A chance encounter near North Berwick

North Berwick was famous for its witch trials at which over a hundred witches were accused.  It all started because James VI, while returning from Denmark in a ship, was hit by a storm. Many of them confessed under torture to meeting the Devil and attempting to sink the ship, and were burned. It was reputed that witches sailed to sea in a sieve. Or as Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth:

“Aroint thee, witch!” the rump-fed runnion cries.

Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o' th'Tiger;

But in a sieve I’ll thither sail,

And like a rat without a tail,

I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do.

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© Sylwia Kowalczyk and Simon Crofts

Alnmouth

Every time I take the train to London. I look out of the window of the train as we pass Alnmouth and always think "I must go there one day'. And of course, never do. Well today, we did.

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An impromptu Rembrandt-style portrait of Sylwia in nearby Ellingham Hall

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Sylwia

The harbour entrance is idyllic

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When we arrived, we joked that there was bound to be a big white van parked in the middle of the harbour view. There always is. So we went for a coffee, sitting outside in the cafe's yard with a view out across the golf course to the coast. And a minute later, look what parked in front of us (and incidentally on top of the 'Keep Clear' sign)

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A football pitch, Northumberland style

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I must down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

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And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by

The trail is actually from a horse:

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... who wasn't welcome on this path:

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Many houses in the town suffer from obsessive-compulsive hedge trimming. While we loved the town, and the hedges were truly impressive, we're glad we live in a nice big city.

We had a chat with a local who asked where we lived, and of course we told him Edinburgh. We turned the conversation to Alnmouth, and told him how lovely it was. Every time we did, he nodded in agreement, then added wistfully: "Edinburgh's nice" and "I really like Edinburgh" and "I do love to visit Edinburgh" and "how long does it take on the train to Edinburgh?"

Maybe we won't move just yet.

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