Wooleeeeerrr!!!

Friday, 18 September

We got up early and had the hotel’s traditional English breakfast. A lot of food to prepare us for a very long day! We packed the bus and then did a tour of Durham Castle at 9:45. Our tour guide was pretty horrible, and there didn’t seem to be much to see of the castle--it was pretty small--but we got to see another Harry Potter filming site!Harry Potter site: the clock tower

Then we were given until 4pm to wander around. A few of us went back to the Cathedral. I took the opportunity to climb the 300+ spiral stone steps to the top of the cathedral. There were some amazing views of Durham and the vast countryside. Since I paid £3 I stayed up there a while and got a lot of good pictures. It was kindof scary up there too. There were only the stone ramparts and in between those a thin iron bar! I survived though!

Then I went down and took the river path. It was very peaceful and quiet--a very nice change from London! I walked quite a way down the path and at one point saw some of the girls on a boat tour. Apparently, the tour guide had just told them to look out into the woods for wildlife--and there I was!

I headed back into town to get some lunch and then walked around looking at a few shops. Then the group met back up and we got on the bus to head north.

The countryside grew even more beautiful than yesterday. More big rolling green hills with a lot more sheep! Then we arrived in Wooler--a very small town with about 4 churches and 8 pubs. Paul said that sounds about right! :D Our youth hostel was pretty cool actually for the first time going to one. Except for the fact that Kelsey, Steph, and my triple room was actually a double! Steph and I just decided to share. We unpacked and then a few of us went on a walk looking for Cuthbert’s cave…but not really as it was a 2 mile hike. So everything we found we dubbed Cuthbert’s cave anyway! Funny--guess it’s one of those “have to be there” moments.

Made it back to the hostel for dinner at 8. People here must be all about the 3 courses, because that’s what we got!

Then a bunch of us decided to hit Wooler’s karaoke at the Angel Inn pub!! It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!! We were nearly the only ones there when we arrived, but apparently, people were calling their friends telling them to come check out our party and before we knew it the pub was packed! There were actually a line of people edging the dance floor just watching us sing and dance for a while! And with good reason--we totally rocked! (And probably doubled the town population!) Molly and Megan absolutely rocked Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” because it’s Megan’s favorite song and it was hilarious! Megan (L) and Molly (R)!
But I think our song of the night was “Sweet Caroline” *Bum Bum Bum!* And after a while, some of the locals finally started dancing and singing too. But we had to leave a little early because the hostel closed its doors at 11. But it was an absolute blast!!