The other birthday blog

When I realised that my birthday fell on Easter Sunday this year, I was a little underwhelmed, as it’s the only day apart from Christmas Day that lots of places are closed. ‘Quite rude of Jesus to try and steal your thunder’ as Coza said.

Thankfully Cat was up for a visit to Cragside in Northumberland, using our trusty NT cards. It didn’t seem to take that long to get there, even with a coffee stop, and we were soon parking up and walking to the house in the most glorious weather.

We went round the house first. I’d been before but it was years ago, and couldn’t remember much about it. The first sense is that it is very much a home. Domestic in style and in the size of the rooms, which feel cosy and homely, albeit very Victorian. There was a fondness for stuffed things that I wasn’t keen on. There should have been a dressing up room!

Afterwards, we explored the huge grounds, along the stream and out to the lake and the formal gardens. Incredible to think that the vision of one man transformed this moorland valley into what can be seen today. It’s both a monument to that Victorian hubris which had such total belief in the longevity of what they were creating, and testament to ingenuity and inventiveness of the Victorians.

There was a hillside where we rolled mini crème eggs, and Cat accused me of cheating as I didn’t tell her it was a competition until she’d had her turn. I also ate (home made) cake. Well, it was my birthday.

Afterwards, I had a hankering to visit the Northumberland coast, the scene of childhood holidays, so we went across to Alnmouth, and walked along the beach by the sand dunes. It was busy, yes, but not ‘Scarborough busy’. It was glorious, and as I sat and ate an ice cream by the dunes, it felt like a good birthday.