Bamburgh St.Aidan's (+ a little walk)

We spent Christmas in Seahouses this year. My son, having wisely begun a relationship with a lass from the village whose family run a number of holiday cottages, well, we were offered a two-night freebie. So why not. So a big thank you to Hannah and her parents Bryan and Caroline.

On Christmas Day itself we embarked on another leg of our North-East coast walk. Angie wasn't feeling too well, so we kept it to a modest stretch between Bamburgh and Waren Mill, then back across country to Bamburgh. Here are a few snaps:

Bamburgh Castle, of course

Stag Rock

Info panel, Waren Mill (click to enlarge)

Heading back

After we got back we had a quick scout around St.Aidan's Parish Churchyard. The light was starting to go, but we quickly checked out the Grace Darling Memorial (more later) and had a look inside the crypt, which is accessed from the outside of the church. Here's a couple of pictures of the interior:

Crypt viewing platform

Ossuary

Interesting to note that the remains of the many unearthed skeletons in the nearby Anglo-Saxon cemetery were placed in the crypt/ossuary a few years ago. Anyway, the fading light forced us back to the car, and thence to our mountainous Christmas Dinner. 

Next morning (Boxing Day) we were supposed to be heading home fairly sharpish. However, I was keen to have another quick look at the church and churchyard to see what was what, and was somewhat overwhelmed by what I found. I left Angie in the car (still a bit poorly, and keen to get home) with the promise that I'd be back in "ten minutes or so". It was more like half an hour, really, which didn't please her - but I could have spent hours there. 

Anyway, I got the customary photo of Grace Darling's Memorial, the nearby burial site itself (about 40 yards to the south) and a few snaps of the church interior...

The original stone effigy that once graced the outdoor memorial 

St. Aidan's Shrine

Tomb of the mysterious medieval knight

The forked beam over the font - Aidan was supposedly leaning against this when he died in 651AD (though it wasn't in the ceiling at the time!)

There are loads of booklets and leaflets to buy, too, so take some cash with you if you do decide to pay the place a visit. And don't forget the crypt!

And that was about it. On Christmas Eve night we'd visited The Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh and The Black Swan in Seahouses (very nice they both were, too) - which all helped us to familiarise ourselves with a corner of the North-East which we didn't really know very well.

Very nice indeed. Get yourself up there ASAP.