to Newcastle and paused for a delightful full English breakfast in a quaint quayside café.

We then walked on, enjoying the sunshine and feasting our eyes on the ornate historic architecture which blended quite nicely with some modern structures. The swing bridge was a lovely sight to behold before walking many stairs to Newcastle Castle.

Nearby we could see the glorious Newcastle Cathedral and were thankful we stepped inside to view the resplendent architecture.

On our drive to Northumberland we drove through Seahouses in route to Bamburgh Castle. This has to be the most complete furnished castle which we have ever toured. Afterwards we took in the lavish views as we walked together seaside.

Christian history of Bamburgh castle

Berwick-Upon-Tweed is where we resided most of the week in a lovely Air B&B on the medieval wall. The gardens were beautiful and in the mornings we enjoyed coffee and Bible time in the conservatory.

We toured Berwick, which has exchanged hands 13 times between England and Scotland. Berwick sits on the Scottish borderlands in Northumbria. We enjoyed a boat tour along the River Tweed viewing Berwick Castle and three historic bridges. The 28 arch viaduct enhanced our view from our B&B. The Tutor Bridge constructed in 1603 is the oldest by far.

At Berwick we also enjoyed walking the town walls and resting seaside. Unplanned we ate a delicious Turkish lunch and found a local coffee roaster to enjoy. It’s been a fabulous anniversary holiday! More details to follow in my next blog…