What's Hot in February?

An enchanting island walk

Enjoy this walk around the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and feel the atmosphere of serenity unfold as you discover its legendary history. The island, which can only be reached across a causeway at low tide, is the perfect place to get away from it all and rediscover your sense of romance - at the end of your walk, visit the Lindisfarne Oyster Farm which lies on the site of the oyster beds established by the monks of Lindisfarne Priory, or sample a glass of Lindisfarne Mead.

Illuminating Hadrian's Wall

Illuminating Hadrian's Wall will be a spectacular line of light from coast to coast, along the length of Hadrian's Wall, in 2010.

This once in a lifetime event will take place on Saturday 13th March 2010 and will follow the route of the 84 mile long Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail. There will be around 500 individual points of light, placed at 250 metre intervals. The first one will be illuminated at Wallsend in the North East, with the line of light then making its way along the Wall to Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria over the following hour.

The Romans built fortlets, known as milecastles, along the Wall at intervals of one Roman mile. Between each milecastle, and spaced one third of a Roman mile apart, were a series of turrets. The plan is to create a point of light where all the milefortlets and turrets were located, with an additional point of light between each of them.

A camera crew will film the line of light as it makes its way from coast to coast from a helicopter and the pictures will be beamed to giant screens as part of two major events in the north east and at Carlisle to celebrate the illumination of Hadrian's Wall. There will also be a number of stewarded points along the Wall where people will be able to view the line of light.

More information about Illuminating Hadrian's Wall and the events in north east and Carlisle will be available on the website very soon. You can also keep up to date with Illuminating Hadrian's Wall on Facebook or follow @EmperorHadrian on Twitter.

Illuminating Hadrian's Wall is an ambitious project led by Hadrian's Wall Heritage Ltd which forms part of the world-class programme of festivals and events developed by culture10 in the North East of England and the Lakes Alive programme in Cumbria presented by Kendal Arts International and Manchester International Arts. Illuminating Hadrian's Wall is also a flagship event of British Tourism Week 2010.

Remarkable Dorset Coinicidences

Our sons five and seven year old daughters were with us in Dorset over the October half term. We walked the Jurassic Coast as always but this time added a visit to the Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester. During a quiet time at home, the five year old drew entirely unaided and without prompting a beautiful double spiral divided into segments, exactly like an ammonite, but with one important difference; she added the head of a snake. I had recently read Tracy Chevaliers new novel Remarkable Creatures which, factually based, tells the story of the famous 19th Century fossil finder and seller Mary Anning from Lyme Regis. The book reveals the lack of understanding of fossils in the 19th Century: when Lyme Regis locals were asked what ammonites were they always replied "coiled snakes"!

The older grand-daughter returned to Glasgow with a piece of an ammonite found on the beach. She took it to school for "Show and Tell" describing how it was found and what it was. This happened to be the day that a previously unknown fossil creature found near Lyme Regis was announced in the press. The teacher had already decided to discuss fossil finds based on the giant 140 million year old plesiosaur and it followed neatly on from the tiny piece of ammonite.

Christmas & New Year Breaks in North Wales

Book a Christmas or New Year break in North Wales with Menai Holiday Cottages before Monday 21st December and receive a 10% discount! Click here for further details. http://www.menaiholidays.co.uk/accommodation/christmasall

Northumberland plays host to many events throughout the year, so you will never be short of something to do.

If you want a true experience of Northumberland, look no further than the wide selection of festivals and shows. From traditional village shows in the shadows of the Cheviot Hills to the increasingly popular Northumberland County Show, all have a distinct programme of events and friendly atmosphere.

As you would expect from Northumberland, many of our events take place in, and take advantage of, our wonderful landscapes. Throughout the year you can take part in guided walks to discover the beauty and history of remote areas of countryside, or you can join expert guides to spot our rarest wildlife.

If you’re planning to visit Northumberland during the school holidays or on bank holidays you won’t be disappointed. Many of the English Heritage and National Trust managed properties host everything from themed fairs to historical re-enactments.

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A WICKED WEEK OF FUN AT
THE ALNWICK GARDEN

Come along to The Alnwick Garden to celebrate the October holidays and Halloween with lots of fun events and activities for the whole family.

Tuesday 27th and Thursday 29th October
Magic spells and potions workshop
Take part in a workshop to stir up magical spells and potions using dragon poo and stinky snake slime. Sign up on arrival.

Wednesday 28th October
Ghosts and Ghouls workshop
Make your own gruesome ghost or ghoul puppet pal. Sign up on arrival.

Thursday 29th October
Wand Emporium workshop
Come along to Galli Wandsmith's Wand Emporium to make your own wizardly wand. Sign up on arrival.

Thursday 29th, Friday 30th and Saturday 31st October
Pumpkin Carving
Bring your pumpkin, or buy one from our store, and learn to carve gruesome faces to create your own spooky lantern.

Friday 30th October, 1-4pm
Spooky Tales with Taffy Thomas
With spine-tingling stories especially for Halloween, storyteller Taffy Thomas will spend the afternoon in The Garden.

Saturday 31st October
Trick or Treat
Bring your family to trick or treat together in The Garden. Knock on our doors if you dare, to find a trick or treat behind them.

The Treehouse Carved Pumpkin Competition
Enter your pumpkin in The Treehouse carving competition. Bring it along to The Treehouse from 29th October to be displayed, before the competition is judged at midnight on Saturday 31st October. To download an entry form click here to be directed to our website, or pick one up from our information desk.

Activities are drop-in 11am-4pm, free after paying admission to The Garden and with no booking required, unless otherwise stated.

Northumbria Coast & Country Cottages Ltd.

Trip Advisor True or False?

With its 25 million user-generated reviews, TripAdvisor has become a traveller's necessity. But criticism is mounting over the reliability of its reviews and the damage it could be doing to the industry.

http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/08/24/329312/tripadvisor-true-or-false-you-decide.html