Our adventures in Northumberland took us, today, on a long drive to Kielder Water. Honestly, the drive from Bellingham to Kielder Water is not a long or difficult one. However, add a detour to find some of Hadrian’s Wall and it turns into an hour plus. There’s 84 miles of the wall but none was found: not our finest moment!
Kielder Water – a large man-made reservoir – is the largest artificial lake it the UK and is surrounded by Kielder forest. The forest, also man-made, is tended to by the Forestry Commission and hosts 26 miles of footpaths and trails. In wintry sunshine, the lake is absolutely stunning.
Upon arrival at Kielder Castle Car Park, we baulked slightly at the £5 parking charge (for any stay greater than 1 hour – especially as lots of “attractions” were shut) before heading immediately to the Minotaur Maze. This art installation was brilliant. I’ve always found mazes daunting and this was no different. The aim was to reach a green glittering glass room made from recycled glass. It was great to be able to walk up steps and see alternative routes within the maze: the website says you can wave to other people waiting but we were the only people who were mad enough to brave the maze!
From there, we bypassed the Salmon Centre and headed towards the North Lakeside Path. Some children were trying out their new quadbikes along the riverside but we headed upwards to walk across the viaduct. The views from there were spectacular albeit chilly!
Feeling ambitious, we thought we’d see how far away the dam was. Ha! 10 miles? We weren’t prepped for that. We headed back from the shore to collect the van and move on to a viewpoint for lunch. You really can’t fault the British countryside in the sunshine and there’s something special about it being frosty!
However, there is something in remembering that the van is not invincible. With -1’C temperatures, we discovered that our 12v charger has failed meaning that anything running off 12v (the freshwater pump, heating pump and lights) are now on borrowed time. Buying time with the use of the alternator and torches, we hope to last a few more days. The reality check is seeing campers in tents! Not too shabby really.
This is not a midlife crisis... 