Northumbria....

So we are off to the land of the Geordie. Well in truth Newcastle has little to do with the Northumbria I know and love. We are going to the real Northumbria far away from the bright lights and flesh pots of the Tyne. To the Northumbria of Bernicia, Lindisfarne, Cuthbert and Aiden. This is border country where once the reivers held sway and the rule of law was rough and ready.

This may sound like a romantic view of this part of the world but it is the way I look at it. Perhaps it is my endless fascination with all things Anglo Saxon but the coast around the Bamburgh is a special place. Not only are there miles upon miles of sweeping sandy beaches but the wind seems to hold portent. We sometimes view nations by their land but this part of the world is dominated by the Sea. It always has done. The great Anglo Saxon kingdoms were first and foremost sea faring. For them the sea was the highway. The land was always difficult to cross. In a away it still is.

After all that romantic nonsense perhaps a little clearer explanation would be no bad thing. We are off to see more puffins. Well, puffins, terns, guillemots, kittiwakes and so. We are going to spend a week bird watching and taking photographs - what could be better?

Beyond this there is the stunning scenery. We love Pembrokeshire but Northumbria is better. There is a loneliness in the empty parts of the north Pennines that I have never felt anywhere else - certainly not in Pembrokeshire which is dominated by the oil and gas industry - even high in the Preseli hills you can still see the refineries of Milford Haven.

Now having written about this it will mo doubt rain the whole week and I'll have no opportunity to take one photograph; the sea will be too rough to sail to the Farne Islands and we'll come home early. Syuch are the joys of holidaying in Britain - you just don't know what you are going to get.

If you want to see more of my Nortumbria photography then click here.