Things to do near Seahouses

I love Northumberland, don’t you? Our day started with brunch and a Treasure Trail around Seahouses. We then spent the afternoon at Howick Hall Gardens and Arboretum. 

Howick is the home of Earl Grey tea. The tea was specially blended to suit the water from the spring at Howick. The bergamot offset the taste of the lime in it apparently.

We treated ourselves to a big pot of it. Sandwiches, scones and cakes were the perfect accompaniment. Well it would have been rude not to! 

Before our sumptuous tea though we wandered through the gardens and arboretum of Howick Hall. The arboretum is about 65 acres with over 12,000 trees and shrubs grown from seed.

Some of the trees were really ancient and the whole walk was very beautiful. Seemingly there is evidence of stone age man on the estate and I can well believe it. It felt like we'd been catapulted back in time. 

We saw no topiary at Howick. But instead the gardens follow the informal and natural style. We weren't there at the right time of year to see the thousands of snowdrops or the enormous numbers of daffodils but we did enjoy spectacular displays of wildflowers and the more cultivated gardens close to the Hall where the family live.

There are lots of red squirrels around, although none out and about the day we were there. Several goldfinches put in an appearance though! A real treat of a place. 

With the Treasure Trail and the walk around the gardens we did over 14,000 steps so a good day's exercise and loads of fun for people of all ages.