Once More Unto The Cats…

Barely three weeks after the last catsitting sojourn, we were back there again whilst S&G ventured to the highlands of Scotland. This one lasted over a fortnight and I managed to secure four hotel visits travelling up and down the country.

Our first break was at Bagden Hall Hotel, picked almost entirely as a reasonably convenient two night stop off close to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park; although we quickly realised it would probably pick up hotel guests who wanted to visit the National Coal Mining Museum or the ‘delights’ of Wakefield or Huddersfield, all of which are close by. The hotel was a very pleasant country house, where I treated us to a suite in the main hall. Perfectly fine as well – it was probably in need of a little redecoration but the large main room and bathroom were both spotless. It was also very competitively priced and so faced the classic dilemma; engage in a formal modernisation programme and charge accordingly to support the upkeep or keep prices reasonable but hold off on refurbishment. We ate in both the bistro near the bar and in the main restaurant and all meals were very good (not sure it was a la carte however), as was breakfast. Staff generally were very good, bar the checkout on reception, which was woefully poor.

On the one full day we had at the hotel, we moseyed along to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (henceforth YSP). We didn’t actually mosey, as it was pre-booked with our National Art Pass (Christmas gift from S&G), which provided free entry. As we discovered, the entry price was far from excessive anyway but, you know, a Yorkshire man in Yorkshire etc.. The grounds to the park are extensive, with occasional interior displays as well. We did quite a bit of walking (good for body and soul) and therefore saw an extensive array of ‘exhibits’.

We had a map but made the conscious decision not to constantly reference it to establish the sculptor of every piece, but we still managed to identify the Henry Moore, Damien Hurst and Thomas J Price contributions (that’s a fib, never heard of Price, but we genuinely liked the naturalistic ‘Network’). Elizabeth Frrink’s human forms based on the experiences of war were also very impressive. The internal spaces, particularly the work of Juame Plensa in the YSP chapel were also worthy of our time.

Arrived at Sunderland HQ and, having duly settled in and reacquainted the cats with nana and grandad, we visited the North East Land Sea and Air Museum, hosted on the old RAF Usworth and Sunderland airport site. A very pleasant site, with a wide range of local and national exhibits, along with a carefully mocked up sense of what life in the war was actually like. The World War 2 scene may have been a mock up, but its shop fronts and displays were set up to mimic what could be seen at the time, along with some WWII artefacts, including uniforms and equipment. Particularly liked the ‘man on Karzy’ depiction (see photo), although only in Sunderland I suspect. The Aircraft Hangar had a wide range of crafts on display, and I was especially pleased to see the old Gill Air plane, a local (Newcastle based) carrier I actually remember from my ‘younger days’, which finally ceased flying in 2001. There was plenty more to see and it was worth far more than £6.50 of anyone’s money (although only £3.50 for the aged amongst us).

Followed that with a return to Beamish. By return I mean for the first time in 35 years! It was reassuring to find so much that had been retained from the earlier visit but there was much that was new, including the recreation of the 50s area, complete with working crazy golf; it was there, so we had to use it. Revisited old town street, which I did recall, but the pit village, along with the mine, church and school house were nice surprises for the laggy returner. Quite a contrast from the air museum, in that Beamish is geared up for the tourist market and is consciously commercialised, whereas the air museum has a slightly more homespun feeling. Both were fine and thoroughly enjoyed in equal measure!

After six days with the cats I moved on to the Hilton Garden Hotel in Sunderland for three nights with Mrs. No Name joining me on the last night (don’t ask), having finally completed all cat sitting duties and caught up with old school friends. I visited the ever improving Sunderland museum, which has rather moving testimonials to both the local mining industry and its impressive credentials as a major ship building port. Still quite small, but perfectly formed and displaying its Lowry connections with a small series of his etches and paintings. You will also be pleased to hear that we shared the hotel with John Cooper Clarke, who was appearing at a sold out Fire Station gig on the Saturday night; well, I say shared, there were other hotel residents, not just JCC and us – that would have been weird. A quick foray around the Stadium of Light on the Sunday morning and we were on to the next port of call.

Heading back home and we had hoped to fit in a visit to my cousin in Cayton. Unfortunately, that proved to be unworkable on this occasion but it did at least give us the chance to reacquaint ourselves with the Wrea Head Country Hotel. This time we went for a three night B&B rate and a room in the main building. We still ate one meal in the hotel (excellent as ever) but B&B gave us a chance to try the purportedly lovely Plough Inn at Scalby, which was indeed excellent. Great food and topped off with a very fine Negroni cocktail – heartening to see it so busy on a mid week night after the height of the tourist season had passed. Glad I never aspired to be a hotelier, I would have been singularly useless. I wouldn’t even have been able to assess prospective locations correctly. 🙂

In an homage to my relative, we took a bus trip (my first ever use of the prized bus pass, received as I forlornly hit sixty six years of age) to Cayton and Cayton Bay. Had a coffee in the Farrier to inspect the lavishly refurbished pub, then walked to the Bay – known as a surfing bay, it was true to its reputation with a fair number of surfers braving the elements, some more successfully than others. Another successful visit to the area and to the Hotel, which, whilst not perfect, has nonetheless become a clear favourite. Will be intriguing to note how all the planned developments (new restaurant, more carriage rooms, a spa and swimming pool etc.) will affect the hotel character. It currently has a very specific hotel demographic and so we shall have to see if that’s retained with all the proposed changes. Hopefully we will return and on that occasion also manage to catch up with my relative.

To finish our leisurely return trip, we stopped off at Rutland Hall Hotel, largely based on a blurry memory of visiting it for a drink on a stay in the area nine years ago. Sadly, the hall had undergone significant reconfiguration and the Great Hall was no more; indeed the Hall interior was visually inaccessible unless you were staying in a hotel suite. Our room in one of the many exterior buildings was fine but very poorly lit and the first night’s sleep was ruined by a regular electrical unit kicking off alarmingly every fifteen minutes or so. They did provide another room on the second night (which in fairness was lovely) but the disturbance was not repeated so we stayed where we were. On the plus side a number of exterior activities were available for free – crazy golf was of course our first port of call and we also indulged in the pitch (or maybe chip) and putt course, which Mrs. No Name gamely tackled, even though she is a ‘putter not a whacker‘ as she so elegantly puts it.

We also managed to visit Barnsdale Gardens. Renowned as the brainchild of Geoff Hamilton, it has 38 themed garden areas and was more than diverse enough to keep even none gardeners like yours truly suitably enthralled throughout the visit. Particularly interested in the organic aspect of the site initially developed by Hamilton and that these techniques have been continued to enable the gardens at Barnsdale remain an outstanding example of these organic principles.

We enjoyed our stay at Rutland Hall (and the dinners included in the deal (at Blossoms Restaurant, also exterior to the hall itself) showcased some very fine cooking indeed. It’s just a little disappointing that the Hall was barely recognisable from our previous visit. However, all hotels (and hotel groups) make choices and this appears to be a pitch for a more active crowd. There is plenty to do (I didn’t for example mention the crown green bowls, the spa, gym, pool and tennis courts) but I was slightly disconcerted by the low usage (one other couple on the crazy golf and the same on the pitch and putt.) A case of proof and pudding no doubt!