A Perfect Day in Northumberland

This was my entry for a 'Perfect Day in...' competition. The rules allowed either an actual experience or a fictional one.  This is a genuine account of a visit in 2004, save that I actually visited the church on the following day.

My ingredients for a perfect day out, in no particular order, are historic buildings and gardens, bookshops and tea-shops.  The town of Alnwick in Northumberland offers all these and more.  This particular day starts at Barter Books: a huge second-hand bookshop in the former railway station.  As well as books there were comfy chairs, coffee and biscuits, and model trains running around above the bookshelves.  Did I mention that I also like miniature trains?

Alnwick Castle

It is a wrench to tear myself away, but I must see the castle. Alnwick Castle has been in the hands of the Percy family since the fourteenth century, when they acquired it from the Bishop of Durham. I’m interested in medieval history, and have always been intrigued by the story of how the last Vesci lord of Alnwick, who had no legitimate son,  gave the castle to the Bishop of Durham, either in payment for services rendered, or in trust for his illegitimate son, which he later betrayed, according to which version you choose to believe.  I’m inclined to take the bishop’s side.

Although Alnwick Castle is imposing medieval building, it’s still a family home, which is obvious from the table football and beanbags in the library.  It has found more recent fame as a location in the Harry Potter films, as the souvenirs in the gift shop will testify. Resisting the temptation to buy myself a broomstick, I elect to explore the gardens, which the Duchess of Northumberland is developing into a showpiece, complete with an enormous treehouse.

Vesci tomb, Alnwick Church

After a late lunch, it is time to visit the local church.  Probably built on the site of an earlier Saxon church, the Norman church was added to over successive centuries and was substantially rebuilt in the 1460s.  It is fascinating to discover two medieval tomb effigies which have survived the rebuilding.  One is believed to be Lady Isabella, widow of William de Vesci, that same lord of Alnwick who handed the castle over to the bishop.

Emerging from the church, I spend some time exploring the town, deciding that I have earned a cup of tea. In Grannies Tea Shop I can enjoy a slice of caramel and hazelnut cake with my tea whilst admiring the décor – a drying rack complete with ladies’ bloomers. 

Historic buildings and gardens, bookshops and tea-shops? Alnwick has them all.