On the way to Durham

Rush hour is over and it’s time for us retirees to set off on our long-awaited weekend away in Durham with good friends Ian and Christine Curran.
Arriving on the outskirts of the North-East, we drove past Barnard Castle and it was easy to remember BoJo’s (Boris Johnson) Chief Advisor; Dominic Cummings, who famously drove his car 30 miles there during the 1stCovid-19 National Lock-down in March 2020, there to test his eye-sight before driving back to London!!! Acknowledging that Ian’s eye-sight was fine we continued driving to Raby Castle, our first destination of the weekend. Whilst Raby Castle is known as a castle it does in fact look more like a stately home. Built in the fourteenth century by the powerful Neville family, it has a long history. Home to Cecily Neville, mother of two kings of England; Edward IV and Richard III. It was also the scene of the plotting of the Rising of the North and a Parliamentary stronghold during the Civil War. In 1626, Sir Henry Vane the Elder, Member of Parliament and important member of Charles I’s household, purchased Raby from the Crown. The Vane family still own Raby, the present owner being the 12th Lord Barnard.
Afterwards, we continued on our journey to our base; Bowes Incline, for the 3 nights we are going to be there. This was a lovely hotel, come bar and come restaurant serving delicious food. It was situated at the end of a single-track road with 1 way in, which was the same way out. It also overlooked the Angel of the North; or so I was told as it was discreetly hidden behind trees.Read more