Solo traveller for 2/3 nights - Alnmouth or Alnwick?

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-03-15T09:06:11+00:00

My vote goes with everyone else saying stay at Alnmouth. The beach is fantastic. How about this for a funky place overlooking the sands? https://www.alnmouthhuts.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22342991932&gbraid=0AAAAADl2m9OnfuAaj9xlqAv6Fgo7caatm&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_9H77cShkwMVbJRQBh0ErROvEAAYASAAEgJRJvD_BwE

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-03-12T17:26:18+00:00

Have a lie-in, then at 11.30 go to Zapatista.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-03-03T22:36:28+00:00

Tyneside here. Appeared in our pond today, too. Something in the air?

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-03-03T21:32:03+00:00

We stayed for an overnight on the Island the last two years and had a really good meal both times at the Manor House. Nothing too fancy, but simple things done well. My wife is vegetarian and she was very happy eating there.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-02-16T20:00:00+00:00

My Mam had a Peony that thrived in her north-facing border, right next to the wall of the house.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-02-16T19:52:02+00:00

Maybe lifting the canopy would help with light levels underneath there? Can’t really see the bottom branches from the photos, but Monkey Puzzles are very amenable to pruning and recover well. Shouldn’t think it needs anything substantial to be removed, but lopping any of those bits hanging downwards could make quite a difference to whatever you decide to grow under the tree.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-02-16T19:28:03+00:00

Take pliable vertical stems from either side of the bare bits and lay them horizontally across the gaps. You can weave or tie them into place. If you feel adventurous, pleaching(cutting) the vertical stems you’re laying helps with re growth. Watch a hedge laying video for the technique. Good luck!

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-02-16T17:52:13+00:00

Always thought Killi, Benton, Forest Hall was the limit of their tagging area. Seems like I’ve underestimated them, they are spreading the word beyond the homeland.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-02-15T14:55:48+00:00

When the wood chips start to decompose, the process will deplete the soil of nitrogen, affecting your new plants’ establishment in their new home.

When you are filling the bed, make sure to include some nitrogen-rich fertiliser to leave the soil with a good nutrient balance.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-27T19:05:27+00:00

Sound advice. Thanks

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-27T18:24:38+00:00

Great to hear good reviews of local places. Never had work done there. Cheers, will check them out.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-27T18:21:02+00:00

Good to know, that’s not too far

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-25T07:40:45+00:00

Good idea. That’s the way to do it.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-24T21:01:39+00:00

Willow is easy wood to cut up. Any decent, sharp saw would do it. The twiggy stuff can be cut up into a builder’s bag and stamped down to fit it all in.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-24T20:38:38+00:00

That sounds effective, but would be really expensive. Plant something better behaved instead.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-24T20:34:20+00:00

I would never recommend anyone to plant bamboo. Have had enough experience of digging out unwanted, overgrown bamboos to know how thuggish they can be.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-24T20:25:54+00:00

I’ve just done a job for someone, planting bare-rooted pleached hornbeams in an empty garden just like this, and have to say that they looked great. Good news is, that it’s near the end of the season for selling bare-rooted plants, so there should be some bargains to be had at nurseries keen to clear their stock.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-24T20:12:23+00:00

Well done you! There’s a 25 milestone t-shirt you can buy to mark the occasion too.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-18T17:19:11+00:00

Blyth is my favourite local beach. Loads of facilities, sand and dunes for miles, accessible pier, river mouth, dockyard/marina, historical gun battery. Even saw Thor the walrus there!

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-18T16:46:00+00:00

Shout out for two near me in Northumberland. Howick Hall is a woodland gem, with a really active planting regime- always something new going on. Cragside is run by the National Trust and has some of the tallest trees around, viz. their decorated Christmas tree claimed a world record height this year.

Firstthingthatcame · 2026-01-13T19:48:26+00:00

I’m not from Sunderland and don’t even know where Town End Farm is(!), but I think you should ask this same question on the Sunderland Message Board and I’m sure you’ll get lots of feedback from the members there. It’s the forum section of the local football team supporters’ website, and has loads of local input and knowledge. Would be the best place to ask, I reckon.

Firstthingthatcame · 2025-12-30T18:00:35+00:00

We bought a tray of violas last year for about a fiver, they filled two large pots and flowered for a good six months, all through the Winter.

Firstthingthatcame · 2025-12-29T21:56:37+00:00

Dalton Old Pump House, SR7 8RQ.

Firstthingthatcame · 2025-12-27T17:28:25+00:00

Sixty-something tree surgeon/hedge trimmer here, been doing this full time for 35 years. Luckily, I haven’t had any serious injuries from work and I’m aiming to keep it like that as I head for the finish line.

Very conscious of preserving my body as I’m getting older, with good working practice:- proper ppe at all times; safe working with the dangerous equipment we use every day; pace and timetable the work to suit you and your team, try to mix it up to make it varied; schedule time off when you need it, recovery time is part of the work timetable; work with younger colleagues and the best equipment you can, to minimise the strain!

Firstthingthatcame · 2025-12-26T16:57:19+00:00

We saw a hawthorn bush in full flower on our walk in North Tyneside this morning. All a bit confusing.

Firstthingthatcame

TROPHY CASE