Day 13 of camper van escapades. A final sunrise and walk on the beach at Druridge Bay. What a wonderful place.

Evie has definitely added the word ‘beach’ to her (already extensive) vocabulary. I’ve never seen a dog have so much fun. Her sheer joy, racing around on the sand, and playing with her new friend Charlie was infectious. You couldn’t help but smile and laugh as they raced towards each other at top speed before vering off to avoid a collision at the VÈRY last second. She may have little legs but damn she's fast.

Then it was another short pootle (aka drive) 45 minutes up the Northumberland coast. To a place with 3,000 years of history - Bamburgh Castle. In all it’s imposing, brooding, brutalist glory. If you watched The Last Kingdom - I didn’t - it apparently served as the real-life inspiration for Uhtred’s ancestral fortress of Bebbanburg and one of the battle scenes was filmed on the beach below. Close your eyes and you can almost hear the clanging of swords.

Kim skipped the castle tour - he didn't think he'd be let in as the last Viking King of York was defeated by Bamburghs Earl Oswulf in 954 AD. I suggested that perhaps grudges didn't last quite that long… 🤣 But it saved him the trudge up the incredibly steep hill!

And finally it was a curry from the freezer (yes, our van even has one of those - talk about luxury!) and a night off grid in the carpark, looking up at the castle, and listening to the rain falling on the van roof. 🌧

Tomorrow it’s on to York as we start our journey back down south…