a perfect location for our planned exploration of the North East & Northumberland.
Why do so many brits choose to head overseas during the warmest period we have in the UK?
Surely it makes more sense to take a plane during months in which the weather is not so kind, months like May or October? I suppose what these months are less likely to offer is it the ability to play top trumps with our Facebook friends, just saying!
Whilst I appreciate this year has not been the best summer in terms of continuity of sunshine, I still believe my tactic makes perfect sense, so as in previous years, this year we set out on a mission to explore a part of the UK we are less familiar with.
Whilst the North East of England is in theory only a hop skip and jump away from Yorkshire it still represents a good 2-3 hour journey up the A1 and therefore is somewhere I’d rather ashamedly unfamiliar with.
It comes as no surprise that the Jesmond Dene House is an idyllic location for weddings, our stay there across 2 days includes witnessing the celebrations of 2 weddings and whilst this has no impact on us it does, to me, always feel that you are playing seconds fiddle to the celebrations of a happy couple and their entourage.
The rooms at the hotel are good & the breakfast reads superbly, unfortunately however it’s not executed quite as well as it reads, shame!
I start my dining experience with a Mackerel dish, it’s a simple creation that delivers the perfect example of local catch, matched with a pickled cucumber salad, it’s a dish that allow me to forgive the mishaps of the breakfast experience.
It’s no secret that I like to see the quality of the ingredients do the talking and that’s certainly evident here.
Let me tell you that chicken, peas, bacon & mushrooms with well constructed jus is the absolute perfect combination, a dish that I applaud and would happily eat over and over again.
First stop on our tour of the North East is Blyth, a small seaside town about 30 minutes drive to the North of Jesmond, Blyth delivers our first experience of the quality of beaches in Northumberland and I have to say I’m very impressed.
Silky smooth, vast & incredibly clean we spend a couple of hours purely enjoying family time however there’s a more pressing place that’s been on my list for a while.
It has everything (on a hot day that is) a clean cove beach that’s protected from the elements, stunning views and a hut that serves some of the best seafood that I have ever had the pleasure of devouring, you so need to visit Riley’s Fish Shack!
Having experienced the awesomeness of Tynemouth our hideaway for the evening was at St Mary’s Inn in Morpeth, again ideally located for the rich pickings of Northumberland and in stark contrast to the Jesmond Dene House.
St Mary’s Inn is an upmarket Inn, elegant in design with a handful of rooms located upstairs that are very impressive indeed.
A long soak in a huge bathtub is all it takes to recharge my batteries ahead of experiencing the dining experience on offer at St Mary’s Inn.
The menu reads mighty fine, I’m finding myself in one of those situations in which I’m struggling to choose.
But choose I do and start with Salt and Pepper Squid served in a peanut satay sauce, need I say anything else? The hit from the sprinkling of chillies and the depth of the peanut sauce delivers an awesome way to start a dining experience, but wait it gets better.
I’m so impressed with the dish that I can’t bear to end a meal with anything sweet and rather rarely opt for the cheese board instead which is equally impressive.
Clearly breakfast the next morning needs to be as epic as the evening meal the night before.
I double take on one of the options, pan roasted peach on french toast with bacon and maple syrup, not a dish I’ve tried before but in chef I have trust so lets do this.
Further exploring of Northumberland takes us further North to the shores of Bamburgh before making our way down the coast and taking a boat trip in Amble in which the waves are bumpy but the sight of 30-40 seals bobbing in the water is a memory to treasure.
If you haven’t yet explored the North East, if it’s been on your list for a while, let me give you a piece of advice, do it! It’s a very very impressive part of the UK.
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