Well we slept through the gale, which by day break was still raging outside. That's 48 hours of over 50mph wind in the north we've been told, and windy for two weeks. Despite the wind, the weather, and my mood after the long drive yesterday had improved with the sun emerging. The Slaley landscape looked stunning in daylight this morning. First stop the community shop for matches and gravy granules. What a lovely community run place that is, seems to stock just about everything you'd need. That done, and a good chat with the chap behind the counter, it was off to Hexham.
We arrived at the Abbey just after a service had ended, some of the congregation were on the way out, the remainder having tea and biscuits. I sat for a while taking it all in. Not quite the quiet spiritual experience I'd hoped for but an interesting experience nonetheless. I lit a candle for mum. A quick walk around Hexham followed where we discovered a fantastic independent bookshop called Cogito Books. What a find that was with titles I'd never come across. Julie bought me an early Christmas present of a book about the Brontë's. After that a hot chocolate each in the Belmont dining rooms and back to the cottage to spend the afternoon resting and meeting the cottage owners Gordon and Catherine. A different Christmas Eve but exactly what the stay in the cottage is meant to do, a lot of relaxation and the fire on.
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