Today, I took a trip down to Berwick-upon-Tweed (it is pronounced ber-ick-upon-t-eed. The "w" is silent). My librarian friend and her family are on vacation in Northumbria and offered to meet me there. I accepted and left this morning. It takes about an hour by train on one of Britain's top scenic train rides. I have done it a few times and it is always worth it.
Once I met them at the train station, we went for lunch at some place in Golden Square, which is the town square. From there, we went to Berwick's Barracks (it is pronounced ber-ick's Barricks. Drop the "s" and it sounds like you are saying the same thing twice). It is the headquarters of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, which was recently consolidated with all the other regiments into the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Not without hue and cry, of course.
After that, Librarian's husband and I went walking along the seaside defenses of the town, which were completely unguarded by rails so that you could fall off and die if you were not careful. We also went out near the lighthouse, which is situated on a man made spit of rock into the North Sea.
We then met up with the Librarian and her daughters for coffee. Did some shopping at a local environmentally friendly shop (they are staying in a self-catering cottage). We went to the pub for a pint after that. I caught a train back to Edinburgh.
The only two problems that I had while I was there was that I forgot my hat. It was very cold out there and being right on the sea did not help. I figured that since the last few days in Edinburgh were mostly sunny, that today in Berwick would be as well. So I was a cold but it was enjoyable. The other was that I did not have a hat so my hair was a mess. Next time. Remember to take a hat.
posted by Chris #9:09 PM | 0 comments |
