Autumn 2010

Lots happening up here in North Northumberland this Autumn and early Winter. Base yourself here at The Old Vicarage and take advantage of the following events and opportunities:-

Alnwick celebrates Harry Potter all October. Visit Alnwick Castle and The Alnwick Gardens in October for a season inspired by the wonderful world of Harry Potter. Hogwarts party – 28^th October. Halloween Weekend 30^th – 31^st October includes a pumpkin parade, spell-book-making workshop or herbology lesson, Muggles tour of the Poison Garden and more!! Check it all out at www.alnwickgarden.com and www.alnwickcastle.com

Meanwhile in Berwick-upon-Tweed on the 22^nd October see the wonderful Tornado Steam Train and a trial run of the new lighting system of the magnificent Royal Border Bridge. For the lighting up proper be there on the 27^th November for what should be an amazing event with all 28 arches being illuminated in all sorts of ways

Barn at Beal are presenting a ticket only evening of fireworks and music on the 6^th November – see www.barnatbeal.com

Looking further ahead – get your skates on for the Dickensian Market in Berwick on the 12^th December. This will be bigger and better than ever with an ice-rink as a new attraction, numerous stalls, street entertainers, seasonal food and drinks, afternoon Victorian style teas in the Town Hall by ourselves – The Old Vicarage Guesthouse team!!

The Bridge illumination is the culmination of the Stevenson 150 celebrations. Please note that Ruth and Maurice are offering 4 nights for the price of three from November onwards until further notice.

Easter Weekend is just two weeks away

hi all - holidays are looming and we are waiting to meet your needs here at The Old Vicarage Guesthouse, Berwick-upon-Tweed. I've been getting outside a lot more this week with the increase in temperature and all the nesting going on in the garden. Talking of getting out more, there are so many great days out up here in North Northumberland and The Borders. I would like to tell you about some of them. Base yourself here and have easy access to Holy Island and Lindisfarne Castle. Tide timetables are always available here and your visit is dependent on safe crossing times. You can of course go on and stay over when the tide is in and the Island is cut off - and experience the real atmosphere of Lindisfarne. The Castle opening times are also tide dependent but are usually from 10 to 3 or 12 to 5 - check out the NT website for more details www.nationaltrust.org.uk
For nature lovers - enjoy the relative tranquility of the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve. There are some guided walks available during the season if you want to know more about this wonderful place. Follow the Nature Trail, but from April to July there are a lot of breeding birds so stick to the paths and be careful of the many ground nesting species.
Stop off at The Barn at Beal on your way to or from Holy Island. Good place for lunch or just a coffee/tea break. Great stopover if you have to wait for the tide to fall. For more detail check out www.barnatbeal.com

Some folk do Holy island and Bamburgh in one day. But if you are in no rush, spend an entire day exploring Lindisfarne Island and The National Nature Reserve. For more on the NNR check out www.naturalengland.org.uk

Easter Weekend is just three weeks away

Hi all - with Easter looming the birds are courting, the sun is shining and the bulbs are showing well. What about the lighting up of the entire Hadrian's wall? Isn't that something to be at? With all that publicity people will be enthused about us up here in the North of the Country! Will Cumbria and Northumberland get a rush of tourists? Plenty of room for more visitors up here with our sweeping countryside, long coastal walks, many miles of cycleways, and indoor destinations for the odd bad weather day, wonderful castles and stately houses. We are here for you at The Old Vicarage Guesthouse in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Come up and see us sometime! Or come down and see us if you're in Scotland! Or across if you are Irish! There's a welcome here for you------

Mother's Day

Sadly, as I was rescued from a cat refuge many years ago by Scott and Jenny (children of the Old Vicarage Folks) I never really knew my mum! However, living with the McNeelys has made up for that!

So, March 14th is Mothers Day, and I know there will be lots of special treats here at the Old Vic for anyone wishing to spoil their mum on this special day. Chocolates, flowers, fizzy wine at the very least.

Ring directly on 01289 306909 to book a room for your special mum, or ask for a gift voucher so she can visit at a time that suits her----------I will be waiting to add to the special occasion with a quiet miaow, a purr or two, or for those who ask - I will even sit on a knee in front of a lovely fire in our drawing room.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Christmas Greetings and all that – sorry I haven't been in touch for a while but I've been very unwell following an altercation with a very big and nasty tom cat! I've been resting and recovering and making fewer trips outside – just for the essential calls of nature – a quick dash to the hedge and back

Anyway, Maurice and Ruth have asked me to pass on some information for the New Year for returning and for possible new guests – hope to see you in 2010

love and best wishes from Findlay

xoxo


Hi Everyone

Hope you have all had a good summer and that you are looking forward to those crisp winter days and lovely cosy winter evenings

Here are some of our thoughts for the Winter Season and beyond at The Old Vic, when we do hope to see you again .....

In January & February join us for one of our Agatha Christie themed nights – sharpen up your sleuthing skills and solve The Murder at The Vicarage. Bring a group of 10 friends and you come for free

Bring a group of friends / relatives for a 2 or 3 night stay and have exclusive use of the Old Vic all to yourselves

Try out breakfast in bed with our new Breakfast Hamper

November through to March enjoy our special packages of
~ Dinner, Bed & Breakfast @ £60pppn
~ Bed, Breakfast & Traditional Afternoon Teas @£45pppn

Join Maurice on a local bird / wildlife walk @ no extra cost or take one of our special wildlife day tours – just check out what's on offer

Old Vicarage Gift Vouchers are available for that Special Christmas, Anniversary or Birthday present

Do some last minute shopping during your stay from a selection of Jewellery, Antiques, Artists' Paintings / Prints & Cards

Want to travel by train? In low season, we will provide transport for you to Lindisfarne

2010 Draw ~ following your stay in 2010 you will automatically be entered into our draw for a complementary two night stay in 2011

Prices held for returning customers – book direct with us to avoid extra charges with the on-line booking system




Ruth and Maurice

Going green?

Going Green?

How green are you? It seems to be all the craze these days. The Old Vicarage Guesthouse has just got a Green Tourism award – a silver award at our first attempt! For months now I have observed Maurice and Ruth putting in long life light bulbs, water saving devices in the loos, installing water butts, even replacing old windows with double-glazed units, not to forget a brand new condensing boiler.

Me? I'm all in favour of saving energy. I choose the sunniest spots to lie up in. I don't chase around after the wildlife, I wait for it to come to me! I firmly believe in getting through each day with the least expenditure of energy (I think Maurice is in favour of this approach too). The Old Vicarage has always been wildlife friendly with its ivy covered walls, hedges and some trees including two lovely English Elms. Maurice has put up boxes including a bat box would you believe. This year he went the extra mile with a box for swifts!! So far they have ignored it even though he played a tape of swift calls to try to attract them – what a carry-on!! Swifts are amazing in that they never land on the ground as they can't take off again. Recently we had an exciting incident when a grounded swift was attacked by a territorial starling. I was sleeping in the drawing room and missed all the fun, but apparently the starling was dive-bombing the swift and would have killed it only Maurice intervened and saved it (see photo). He put it in a bag to recover and later released it from a top floor window and it flew away and rejoined its family in the streets nearby. For more information on swifts look up London swifts

So, here's to more “green” tourists and more wildlife to enjoy around the Old Vicarage. Maurice and Ruth will even help with bird-watching trips in North Northumberland and the Borders. We have great places within easy reach such as Holy Island (Lindisfarne NNR); St. Abb's Head; and the lovely valleys of the Cheviots. Must go and check up on the birds in the garden again.

Findlay.

Not sure what to make of being upgraded to 5 stars – my “front-of house” role should really be appreciated even more than it is. Perhaps I should be on a better diet. Maurice is so slow sometimes when I try to drop the hint about the boring food from the Co-op. There are one or two flavours that I tire of very quickly. I know it winds him up terribly when I refuse to eat the offerings. He doesn't know what I have been eating or how some neighbours like me too!!

Maurice and Ruth seem to be very pleased with their new status as 5 star. It does reward all the hard work they have put in here over the last 4 years to welcome people to Berwick-upon-Tweed. They have been out changing the signs, but I noticed that their web-site still has a 4 star logo! Honestly, you just can't get the staff these days! Anyway, if it brings in more guests then I will have even more knees to choose from in the drawing room.

The season is really in full swing now, we seem to have been full all month. Had to get my “jab” recently which was a bit of a shock when Maurice grabbed me and hauled me off to the vet. Bit nerve-racking with all those strange dogs and cats coming and going. Have to go back for the follow-up soon too. Mixed feelings about that, but nice to have the protection. Overheard comments about the expense of it all, but I know they love me really and value my contribution to this establishment. By the way, there is a photo of me also on the web-site (www.oldvicarageberwick.co.uk) if you look at the one showing car parking – that's me on the right walking up the drive towards the photographer. I knew something was going on and wanted to be in the picture! There's room for 5 cars off-road and easy parking outside as well – but I really don't like cars, which I may tell you about some other time.

Bye for now – Findlay xx