We left the Lake District the next morning, driving over the stunning Kirkstone Pass to Ullswater. This was a beautiful drive with epic mountain scenery, but the roads were very narrow. Typical of rural England.

We made a quick stop at Aira Force waterfall which is a known red squirrel habitat. It was a pleasant walk through the woods to the waterfall, but we were desperately hoping to see a red squirrel and we didn’t so that was a shame. We’d just have to make do with the hundreds of grey squirrels we’d seen in London – read more about that here.

Aira Force was our last stop in the Lake District and we were sad to leave it behind us. We’d had a wonderful few days in the area but had so much more to look forward to.

Our next stop was Lanercost Priory. This is the ruins of a medieval monastery with a turbulent history. Despite its violent past it’s now a very tranquil spot, sitting quietly in the Northumberland countryside. We didn’t go inside the monastery but walked around the outside and saw the graveyard which has fallen into ruin and is very overgrown. But this is definitely in keeping with the mood of the whole place. There were hardly any people around and it seemed like a place for quiet reflection. The stones in the graveyard were faded but we could make out a few from the 1870s. The whole place has such a sense of time and history to it.

Another great thing about Lanercost Priory is the tea room. This tea room has been voted the best cafe in England, which is high praise indeed. We stopped for a classic tea room lunch of jacket potatoes and cakes, and I can attest that the food is wonderful and it’s much deserving of its best cafe accolades.

We were in Hadrian’s Wall country now, and in fact Lanercost Priory was built using stones from the wall. Now it was time to actually see Hadrian’s Wall.

We drove to Shield On The Wall, a deserted spot right off the road where you can see a turret of Hadrian’s Wall. In its heyday Hadrian’s Wall stood 15 feet high, but so much of the stone got pinched after the Romans left that it’s now a shadow of its former self. Still, even though it’s smaller and really just a ruin, this particular part of the wall was quite dramatic. It runs alongside the Pennine Way which is a 250 mile path through northern England. Surrounded by open countryside and with only the occasional hiker passing through it was yet another peaceful place to be. But it didn’t take a lot of imagination to sense how much history this area has seen. Although not tall, the wall is quite wide here and you can climb on top of it and get a good view as the wall slopes across the rolling hills of the rural landscape.

I was really falling in love with this part of England. The lack of people, magnificent history, quaint tea rooms and pretty countryside were everything I was hoping for in my England holiday.

We continued to explore Hadrian’s Wall at Housesteads. This is a well preserved Roman fort on the wall. The walk from the carpark was a little longer that we anticipated given we’d already had a busy day – a good half mile uphill slog with a number of sheep keeping you company. Once you get to the top there’s a small museum and shop and then you are in the fort. I waited with the kids while Rich explored the fort – Roman history is his favourite period and this was very well preserved. A highlight was the latrines and there was also a hospital – this was a much larger settlement than we realised, more like a village than a fort.

By this point we had run out of energy so it was a good job it was time to go to our hotel for the night. And what a cracker this overnight stay would be!

We were in Northumberland proper now. Our hotel for the night was Langley Castle, an original 14th century castle which has changed hands a number of times down the centuries and is now a luxury hotel. We had a room in the main castle – room number 8, The Greenwich Suite. It was a large room with a four poster bed up in one of the castle towers. Luckily the staff had a lift to take our luggage up to the room because in case I haven’t mentioned yet – we don’t travel light and by this time we’d done a lot of shopping and were laden with suitcases.

Langley Castle is a superb place to stay, highly recommended. The castle suites are unbelievable, with modern amenities in a 14th century setting, and the modern motel rooms in the grounds are also excellent. If I wasn’t already married, I would get married here. We spent the rest of the day exploring the grounds of the castle where we found some enchanting woods with a secret clearing, a few peacocks and a family of cats. But honestly I just couldn’t stop looking at the castle, it’s a real beauty. If you had to draw a picture of a castle you’d draw something that looked like Langley Castle. It’s ridiculously photogenic, so historic and again there are hardly any people around which lends it such an atmosphere. You can’t help but wonder what history this castle as seen and the people that have walked it’s rooms.

The castle inside is just stunning wherever you look. From the grand staircase to the creaky floors, thick stone walls and hidden alcoves. They have done a great job of preserving the feel of a medieval castle without modernising it too much but still managing to be a luxury hotel. We had a casual dinner that night in the lounge before retiring to our massive suite and trying to ignore all the creaking and slightly unnerving sounds in the night. I mean, a castle this old is bound to have a few ghosts right? Still, it gave me plenty of time to reflect on what was probably the best day of the trip so far.

If you’d like to read more about Langley Castle I have written a full review here.

The next morning we had breakfast in the main dining room which was a tad disappointing in terms of the service – we were told at one point we couldn’t have toast because they’d run out of bread, then five minutes later a different person brought us a round of toast like it was nothing special.

After breakfast we joined the daily castle tour where we learnt a lot about the 600 year history of the castle. The kids were particularly interested in the garderobes (the medieval toilets) which are on prominent display on the tower staircases. We got to go up on the roof and see the narrow winding tower staircases and the view over the surrounding countryside. On a clear day you can see Hadrian’s Wall in the distance.

And then it was time to reluctantly leave the castle and move on to our next adventure.

Coming up…some incredible castles and blue sky days in Northumberland.

Previously…read about the Lake District in part 8 here.