Back to Bamburgh

Even though I only spent less than 24 hours in Northumberland back in 2019, I fell in love with the place and couldn’t wait to return. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be and plans made for September the following year had to be abandoned. However, with the coronavirus vaccines being rolled out early this year, it seemed possible and so back in February, I booked the same single room for four nights. My planning started in earnest and by the middle of last month, I was almost ready. Then the dreaded fuel crisis struck.

Just four days before I was due to leave, there was a report on the news about a few service stations in the south east being short of petrol and diesel. Literally, a handful of stations that would have to wait a little longer for deliveries due to a shortage of drivers. By the following day, panic buying had set in and I watched in horror as it spread across the country. There was nothing I could do, as my little car already had a full tank, but I knew it would need topping up on the 8-hour drive to Bamburgh. The crisis deepened over the weekend and by the Monday morning, I wasn’t even sure if I should go. I would be alone, many hours from home and with nobody to help if I ran out of fuel. By 7.00, I decided to risk it. I had put so much work into the planning and had waited an extra year due to Covid. By the time we packed my remaining gear in the car, it was raining heavily. My mood matched the weather.

It seems I didn’t have as much of a full tank as I thought. Within twenty minutes of setting out and before I had reached the M25, I was down one bar on the fuel gauge. And so began a desperate few hours of watching the gauge, listening to the news and passing one empty garage after another. By the time I reached Lincolnshire, the tank was half-empty and so began the frantic search. Many service stations were situated off the A1 and I had to drive some distance to queue, only to find they too had already run out. I must have tried between twelve and fifteen stations before I finally got lucky and it added nearly two hours to my journey.

By the time I reached Bamburgh though, the problem had vanished and the local garage not only had fuel, but there were also no queues. I filled up again, knowing it would keep me going for the duration of my stay.

Checking in to the hotel in record time, I rushed off to Bamburgh north beach, just two minutes away. Setting up my tripod on top of some sand dunes, it began to rain. Only this time, I was rewarded with a beautiful rainbow in the image featured at the top. Back on the main beach, this incredible cloud sailed into view and I was able to make use of a little stream as foreground interest.

Finally, the castle lit up by the setting sun.