A mini ramble from Amble. (Northumberland) January 8th.
  The gadgette has decided to take up gentle walking. Today the gadgette and daughter Kate (gadgille?) and I are off for a short coast walk from Amble in Northumberland. We followed the coastal route ( A189) and parked in the harbour area. The car park charges £2.50 for a day but the machine was not working. Rather than face a fine we left the car on the street. I could have written one of those polite notes people leave on windscreens when this happens but who knows, some jobsworth might come along....
In our excitement I forgot to take photo of the car park but I found this one on the internet.

A car park in Amble, not the one we almost used.

 We walked the short distance towards the pier and turned south, passing through a children's play area, empty as the schools have reopened and it was perhaps a little too cold for grannies and grandads to bring toddlers out. The English Coastal path, marked with arrows on a circular plate follows a narrow trail through the dunes but we opted to go down to the beach and walk on the sand for a while.

Coquet Island. Now a nature reserve. St. Cuthbert met the Abbess of Whitby on the island in 684AD. He had a hermitage there and probably kept otters. The lighthouse is built on the remains of a medieval monastery.

Approaching Low Hauxley we climbed a rather old looking set of steps back to the coastal path and walked on until we came to a signpost pointing us to the Visitor Centre at Low Hauxley Reserve.

The visitor centre was vandalised some years ago but has been rebuilt and refurbished and has a café with large windows overlooking the small lake. We chose to walk round to one of the bird hides and have a mini Herbie as we watched the bird life on the water. The most interesting creatures were the pair of herons close by and the rabbit that appeared to taunt them.

In deference to the gadgilles  beliefs I had brought along some of Greggs Vegan sausage rolls. I am not a vegetarian even but these creations are very, very much like the real thing in spite of what Piers Morgan may say. Carol Midgely of the Times likes them too.

Bird watching and snacking over we simply retraced our steps with the slight change at Low Hauxley where we headed for the beach. It was rocky and a bit tricky, especially as a cold wind blew from the north so we headed back to the official path.

The walk came in at just under 6 miles. Cold day but well worth it.

Gadgille and gadgette, keeping warm

Gadgie and gadgette. The sunglasses are to protect my eye which is going to be lasered shortly and not because I am a pretentious so and so.

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