Awful Weather

I really must apologise to my followers for not commenting on their blips. We were away in Morocco for the latter part of November, and today saw us on our travels again, this time for a three day break in Northumberland.

The weather was appalling. Heavy rain combined with dense mist and fog made conditions difficult but we reached Tow Law, in Co Durham before sunset, and halted for a welcome cup of coffee. This photo was taken from the passenger seat of the car while Len went looking for a pint of milk to use at the hotel.

Our destination was the Battlesteads Hotel in Wark, which has an excellent reputation for fine dining, and a dark sky observatory. It's one of the most ecofriendly hotels in England, powered by a biomass burner and an array of solar panels. It grows its own salad vegetables all year round. 

It was warm and comfortable and certainly lived up to its promise of good food with the provision of an eight course taster menu featuring blends of ingredients that I had never dreamt of. The chef, Eddie Shilton, has worked with the owners since before they bought the hotel and transformed it. To be honest, we thought that he was really the backbone of the hotel. Without him, it would have been infinitely more disappointing. I had been looking forward to using the hot tub which is clearly advertised on the web. The staff simply laughed and shrugged it off.

Most of them, except Katie, had no idea nor interest of what might be interesting in the vicinity. There was no information about local walks.

Basil was welcomed. He had his own blanket, towel, and a selection of doggy biscuits, but was a bit restricted on space.

Nevertheless, we retired to bed thoroughly wined and dined.