Outing on 17th July 2014 to Chillingham Castle

The third outing of 2014 took place on Thursday 17th July, when we had a full day trip to Chillingham Castle and Gardens, near Wooler in Northumberland. On a lovely sunny day, 82 of us set off in two buses for Chillingham. We had a coffee stop on the way at the Garden Centre at East Ord near Berwick. The weather was so nice some people even sat outside at the picnic tables and benches that were on sale!

At Chillingham we were split into two groups with an hour between us to wander round the castle by ourselves. The castle is like no other - think of the Burrell Collection, but all mixed up in any room. One sitting-room even included a bath that Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull had shipped to the States.

While the first group of our members were wandering through the Castle another two bus loads arrived (not part of our party). This meant a further 100 people taking over the small cafe to have lunch, which was only expecting one bus of 50. So by the time our first group had finished their tour and went for lunch there was a very large queue. Our drivers came to the rescue and did a good job in helping two very over-worked staff clear tables so that our group could get lunch. One driver was even mistaken for someone in authority by a customer who wanted to complain about food!

On leaving Chillingham, we had a short drive to the Tankerville Arm in Wooller for high tea. This was the third time we have been there and the service and food were still excellent. The staff were also very helpful when one of our group took ill and they even offered accommodation there if needed.

With two busses returning different ways to Edinburgh, many people were dropped off near their homes, but those from Peebles just missed their bus home and had to wait another hour.

Many thanks to those involved in organising this successful outing, especially Liz and Moira.