It all started because I needed to go to Hunstanton in Norfolk for The Country Girls UK simulated shooting day that we sponsor on the 12th of April. (We being Hiho Silver, my jewellery business.)
But then, the road trip kind of grew. I really wanted to go and see Mhairi from Chillingham Manor before she and her husband moved to their new location just down the road.
Then an overnight somewhere: a drop in at Gisborough Hall where we (that’s with my Blackdown Shepherd Huts hat on) have supplied their Huts at the Hall, and onward to Norfolk, finishing back in Somerset on Sunday night.
So, we set off on Tuesday, our trusty Yeti coffee cups in the Discovery cup holders, a basket loaded with healthy snacks (trying to be good) and a boot full of Hiho goody bags for the shoot day on Saturday.
We motored straight up to Chillingham that day – obviously my plan of leaving early and stopping for lunch on the way never happened and we ended up doing a quick M&S Services stop and carrying on! I ended up joining my Scoop zoom call with Daily Mail journalist Chris Matthews en-route and big props to the Northumberland 4G, I kept signal all the way!
Tuesday evening saw us arriving at Chillingham to be warmly greeted by Mhairi, who served up a delicious home-cooked supper for us – then we gratefully sank into her beautifully soft bed for a much needed sleep.
You might be wondering why we trekked seven hours up country to stay at Chillingham Manor for the third time. Well, firstly, Mhairi and her husband Ed have created an absolute haven where your every need is catered for, and secondly, we fell in love with Northumberland when we visited for the first time back in 2022 when I won a competition to do some reviews for Sawdays – which is how Mhairi and I first met.
As Mhairi was a previous shepherd hut hospitality owner and I have Dimpsey, we found we had lots in common and have kept in touch ever since. Sadly, Mhairi and Ed are having to move on to a new place as their landlord is selling Chillingham Manor, so I really wanted to go up and support them before they close the doors in May.
Happily, they have found a new location just up the road, which I was lucky enough to see and I cannot wait to go and stay again when they open. Keep your eyes posted on Mhairi’s new Instagram feed if you want to follow them setting up their new rural idyll.
We’d booked in for two nights at Chillingham, and this time we had it in our minds to go and visit nearby Alnwick Castle.
Fortified by Mhairi’s breakfast, we set off in the morning on the 30 minute drive to Alnwick. It took us a little while to find some parking near the Castle (in the end parking in the car park behind the Playhouse), and we were bemused to find that we had to go and purchase a parking disc for £1 which we then set our arrival time on. This then covered us for 3 hours parking – quite a good idea really.
The Castle was fascinating – absolutely amazing to think that it has been in the Percy family for so many hundreds of years. The exhibits were really well laid out, with lots of story and information to take in. I loved that there were little museums in the Towers, and had we still had young children, I would absolutely have been taking part in the Harry Potter broomstick flying lessons taking place in the courtyard!
Some of Harry Potter was filmed at the Castle, and there were timed tours that you could join in on, taking you through all the history, film locations and interesting facts about the Castle. The coffee in the Cafe was really good and had we not just had a large breakfast, I would definitely have had a scone as they looked really delicious. You’re asked not to take photos inside the Castle, so I don’t have any to share, but it was really impressive, and I would most definitely recommend a visit.
We joined Historic Houses just before our trip, so our entrance to the Castle was free – we just had to show them our temporary membership card. There is also The Alnwick Garden next to the Castle, which you do have to pay to enter. It looked really impressive and I would have loved to have seen the Orchard in bloom, but we only had 40 minutes to spare, so couldn’t justify the entry fee for the limited time we had. It’s a good excuse for a return visit though!
Gardens behind us, we took a walk round Alnwick, which is a really lovely little town. We visited The Accidental Bookshop (where I loved the little notes tucked away in the books). Next was the gorgeously scented Dovecote (I have to confess to buying some candles) and then, I spotted Humes Outfitters and had to go in. They stock many of the brands we (Hiho) attend the shows alongside during the summer – I admit I did purchase a shirt! The lady in the shop was so lovely and could not have been more helpful, I absolutely recommend a visit if you’re in Alnwick.
Lastly, we couldn’t go to Alnwick without a visit to Barter Books.
Oh my goodness, what a place that was! Set in an old railway station, it’s hard to describe – calling it a bookshop doesn’t really do it justice! I think it’s more of a book lovers destination. With secondhand books organised into categories and little reading nooks dotted around, it is just the sort of place I could lose a few hours in. There’s even a toy train track above your head, with trains pottering around, in and out above the shelves.
Then it was back into my mobile car office for a zoom call with Lisa Bean, to discuss the recent business retreat I held at Dimpsey (obviously after I had raved about Barter Books to her!).
Mhairi had recommended eating at The Whittling House at nearby Alnmouth, so 10 minutes later, we were sat in the pub with a drink, perusing the menus. The meal was superb, served with a smile, and I have to confess it was nice to rest my weary feet for a while. 15000 steps in my new Ariat Savannah boots was impressive – so comfortable (not an ad, just really impressed with them)!
After all this, it was back to Mhairi’s for a night time cuppa with my book by the fire in her beautiful drawing room. In case you’re interested, my current read is “Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg, which I purchased on Laura Pashby’s recent writing retreat with Ease Retreats – it’s such a good read.
Breakfast the next morning was another delicious Mhairi creation, this time I went for oven-baked tomatoes and avocado on sourdough toast, superb, and it set me up for the sunny 90 minute road trip down to our next destination, the Lord Crewe Arms in Blanchland.
The Lord Crewe is part of the Calcot collection, set in the gorgeous village of Blanchland, with direct access to beautiful walks on the Moors. The main part of the Lord Crewe dates back to 1165 when it was a guest house for the newly-formed Blanchland Abbey. As well as the main hotel, other rooms are very close by in the village and there’s also a function room in the old Gatehouse across the way.
The April sun was certainly sunning, and we enjoyed a light lunch out in the garden while we waited to check into our room, which was in a square of old miner’s cottages adjoining the hotel and was absolutely lovely. The bed was so comfy and everyone we encountered in the hotel was helpful and accommodating – it almost felt like you were staying at a really cool friend’s house.
We’d picked up some of the walk leaflets from reception and decided to set out on a 3.5 mile circular walk (Northumberland Walks describes it nicely) as it was such a lovely day. After a brief detour (because we initially managed to start from the wrong car park), we were soon enjoying the scenery and points of note on our walk, which were all explained on the route map which told us about the history of the area.
I especially loved seeing Pennypie House, so called because all the miners would go there to buy their pies. The views on this walk were stunning, however I was feeling very pleased that we went round it in the advised direction, as to have done in the other way would have meant a very steep climb up a hill, rather than the gentle climb up and then the sharp, quite long descent at the end that we did!
The evening saw us enjoying a meal in the Lord Crewe restaurant, which was delicious, the sourdough we had with it was so good. I’m a big sourdough fan so the bread with supper and breakfast plays high in to my ratings of places we stay!
After a great night’s sleep, we were up early the next morning, and had breakfasted and got ourselves on the road by 9am. We were motoring down to Norfolk, so had a long journey ahead of us, with a detour to see Gisborough Hall on the way, which I know seems a bit random, but there was method in my madness.
We (with my Blackdown Shepherd Huts hat on) supplied Gisborough with their Huts at the Hall a few years ago – they have 3 brace shepherd huts in their grounds – and as I was so far North, I was keen to go and see them in situ. I absolutely love seeing how the huts settle into their landscape and the little touches that people add to incorporate them into their brand.
We were met by their lovely Assistant Manager, Vicki, who showed us around the shepherd huts. As a fellow hut owner, it was lovely to hear her enthusiasm for the huts and also to hear that their customers love them too. The huts are set in the most gorgeous location, and Gisborough are busy adding a spa garden nearby at the moment, which means that we will definitely be returning to try that out!
It was then back to the car for the long drive down to Hunstanton. The scenery as we drove was beautiful, but the roads were heaving with Easter traffic, buoyed by the sunshine. No lovely lunch in a quiet pub garden for us today, instead we joined the melee at a roadside services, which reminded us why we don’t usually travel in the school holidays!
The holiday traffic saw us taking a detour through King’s Lynn, which was also a trip down memory lane. As we drove through the South Gates into the town, I was transported back to my childhood and our weekly trips to town on a Saturday, and then out to Castle Rising to see my Nan for the afternoon. My Grandad taught me to drive on their land as soon as I could reach the pedals of the rickety old baker’s van he purchased to teach me in – then it would be into their kitchen to warm up by the coal-fired Rayburn.
Nan would produce buttered brown bread, tomatoes and boiled eggs for an early tea, and then came the weekly religion of watching the wrestling at 4pm in the posh room. Watching this tiny woman, always very genteel, urging Big Daddy to take Giant Haystacks down never failed to amuse me!
Driving past their house flooded me with more memories – I lost my Mum last year, so it was bitter sweet, especially when we then drove past the church we had my Dad’s funeral service 30 years ago, and then our wedding 8 weeks later. I resolved to come back later in the year and assuage my need to spend more time there, and catch up with our Norfolk family.
We’d been driving all day to get to the Country Girls UK (CGUK) pre-shoot BBQ, hosted by the Le Strange Shoot, and boy was it worth it when we got there! The weather played ball, and we arrived in glorious sunshine to take our places beside the moat-surrounded Octagon. Meat was roasting asado-style over the fire, drinks were served, and despite me knowing no-one apart from Tania Coxon, who founded the Country Girls, I was soon in deep conversation with the loveliest ladies and found myself looking forward to the following days sim shoot.
A sim shoot is where you shoot at clays, rather than live game, with each drive (round of shooting) taking place in different locations, with the clays fired from traps to simulate birds flying.
As we talked the sun dropped, with the temperature following suit, and duly fed and watered, we made our way to the White Horse at Brancaster Staithe, 20 minutes away from the shoot and recommended to us by a local friend.
The White Horse is part of the Anglian Country Inns group, who own a number of locations, and I really loved the ‘gastro pub with rooms’ vibe, with the added bonus of the funky outdoor Marshside dining area looking out over the shoreline.
The welcome couldn’t have been warmer at the White Horse – we were in two different rooms for our stay as I hadn’t been able to book the same room for two nights, but we were told to leave our bags in the room the following day and the transfer would be done for us. Our first night was a room in the actual pub and our second was down in one of their garden rooms – both excellent. I also loved that you could just order complimentary coffee and tea throughout your stay – little touches like that go a long way in my humble opinion!
Both our breakfasts and the supper we enjoyed out by the shoreline were superb, and given that they served 1000 covers on the Saturday, the service was quick and pleasant. It really is an impressive place, and the owners and their team should be congratulated. It’s a great place to stay.
The sim shoot day was absolutely perfect. Andrew went off and explored the area and I joined the CGUK ladies for the shoot. Tania and her team work hard at putting on great days and are always welcoming. I absolutely loved my day and will do a separate post about it, but suffice to say I’d thoroughly recommend joining the Country Girls if you’re wanting a great day out to meet new people and learn new skills.
We caught up with local friends on Saturday night at the White Horse, and then off to The Lodge in Hunstanton for Sunday lunch the following day with our Godson and his family. After a windy walk on the beach, we were ready for a late lunch – the roast was superb and it was so good to catch up, the years melting away as we chatted and I was reminded yet again of the importance of making time to go and see the people you love.
Then, in the late afternoon, it was time for a reluctant farewell to Norfolk. We hit the road for a 5 hour journey home, the traffic gods mercifully kind, (particularly on the M25) and with one convenience stop, we were home just before 10pm.
We clocked up just over 1000 miles in 6 days – we were shattered and I thanked our Tuesday selves for putting a clean bed on before we left – clean sheets and a good sleep in your own bed – nothing better!