1st August 2008:After a bad start....

It rained non-stop for 15 hours, then suddenly at 10 AM the skies started to clear and it was a lovely sunny day from then on.
First we stopped on "The Wynd"in Bamburgh for our mid morning cuppa and I took a shot of the Farne islands still partly obscured by mist
And a distant view of Lindisfarne castle and the nearby light beneath a threatening sky
We drove to Lindisfarne and parked briefly near the toilets in the village: a new sign has appeared a the village entrance banning cars and motor cycles unless they require access to off road premises.
Since we have been parking there for over thirty years this wasn't well received, especially as the alternative is to park (and pay for the privilege) hundreds of yards away down the road.
I didn't mind paying to park when you were permitted to do so at the waters edge, but being fleeced and made to walk a distance that is quite simply too far for Pat (or anyone with arthritis, even if not disabled) before getting where you want to be is simply being greedy and anti social on the part of the local authorities, who no doubt will claim "they are trying to protect the environment" or some other such tosh, when in fact they are simply ripping off the visitors the village needs to survive.
In future we wont bother going again.
I stopped at the bridge on the causeway to take some pictures and a passing car created such a draught that my hat blew off and disappeared under the bridge, sinking as it went.
The hat is no loss really, but my Camping club 25 year veteran badge went with it too!
This is the shot I took from the steps of the refuge: somewhere under there my hat lies!
I then walked out onto the soft sands to take this shot of the original pilgrims causeway, that pre dates the road by a thousand years or so!
Ah well, easy come, easy go!
We had a superb lunch at the Oxford Farm shop then drove over the border for a walk round Eyemouth, always worth a visit with it's still active fishing fleet, especially poignant if you come from Hull, like me.
At the end of the harbour is a wet fish stall a little more versatile than most, he offers such delicacies as "Hot Kipper Rolls" and sells "2 fish halves for a pound, five for £2 to feed to the seals"
And sure enough, there below his stall are five grey seals "no doubt in his employ"
eager and waiting and enjoying the easy way to make a living in the tourist trade!
By now it was late afternoon and the sky was getting cloudy, so we hightailed it for home!