The Scotland and Northumberland Adventure - June 26 - July 1, 2016

Stylized A depicting a boat sail
representing the export of
Scotch Whisky into 200
markets worldwide

Decided to take a trip to Newcastle in the northeast to see Michael's family and have a change of scenery. Wanting to do a Scotch Whisky distillery tour and not go too far, this seemed like a good time to do it.

Scotland is known for Scotch Whisky which generates £3.95 billion in exports and over 40,000 jobs across the UK are supported by the industry. It accounts for a quarter of UK food and drink exports and sells at three times its nearest rival whisky. There are 115 distilleries licensed to produce Scotch Whisky so it wasn't difficult to find a distillery to visit.

Rascally Liquor tasting after the tour. 
It lacked the amber color of Scotch 
Whisky but it was quite drinkable!

Annandale Distillery was established in 1836 bought by Johnny Walker in 1893, closed in 1924 during WWI and raided for its copper then reborn 2011. They've done a fantastic job of renovating it and the tour was very casual informative. They even let us look into the vats which is unheard of on other tours I've been on. Since they've just recently started distilling, and you can't call it Scotch Whisky unless it's aged in oak casks in Scotland for 3 years, their first batch won't be ready until 2017. They managed to get creative though and take some liquor that hasn't aged three years and call it Rascally Liquor. It is lacks the amber color of Scotch but it is really quite drinkable!

During our drive back into England, we passed through the whimsical village of Gretna Green, historically the first village in Scotland, following the old coaching route from London to Edinburgh. Gretna Green holds claim as one of the most popular wedding destinations in the world, hosting about 5,000 weddings per year and one in six Scottish weddings. In 1754, Gretna Green's Blacksmiths shop, in folklore at least, became a focal point for underage lovers to escape Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act and marry without parental consent. The legal age for consent in Scotland remains 16 so it still attracts these underage lovers.

Washington Old House - Michael & Mum

As Americans, we know much of our early history stems from England. This includes our first President, George Washington, whose ancestral home is in the Washington area of Tyne and Wear. Washington Old Hall is the ancestral manor house owned and maintained by the National Trust. It was fun to visit and learn of Washington's family pedigree and see his family home. During this visit, we did have a bit of a discussion regarding where George Washington was actually born, England or America. Michael's mum was convinced he was born in England but as it turns out, he was actually third generation American, born in Westmoreland County, Virginia in 1732. Michael's mum has very fond memories of Jimmy Carter and the Friendship Force, a cultural exchange program where people meet people from other cultures through reciprocal home stays. The Doyle's participated in the Friendship force and were connected with a family from Atlanta. They developed a close friendship with that family that has lasted until today. When Jimmy Carter visited the UK in 1977, Washington Old Hall was on his agenda. Michael's mum remembers the visit vividly and the visit is documented in detail at Washington Old Hall. Because of the personal connections the Doyles have with the United States, it was a very nice visit indeed!

Bamburgh Castle in Northumbria 

With more than 70 miles of rocky coast line, Northumbria lies claim to some of the most dramatic castles in the United Kingdom. During my 2016 visit, we did a castle tour of Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Bamburgh, and Dunstanburgh Castles. Bamburgh though is large and imposing and captivates you the moment drive into the village. It is one of the largest castles in the country, has been in continual use for over 3000 years and sits on rocky precipice dominating the village with spectacular views over the North Sea. We hadn't gone inside during the previous visit so we took time to go back to Bamburgh and visit this fortress palace of the Anglo-Saxon kings of Northumbria. It did not disappoint with the the spectacular views, ancient artifacts and priceless treasures.

Barnard Castle Ruin at
Barnard Castle, Teesdale

Silver Swan dating from 1774. If
you look through the swan to
the paintings behind, you will
see the Architectural Capriccio
by Canalletto

On the way back to Wales, we stopped at Barnard Castle and visited the namesake which is now a ruin. The real treat of Barnard Castle, though, is the Bowes Museum. The museum is a public art gallery built by John and Josephine Bowes simply for the enjoyment of the public. It's contents are priceless consisting of Napoleon relics, fantastic picture galleries, old china, jewels of incredible beauty and value and unique art of every kind. One of the most popular attractions is the 18th century Silver Swan Automation which when fed a coin, preens itself, looks around and appears to catch and swallow a fish. It is a life size and clockwork driven and even has a music box. The swan sits in a stream made of glass rods and is surrounded by silver leaves. Small silver fish swim in the stream. The automation lasts only 32 seconds and is only demonstrated once a day to help preserve the mechanism. Mark Twain saw the Sliver Swan at the Paris exhibition in 1867 and described it in his book, "The Innocents Abroad:" ‘I watched the Silver Swan, which had a living grace about his movement and a living intelligence in his eyes - watched him swimming about as comfortably and unconcernedly as it he had been born in a morass instead of a jeweler's shop - watched him seize a silver fish from under the water and hold up his head and go through the customary and elaborate motions of swallowing it...' 

After spending the afternoon in the Bowes Museum, rather than traveling back on the motor way, we took the slower but much more scenic route through the Yorkshire Dales National Park where we were treated to stunning views of natural beauty on our trip back to North Wales.