Village Hotel & Leisure Club - Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne

... guitar that strums like a six year old sawing enthusiasticaly away on their first violin lesson, I am meant to return a musical genius, a self-taught prodigy, star of every future camping trip. Like thats ever going to happen...no doubt if the green haze I envelop myself in in the coming months ever lapses enough for an outburst of creativity I will indeed believe myself to be the next Bob Dylan but in fact be revelling in a delusion greater than that of Lister's ...

... dinner was scheduled for 7pm. Our room sucked, we had a double bed and when we went down to sort it out, we were told that the fold our couch was the 2nd bed...oh great. What ****. Our tour director didn't seem at all interested in helping sort out the bed, so we decided just to try the double bed. So when the hotel people came to make up the bed at 6.50pm we told them to forget it. To be honest we paid for 2 beds, twin ones..and later we ...

... church was built and they had his bones for 300 years before a beautiful chapel was built to house his mortal remains. For Bede, life was brief but held the knowledge of the mercy of Christ. He liked the English and wrote the first history of the English speaking people. I love his prayers but he is not in that black stone box; he flew to the light of his Lord long before the first stone was laid for Durham&#8217;s great Cathedral.<br><br> We got to Durham at 2 pm ...

Well I wasn't really going to write anything here since this was strictly work-type stuff - I was in Newcastle for the International Sports Science and Sports Medicine Conference (which was brilliant by the way) - but seriously, this place was nothing short of fantastic, I can't believe I've never been here before.<br><br>Loved it - for future reference: must return to Newcastle!<br>

... on the wheel, I offered to take the extra weight in gear. So the bags were switched and the water logged tent was strapped onto my bike. <br><br>Feeling completely depressed, we stopped into the next little hamlet that had a place to eat. The last thing we wanted to do was stand out in the rain and eat soggy sandwiches. At least this place gave a little shelter and a moderate amount of warmth. We&#8217;d run into several people already today ...

... it) but on foot it would have taken several days. And that&#8217;s just from one tactical point to another (I don&#8217;t want to consider how long it took them to get from Rome in the first place!).<br><br> Not only would it have taken a long time to move an army of that size from place to place, it would have taken a long time to get orders out to them from Rome to begin with. In today&#8217;s wireless society, I can text someone across ...

... hills never end&#8230;<br><br>Finally, we coasted down into Bellingham. I was hoping to press on to the area around Hadrian&#8217;s Wall, but we were both feeling pretty tired. Not a lot on km, as the climbs tired us out. So we&#8217;ve camped here in a fun little farm where &#8216;Free Range&#8217; chickens intersect our campsite while stealing cookie crumbs and sips of cider!<br><br>

... cant take my feet out of my walking shoes for the entire trip? will i need my little handbag. didnt put it in.. but yes, you do...good for just slipping to the market. will have to treat myself to one over here. what i have learnt is that i should have packed everything, yes my rucsac would have been very heavy (was 15.1 kg on scales in airport), but i will have found the use for my little straightners sarah and chris bought me... missing them ...

... on the 16th Novemebr, this has made the trip even more exciting. Also booking and planning my day trips for when I get to each city, I decided I wanted to get these sorted and booked before I arrived then I don't have to spend a day in each city trying to arrange trips etc I'm so excited about this trip of a life time, it could be classed ...

... used by the current batch of royals. In fact, I made a point of asking one of the guides at Holyroodhouse if the Queen had ever sat in any of the chairs in this particular room. The guide assured me that the Queen had held a formal reception in that room just a few months earlier. And those guests did use the old furniture. So, for me, the fact that these people use historical items in part of their everyday lives gives me the impression that they are trapped in the past. I ...