Corbridge has been on my list of places to visit for as long
as I can remember. There is just something about the quaint village that
speaks to me. Maybe it's the beautiful 17th-century Corbridge Bridge, the River Tyne seamlessly flowing beneath it. Plus I’ve heard that the legendary curry train is coming back
too. That’s definitely worth a try at some point.
Myself and my buddy Nic jumped on a train from Newcastle and
set on the 30 minute (or so) picturesque journey. We passed many places on the way that
looked oh so gorgeous from the carriage windows.
It's not a very big place. (At least the part we were exploring didn't seem so anyways.) There was a nice chilled, relaxed atmosphere. You could easily have a good wander around and not feel bombarded. I could imagine the place to be heaving on a sunny weekend.
I immediately picked up on the gorgeous little houses, each with their own muted toned door and window boxes brimming with flowers. There were cottage-style gardens and grand looking buildings.
We pottered around for a bit just getting our bearings and looking around before stopping for lunch. There were a few tea rooms, we went to a place called Tea and Tipple.
Inside was cosy and inviting. They had amazing old fashioned wooden seats and a map on one wall. I got a nice big mug of hot chocolate. To eat, we both went for a mozzarella and sun-dried tomato with pesto open sandwich.
It was so tasty. The salad alone with the balsamic vinegar dressing was top notch. It has to be up there with one of the best sarnies I've ever had. We followed it with two big slabs of cake, blueberry and lemon and good old fashioned carrot cake.
You know sometimes you can be out somewhere, order cake and it tastes a little stale? Well not in this case. They were both moist and spongy and just bursting with flavour. I've never had blueberry and lemon together before and not to quote Peter Kay but it was a 'taste sensation'.
The carrot cake was just as nice, the strong cinnamon taste coming though, pistachio nuts resting on the cream cheese frosting. Just thinking about it makes me hungry. We definitely couldn't finish them both, but we had a good try.
It was £10 each for one of the best sandwich/cakey/hot chocolate combos I've ever had. Such a bargain.
After lunch we decided to do a proper bit of exploring. We went into St. Andrews Church. We had the place to ourselves. I love looking inside churches and cathedrals, they are just so calming and magnificent. There's always amazing tapestries and architecture.
Pretty impressive stained glass windows adorned the walls. On a sunny day (like when we went) the light catches them at just the right angle, making them come alive.
Shopping was next on the agenda. If you like a spot of it yourself, there are an abundance of quirky shops. Lots of galleries and crafty type places too. A few I loved were Corbridge Garden Room and Acanthus which had lots of chic trinkets and premium beauty products among other things. Alex Clark @Corbridge was a shop come gallery featuring cute designs of animals. I couldn't leave without getting something. It's a cow card that's currently hanging on my noticeboard.
The gardens of Corbridge Parish Hall are not to be missed. On a lovely spring day it would be rude not to pay a visit. We sat on one of the nearby benches and admired the flowers.
They were designed for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and are part of the work by the Corbridge in Bloom group.
No trip to Corbridge is complete without a stroll along the river bank. After grabbing some ice creams from Il Piccolo we headed straight over to enjoy the rest of the sun before returning home.
The place is a feast for the senses. There's a real sense of community and village life. There's shopping and sights and nature thrown in too. You definitely won't get bored that's for sure.
Have any of you been to Corbridge, what would you recommend doing?
