Making it to Scotland!

I woke up at the crack of dawn and explored Newcastle before heading to the coast. I think Newcastle is awesome. I went by the old site of the Newcastle Ale brewery, and the area by the river was so cool. There were lots of cobblestone streets and neat architecture. Too bad it was drizzling all morning, but it was still really cool, and I was able to walk around.

I went out to Tynemouth which is on the coast. The weather had cleared a bit so I got to see the gorgeous views. I stopped off at the Tynemouth castle and priory... it was pretty awesome. I then went to Whitley Bay and went out on St Mary's Island to see the lighthouse. I was able to walk out on the causeway to get to the lighthouse, but it was a good thing that I did not spend much time out there because the water was rising. By the time I headed back the water was lapping up on the walkway. My next destination was Hartley Island. I took off from the main road and went winding through a pretty little farming community. I popped over a hill and was faced with three parked cars and water. I guess they were waiting for the water to recede so they could drive over to the island. So I had to back up the hill and turn around. No Hartley Island for me!

I headed up the coast through Blyth, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Alnwick, to Berwick-upon-tweed. Berwick-upon-tweed is a completely walled city. It is surrounded by a motte, and it is at the mouth of the Tweed river. The wall looked very impressive when I crossed the bridge over to the city. The buildings were incredible there.

I then headed up into Scotland, still skirting along the coast. I got to Edinburgh mid afternoon, and it was pouring rain. I drove around a bit, but the traffic was horrendous, and it was very crowded. I got out and walked around a bit, but soon gave up when the rain became really hard. I headed out for the long trek back to Manchester, where I was spending the night to fly out the next morning.