Durham - May 2024
Our first weekend excursion since Covid provided an opportunity for our “country members” to participate without having to travel to London. 19 members and guests began arriving on Friday afternoon, some to discover a city new to them, others to recall previous visits.
The sun shone all in welcome, albeit with a cool wind at times. Friday evening was free for members to meet up and dine as well as reconnoitre the following day’s route.
Durham, like Rome, is blessed with hills. We were happy to discover the local run-around bus which took us on the final stretch up to the Cathedral.
Our guide, Elizabeth was a charming fount of knowledge and extended our booked tour to an hour and a half. She answered many questions as she led us to the tomb of the Venerable Bede and spoke of his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. We heard the story of the Neville’s family and their role in the history of the cathedral. The history of the building was illuminated by pauses before several stained-glass windows, including some magnificent modern ones. Elizabeth told us of Saint Cuthbert’s life and we concluded our tour at Saint Cuthbert’s Feretory.
Returning to the sunshine and free for the afternoon, we set off to further explore the city on foot or to take a relaxing cruise along the River Wear, Sadly, the castle was closed to visitors over the weekend.
The day concluded with the group meeting in the bar of the Old Shire Hall, now the IGH hotel, for pre- dinner drinks followed by an excellent meal in this historic building. A vote of thanks for Simon Sefton’s work in organising the weekend was given by Michael Robson.
On Sunday morning, following a leisurely breakfast, members set off homeward, reliving the many special moments of a very enjoyable weekend.
The Northumbria Club had a packed schedule for the visit to Newcastle with 14 members participating in the visits and 30 members and their guests attending the dinner.
The weekend kicked off with a trip on the Northumberland Line, from Newcastle to Ashington, to view the work being carried out to construct a number of new stations including and interchange with the Metro at Northumberland Park. It was amazing to see how the landscape had changed from the old pits to new housing estates.
Saturday started with a visit to the Literay and Philposophical Society, with our expert guide Martin Talbot. We spent some 90 minutes viewing the building and of course the library, in which you are allowed to talk, drink and eat. It was an amazing building and collection of books.
We then went next door Neville House, home of the North East Institue of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, for a guided tour taking in the old lecture theater, the board room of the Blyth and Tyne Railway and a chandalier of miners safety lamps, the Geordie version by George Stephenson, of course!
After lunch a walk down to the quayside and a visit to Trinity House. The old building was very impressive along with the historical artifacts and paintings on display. Our guide gave us a history of Trinity House and it's role and responsibilities in terms of training ships pilots,lighthouses and much more.The visit ended with a welcome cuppa in the historical Banqeting Hall surrounded by painting of the sea and ships.
The day concluded with an excellent dinner in the Northern Counties Club and an after dinner talk by Christopher Goulding on the history of the Club.
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Alnwick - June 2026
The weekend started with a dinner in a fantastic Italian restaurant before having an early night ready for Saturday's activities.
Saturday started with a trip to the Bailiffgate museum where we enjoyed a very informative guided tour of the main exhibits along with the a 1950/60 exhibition. As a number of us were from Alnwick we were able to add to our guides knowledge and we all learnt something new about Alnwick and the surrounding area. The visit was rounded off with tea/coffee and biscuits allowing us to ask more questions of our very knowledgeable guide.
Following the visit it was time for lunch before assembling at Craster for the walk to Dunstaburgh Castle along the coast in some what blustery conditions but everyone made it, except for me because of my recent operation. The walk ended with a warming cup of tea and biscuits at the home of Ros and Tim before heading back to Alnwick for the dinner.
The dinner in the White Swan was a very convivial event and members had the opportunity to see the Olympic Ballroom and chat.
Sunday arrived and it was time either to continue to explore Alnwick or head for home.
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