Bongo Fury

This has been at the planning stage for some time, we did a lot of research to try to get the most out of a weekend and I had some great navigation from Muz Jr, armed with a hand-held GPS device which really saved our bacon on more than one occasion!

We were very lucky with the weather. We started at Carlisle and went up to Galashiels to see MountainGoat, then on via Kelso to Northumberland. MountainGoat gave us a good tip for a chippy in Eyemouth which we found, a strange Italian/Scottish takeaway, restaurant & ice-cream parlour. Needless to say, they were able to provide for the Jrs handsomely!


Giacopazzi’s chippy/ice-cream parlour


Eyemouth harbour

The scenery on our travels was stunning. Some of the castles were in remote locations requiring trekking on foot to get to them. We went into as many as we could, some weren’t open to the public and some weren’t open at the time we were there, as we were on a pretty tight schedule with the tides etc.




Muzette being a mountain goat






Ros castle is at the top of here!




Lindisfarne viewed from Ros castle camp










King & Queen for the weekend









Lindisfarne was a very curious place, if you’ve not been there you should add it to your list of places to go. The mead went down a treat as well!










Lindisfarne priory


Lindisfarne castle from the priory


Pilgrim’s Way

They seem to have had a lot of rain lately, the fourth campsite we tried said they were full and waterlogged, in despair we said we only needed somewhere to park the same as a car, so we stayed at the Budle Bay campsite which was ok but basic, but for the time we were there, no problem at all.



We finally drifted home via Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Durham and Middlesbrough, ideal to go on the old transporter bridge and to stop outside somewhere with a strange significance…..




Club Bongo, Middlesbrough


The Northumberland coast – you can’t beat it!

The Castles….


Carlisle citadel


Carlisle castle


Hermitage castle, Roxburghshire


Floors castle, Kelso


Ford castle, Northumberland


Etal castle, Northumberland


Norham castle, Northumberland


All that remains of the castle at Berwick-upon-Tweed


Haggerston castle, Northumberland


Lindisfarne castle, Holy Island


Inner Farne pele tower, Farne Islands


Bamburgh castle, Northumberland


All that remains of Ros castle camp


Chillingham castle, Northumberland


Preston pele tower, Northumberland


Dunstanburgh castle, Northumberland


Alnwick castle, Northumberland


Edlingham castle, Northumberland


Warkworth castle, Northumberland


Bothal castle, Northumberland


Aydon castle, Northumberland


Dilston castle, Northumberland


Prudhoe castle, Northumberland


Newcastle-upon-Tyne castle keep


Durham castle

Excellent Muz - some great scenery and photos

Brilliant
So

Talk about putting me to shame. We have just been away for a week in dydo and I didn't take a single photo!!

as per usuall, cracking pix Muz

Excellent pics Muz . Flippen heck you Muz's you all certainly get out and about in your Bongo ,well done thats what it's all about

Fantastic photies, did you see any castles on your travels tho........?

I am pleased that you all liked the Fish and chips Muz. Right on the Quay side, you can't get your fish any fresher. Forgot to mention the ice cream, I guess that the children liked that too.

Hi Muz brilliant. Love the castles, how did you fit in so many? Takes me an afternoon just for one. Loved the photos. Stunning. hatris

Just how did you fit the warp drive to the Bongo to fit all that in, I lived in Tyneside for 7 years & only did a fraction of that lot Fantastic shots as always, you wear me out just imagining one of your trips

Fab Pics Muz, some familiar sights to us, we stayed in Ford over the New Year was an amazing few days break!

Also did the best beach horse ride on Holy Island on an Easter break too, we galloped for miles!!, was fun swimming back through the causeway on the horses when the tide had come in

Its a beautiful part of the world

Glad you like.

The key to a packed weekend is planning, so no dithering wondering where you're going next, and also make the most of the daylight, we were in Carlisle by 7am on Saturday

Like I said, we had been planning this one for a while and the weather forecast looked promising, so, being a bank holiday as well we thought we'd give it a go!

Next weekend is phase 4 of Bongo Tours

Spectacular Team Muz, what lovely scenery, it's almost like being there in the 'purple trees' and castles.

So, is this a candidate for tough northerners?

Hotpot wrote:So, is this a candidate for tough northerners?

The Budle Bay site we stayed at, certainly not.

The Beachcomber campsite & stables was a lovely setting but too small for us, we would fill it on our own.

The Proctor's Stead caravan & camping park fits the bill, a decent pub within easy walking distance and plenty big enough. But it was closed & waterlogged in August - what will it be like in March?

great pic as usaul muz ,, you have a strange fascination with castles , looks like you had a nice weekend , and the weather as well , did you go in all the castles or just do a drive by photoshooting