Kielder Forest

It’s half term week, and we’ve just come back from Northumberland. We had the grandsons for four days of the holiday, so we asked their parents if we could take them away, and booked a lodge (a glorified static caravan) in Kielder Forest.

Kielder was Phil’s idea, and I have to say I was getting a bit wobbly about the idea, as the weather continued very wet, windy and generally miserable. There’s really not a lot of inside activities up there. But it all worked out wonderfully. We all have the necessary outdoor gear, and although it rained (or sleeted) some of every day, we didn’t get soaked once.

Morning view from the lodge.

It’s the first time we’ve been to Kielder Forest, although we know Northumberland pretty well, and it’s really beautiful. The lake has that same gorgeous silvery sheen on it that the fjords in Norway have; it’s probably simply a reflection of cloudy sky, but it is very lovely. There were some amazing ancient beech trees,  that I think must have been coppiced a long time ago, and lots of the trees are festooned with moss and lichen. They look positively fairy tale – a rather sinister fairy tale though.

We didn’t see any red squirrels, although we did try, but we saw red grouse and rabbits, and swarms of chaffinches, very bold, and in an enclosure, wallabies and lamas. The wallabies took us by surprise, I can tell you.

Wallaby, missing the heat and dryness of Australia

Before you feel inclined to dash off to Kielder, can I just say that, much as we enjoyed it, and comfortable as the lodge was, you will be eaten alive by midges in the summer. Going in February isn’t as daft as it sounds. Also, it’s a technological black hole – no mobile phone reception, no internet, and the only TV channel that you can receive is BBC.  This slightly blew oldest grandson’s mind.

Chaffinch, practically in the lodge.

There was a swimming pool, so we started each day with a swim to take the bounce off the boys. We met friends for a pub lunch, and did the maze at Kielder Castle (not a real castle, but a shooting lodge for the Dukes of Northumberland.)

That evening we were booked into a family event at the observatory. Kielder, we were told, is the largest dark skies area in Europe. It seems unlikely to me – surely there are areas of Eastern Europe which are dark – but it is the official designation.

It was pouring down, there was no chance of actually seeing anything, so I was a bit gloomy, but in fact it was a big success. There was a very interesting talk, with pictures taken earlier at the observatory or by Hubble, and we got to see and have explained the telescopes, and to turn the two observatories. So the boys loved it and didn’t seem in the least disappointed not to see anything “live”, so to speak.

Older Grandson and I did a high ropes course, which was actually quite challenging. Grandson zoomed round, but he has a better power to weight ratio than I have, and my arms were pretty tired by the end. But I didn’t fall off or use the safety rope at all, which quite pleased me. Phil has no head for heights at all, and younger grandson was too small, so they pottered about. There was an interesting grove of redwoods, and we also had a game of outdoor chess.

Stepping across the gap.

Me on the scrambling net

We had a walk along Kielder Water; there are a number of sculptures and installations, which give you an aim for the walk, so are ideal for families, although some sculptures would involve really long walks – too far for us, especially in winter. We walked to “Freya’s Cabin”, which is made of wood with a golden roof, I suppose that's metal, and feels organic, which is the aim, I believe. It is rather lovely.

Then we went to Chesters Roman fort, where English Heritage were running a Roman soldier day for children. It was a massive success. They got to try on a larica segmentata, Gaulish helmet and belt, and then were issued with wooden swords, plastic shields and spears, and marched out, chanting “Sin! Dex!” to drill.  All the drill instructions were in Latin, which they grasped remarkably quickly. They got to throw the spears at a target, attack with swords and warcries, form a wedge to attack the barbarians (the parents and grandparents) and best of all, form a testudo. Oldest grandson got promoted, first to optio, then to centurion. You have never seen boys and girls enjoy themselves so much.

The testudo

The boys really enjoyed visiting the fort as well. Luckily, the swimming pool at the lodges has a sauna, so the boys fully understood the baths. Chesters was a cavalry fort, and they liked the idea of sharing a barrack with one’s horse. Oldest grandson had studied the Romans at school so is well up on hypocausts and latrines, including sponges on sticks. They liked the strong room and the lucky willy carving.

On the way back we stopped for a break and lunch and got to see two blacksmiths working. That was great, too.

So all in all, a terrific week for all of us. It would have been nice to have one cloudless night to enjoy the stars, but it was so cloudy we never even saw the moon!  And everything else was super.

Update

Since Christmas I’ve mostly been avoiding the rain, but we have had some good outings to Clumber Park and Bradgate Park, chosen as they were less muddy than any agricultural land was likely to be. Soggy and sloppy, OK, footballs of mud round each boot definitely not OK.  More than ankle deep mud mixed with cow poo also not OK.

We had our number three son’s puppy to stay and he’s only bearable if decently exercised, so the parks were great places to go. The only problem is that they are both a drive away (Clumber is quite a long drive actually), so the dog would go to sleep in the car on the way back, and by the time we arrived home he was as bouncy as ever. He is a really nice fun little dog, but there’s not a lot of peace with him around. It’s partly our own fault – he behaves better for his master, and clearly has us down as a pair of softies, which, in all honesty, we are.

Bradgate has the ruins of Lady Jane Grey’s home and some amazing ancient oaks, which must be contemporary with Lady Jane. It fascinates me that an oak can be completely hollow and have many dead branches and still be producing new, live, healthy looking branches. I don’t know what can make them finally give up and die. Technically that sort of oak is called a “stag’s horn”, because there are dead branches sticking up above the healthy growth, looking like stag’s horns.

Here's some of them:

We took the grandsons to Clumber and the fallen trees were very interesting, what with insects, woodpecker holes, and fungi. We counted eleven different sorts of fungi on one log, including a purple variety and one that looked as though bits of liver were growing out of the trunk. It felt like liver, too, only drier – no blood obviously.

Two views of Clumber Park - worth the drive, I think you'll agree.

We have had a trip to London, to use our Christmas present from the children, which was tea at the Savoy. This is the second time they have bought us tea at a posh hotel. Last time, it was the Ritz. I think the cakes were better at the Ritz, but the room, service and ambience were slightly better at the Savoy. We’re becoming connoisseurs.

We also went to the theatre twice, to see The Weir and Fortune’s Fool. They turned out to be not entirely dissimilar, in the sense that they both dealt with tragedy and blighted lives, but one found oneself laughing rather a lot. Both plays also involved several men and one woman, and both actresses were terrific. Dervla Kirwan in The Weir was horribly moving. Her story involved the death of a child, and frankly if I’d known I wouldn’t have gone. I do my best to stick my head in the sand and avoid this topic. But don’t let me put you off – they were both excellent plays, excellently played.