Berwick upon Tweed and my first castle

Berwick is a strange place. Being on the border it has often been fought over by the English and the Scots and so it has a lot of history - but there's not a great deal to do there. Having had a walk around the old town walls and read the various information about its history - plus the stuff about Lowry who visited and painted the place a lot - I head off to find something to eat. Can recommend the restaurant attached to the arts centre - such places are often a good bet as they need to raise money towards such centre runing costs so they tend to be decent - and had fantastic fishcakes.

Berwick is a place with dual identity. The accents are likely to be Scottish as much a north east England, my change was given to me in Scottish notes, the church with the spire dominating the skyline is actually Church of Scotland (the adjacent CofE pictured above was built under the reign of Cromwell so is more muted and has no spire). A nice town, but one which nowadays probably struggles with its identity and purpose.

In the afternoon I stop off as Bamburgh Castle. Now this is a proper castle - walls 10 feet thick, built on a hill, overlooking the sea and dominating the landscape. Another place full of history - though much of its current look was due to its restoration in the late 19th century.

I'm always fascinated by the art on the walls in such places, and this is no exception as among the various paintings are some by Turner and Van Dyck. Always makes my tasteful prints from the Tate seem somewhat inferior!