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Today again dawned overcast and misty, but during the afternoon the sun came out so we enjoyed a glorious summer's afternoon and evening.
After breakfast we headed for Cragside, but stopped off en-route at Edlingham Castle. There's not an awful left of it, but it's in a picturesque setting, by a field of cattle with the view of a nearby viaduct. We also took the opportunity to pop into the village's little church.
Cragside was the home of inventor and entrepeneur Lord Armstrong at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. He was particularly fascinated with electricity and developed the first hydo-electric powerstation, which meant that Cragside was the first house in the UK to have electric lights. He also invented a hydraulic lift and many other items that made this the first "modern" house.
Owned by the National Trust, there is much more to Cragside than the house. The extensive grounds are beautiful and criss-crossed by a network of paths that total 40 miles! We explored an awful lot of it by foot and although it felt like we covered every inch, we were nowhere near.
As well as the main house, highlights included the Powerhouse, were we could get pretty hands on generating electricity, the fantastic Adventure Playground which GS very much enjoyed, then I assisted him in the area next door set aside for den building. He also loved the Young Engineers section where he could be creative with Lego, build a marble run with magnetic blocks, and many other fun toys. We also saw the working replica, installed 2 years ago, of the original Archimedes Screw, which is used as a water pump.
Cragside is a cracking day out for one and all.
Arriving back in Alnwick totally exhausted, we enjoyed a kebab / burger takeaway (with cheesy chips) before retiring for the night.
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