Yesterday my mum, dad and I went to Howick Hall Gardens and Alnwick. Both places are in the region of Northumberland. The first place we went to was Howick Hall Gardens which was very beautiful. This place is a little secret, hardly anyone around. It was perfect.
We firstly wanted to get a cup of tea and bite to eat for elevenths in the 'Earl Gray Tea Room'. I was not expecting the interiors to be so grand and I almost yelled out 'WOW'. Look at the windows and decorative ceiling....so posh. I was just expecting a small tea room. My mum and I sat on a window sill which was so comfy and my dad had an awesome view of the formal gardens at the back of the hall. We had the best cup of tea ever...I had probably the best teacake I have had in a longtime which came with this beautiful tasty blackcurrant jam.
It was so peaceful and quiet in the tearoom and the service was excellent.
The portrait in the middle (pictured below) is of the 2nd Earl of Howick Hall 'Earl Gray' and was also the British Prime Minister in the 1830's. This was the very Hall where Earl Gray Tea originated from. There's a bit of history for you.
We then had a long walk around the gorgeous gardens and woodland trails.
In the grounds 'Bog Garden', we saw many butterflies, but I have never seen this one before. It is called
'a Comma' butterfly. The underneath and edges of it look like a leaf. (sorry for the poor quality of photo here)
Our next stop was Alnwick, so we could visit Barter Books and another second-hand bookshop, I wanted to go too. The photos below are of Barter Books.....an old train station turned into one of the largest second-hand book shops in England.
When you come through the entrance the wind that comes through the front door moves all of these lights....which are massive.
Underneath the lights is this really cosy seating area. Its lovely in the winter when the fire is on.
There is just row after row of tall shelves full to the brim of books.....
This is one of my favourite sections as these are the rare and first edition children's books. I'm sure I saw a first edition of one of the Narnia books. They also have LOTR books too in different early editions and impressions. In another part of the shop is a case with miniature books in it with many of them by
Kate Greenaway.
Near the front of the shop are these many pillars again full of books, have a train set attached to the top. The trains never stop...it actually sounds like rain on the roof when it passes over your head.
This whole place is like something from Harry Potter.
This is the waiting room where you can have a drink and bite to eat from the cafe, as well as read some of your books, that you have picked up on your travels. I want to live in this room so bad. Again it is a cosy room especially when the fire is going. You will also notice the photos of some pillows, well this room is filled with them and I want them all. I just love the patterns on them. The wall behind the fireplace has two rooms behind it that were only discovered last year by the owners. It was apparently full of ferns and other types of greenery. They have now made more seating areas in these rooms.
My first purchases of the day were from this cute little second-hand bookshop in Alnwick's town centre. I can't remember what it is called now. I bought 4 books for £1.50 each. I'm going to use them for my mail art packages. The first book does not have a frontcover image cause my computer would not upload the photo..grrr....well its just an antique book.
I bought the book below from Barter Books. I saw this last time I went and it was obviously meant for me. It has one of the most beautiful front covers I have ever seen. This book has to be handled with care as the spine is loose, but I don't mind as this adds to the charm. I'm not sure how old it is, but I guess by the prints inside it is late 1800's.
The book binder is amazing with a volcano, whale, elephant, pelican, etc on it. So unique. It would have been as red as the rest of the book but I think it has faded with being exposed to to-much sunlight.
At the back of the book it has these beautiful advertisements, which I was not expecting to see.
The owners of Barter Books found an old poster in the station when they were fitting the shop out. They have now made a success of re-producing this famous poster into posters and mugs, etc. It has become this massive trend recently in Britain. I just had to buy one of the postcards.
Well that was a long post....then again it was a long and lovely day.
