Our trip had 2 main targets: 'D-Day 75', the 75th anniversary commemorating the WW2 invasion of Normandy and
castles in Aberdeenshire. I spent 2 days at Duxford's Imperial War Museum where over 20 DC-3's had assembled
from the US and the European continent and watched them leave for Normandy on June 5th. See my full report.

Plenty of men with cameras! When I first arrived on June 2nd not all DC-3's were present, visiting an air show
nearby. But it was fun to watch them return later that afternoon. A unique event which may never see a repetition.

Newmarket and the Rutland Arms Hotel is a good central base to explore East Anglia, though Newmarket itself
is a bleak and disappointing town. Strange, in the light of the promise of riches related to horse breeding here.

Newmarket's landmark in High Steet.

King Charles II (1630-1685) on the exterior of 2 neighbouring houses in Palace Street.
Note: "and not let poor Nelly starve"

One of the places we visited is the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum. One can easily spend 2-3 hours here,
packed with aeroplanes and memorabilia. See my FULL REPORT.

Big Sis and little brother

A church in Prickwillow, on the B1382 just before the bridge crossing the River Lark, is offered for sale.
Sign of the times, I guess.

RSPB MINSMERE

Identified as a little egret (Egretta garzetta; note the black beak) making its way through the highgrass / wetland here.

Top left: Pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta; NL: Kluut) --- Top right: Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna; NL: Bergeend)
Bottom black-headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus; NL: Kokmeeuw)

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/minsmere/

ABBEY GARDENS in BURY ST. EDMUNDS

The abbey is a shrine to Saint Edmund, the Saxon King of the East Angles. The abbey was sacked by the townspeople
in the 14th century and then largely destroyed during the 16th century with the Dissolution of the Monasteries,
but the town remained prosperous throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, only falling into relative decline with the Industrial Revolution.

It had started to rain, a virtual downpour. We went for a cream tea right across this gate and pleasantly sipped
on a 2nd coffee, but the rain wouldn’t stop.. We had hoped to explore the area some more but the rain kept
coming down something awful and we decided to cut our sightseeing short.
Always leave something to return to!

One of our finest B&B's this trip: The Cambridge Guest House. We stayed in 10 different accommodations
during this 16-day trip. This B&B had only one shortcoming, one quite common with 'Boutique B&B's, and that
is that the curtains are too flimsy; during the summer sunlight will wake me as early as 5 a.m.: bummer!
Warning: we had dinner at the Milton Arms next door and while the food was fine and affordable, everything
felt sticky: the table, the menus, the bar, everything! Yuck!

ST. IVES

A quintessential British small town, worth visiting!

The Statue of Oliver Cromwell on Market Hill in the town centre.
'A townsman of St.Ives 1631-1636'.
The statue was designed by F. W. Pomeroy and erected in 1901. The statue is one of five
public statues of Cromwell in the United Kingdom.
en.wikipedia.org:_Statue_of_Oliver_Cromwell,_St_Ives

Landmarks still: the red pillar box of the Postal Services and the red telephone box.

Swans, swans, and little swans...

Struggling with modernity and a relic of days gone by.

BARNARD CASTLE

'Public Toilets: Ladies'. Rather a unique feature I would think..?

Ten B&B places on a 16-day trip. The accommodations varied greatly, the one in the Old Well Inn was one of very
few which had beds accommodating my length; most beds in England pose difficulties for Dutch males. And most
rooms are (much) smaller. Here they also offered a good breakfast, in which I mean they have sufficient
alternatives to that ghastly 'Full English Breakfast'!

No escaping: aviation history follows me everywhere..

The castle in ...

After breakfast and checking out we went to the castle, we had to wait a few minutes until it openend at 10:00.
Of particular interest are the ruins of the 12th-century cylindrical tower.

EASBY ABBEY

Easby Abbey, or the Abbey of St Agatha, is a ruined Premonstratensian abbey on the eastern bank of the
River Swale on the outskirts of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire.

First a visit to the little church, the one with a roof on it!

A caretaker helped us in for the ancient door needed a special flick of the wrist to open. He helped us out too!

Then we found the right entrance to the abbey:

One can still see the three floors (ground, first and second) outlines on the walls.
I also visited this site in 1991! See my report

In the late 1530s Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. The abbey was abandoned and left to fall into ruins,
though some of the best features were salvaged: the fine canopied choir stalls are now found in Richmond parish church.

From a display at the abbey

The exit

ALNWICK CASTLE

Alas, I don't have pleasant memories to this visit here.. Photography was not allowed inside and that always pisses
me off in a grand way! Normally I make it a sport to make photos anyway, but it did not inspire me to do so.

Alnwick Castle seems to rely on 'added features' such as these two 'quick marching' in the grounds. Disney.

The gun demonstration was fun!

The castle is in good repair and used for many purposes. It provides a home for the present Duke and family and
offices for Northumberland Estates, which manages the Duke's extensive farming and property holdings.

Alnwick's battlements are surmounted by carved figures. Some of these date from around 1300; historian Matthew
Johnson notes that around this time there were several castles in northern England similarly decorated, such as Bothal, Lumley and Raby. However, many of the surviving figures are from the mid-18th century, commissioned by the 1st
Duke and Duchess from Stamfordham sculptor James Johnson.

Pity we did not explore the gardens but Alnwick also has Barter Books, which we now have visited twice and
when we'll visit for the 3rd time we intend to visit these gardens! The area has an abundance of rhododendrons,
wonderful to see them in full bloom.

We had a fine 2-nights stay at Thropton Demesne ('domain') Farmhouse B&B, on the edge of town.

The local pub provided excellent meals and drinks. I think we could well return for another stay here.

Northumberland in all its glory

Edlingham Castle on the scenic B6341 road to Alnwick.

Seahouses, the place to be for boattrips to Farne Islands. However, having arrived at around 10:30, without prior reservations to get on a boattrip and set foot on the island we would have to wait until 15:00 to get a seat... It took
a wait of less than 1hr30 to do a trip around the island. That served my planning much better. Tickets 15 pounds p.p.
We'll be back for more.

FARNE ISLANDS

Birds, birds, birds...

Crowded house!

Common murres breed in colonies at high densities. Nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbours.

Common Murre (Uria aalge; NL: Zeekoet)
Common murres have fast direct flight but are not very agile. They are more manoeuvrable underwater, typically diving
to depths of 30–60m. Depths of up to 180m have been recorded!

These islands are popular known as 'Puffin Island', even though they are a minority. But funny and glamorous..

Preparing for take off..
Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly
(up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface. Not easy to capture on camera.

The islands also hold a notable colony of about 6.000 grey seals, with several hundred pups born every year
in September-November.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/farne-islands/features/lighthouses-on-the-farne-islands

The rabbit and puffin populations use the same burrows at different times, the puffins being strong enough (with a
vicious bite) to evict the rabbits from the burrows during the nesting season. One day (2024!) I'll stand there too...

The splendid view on Farne Island from Bamburgh Castle

BAMBURGH CASTLE

I would find this visit to Bamburgh Castle much nicer (no objection to photography except flash photography) and
of more interest. So forget about Alnwick Castle and make your way up here!

I was asked to put my camerabag in a locker before starting my visit of Bamburgh castle and so I did. Pity I left
my fisheye lens in my bag, as this would have been a good opportunity to get it all in. Also, when we ended our visit
it was closing time and could barely reclaim my backpack at the entrance (different from the exit). But a fine visit!

Billiards, books and a nice fireplace!

I love armoury displays in castles and museums!

Note the fine work on this armour, no doubt of a wealthy knight or nobleman.

I don't recall aviation artifacts on display and only at home I learned of an aviation connection:
The castle's laundry (!) rooms feature the Armstrong and Aviation Artefacts Museum, with exhibits about Victorian industrialist William Armstrong and Armstrong Whitworth, the manufacturing company he founded.
Displays include engines, artillery and weaponry, and aviation artefacts from two world wars. Well, well..

Cragside Estate was very near our B&B but could not be included in my itinerary this time. Came recommended: next time!

The less fortunate...

Nice view on the surrounding countryside inland from the castle walls.

This was a day that went all wrong.. First we found Etal Castle closed. Then my TomTon satnav directed us to
the Duddo Standing Stones but the place was all wrong; we tried Google Maps on my android phone but it lost
the track too and by that time I was so frustrated I left England behind me and headed for Dunfermline.

So the road(s) continues into Scotland! Read on!

EXTERNAL LINKS:
en.wikipedia.org:_Castles_in_Great_Britain_and_Ireland
www.english-heritage.org.uk