Last weekend, I was lucky enough to be invited to stay at St Mary's Inn near Morpeth. I was actually really, really excited about this as I've been meaning to explore Northumberland more since the days I wrote for Living North magazine and was constantly writing about it and researching it online. For some silly reason, I'd never gotten around to exploring Craster, Whitley Bay, Tynemouth or any of the other lovely places I'd written about (despite them being so close to Newcastle, where I lived!)
So when the invitation landed in my inbox, I jumped at the opportunity. Not only was I being given the best excuse to explore, but I'd also be able to check out one of the region's most exciting new hotels, St Mary's Inn. After seeing a couple of bloggers mention it, I couldn't wait to see what the fuss was about. Read on to see if it lived up to expectation (I'll go through my itinerary after the review)...
I loved the little touches in our (huge, btw!) room, like the Northumberland guide book and amazing tray of tea (green, peppermint, Earl Grey and English Breakfast), coffee, hot chocolate and biscuits!
As soon as we arrived, I fancied a bit of a freshen up, since we had been exploring all day (see below for details!). The bathroom, as it turned out, was my favourite part of the room with its huge window, high ceiling, plus massive bath and shower. How chic! And of course, perfect for doing your makeup in.
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| The complementary refreshment basket of dreams |
After a little bit of a refresh, we made our way downstairs for a three-course dinner. I went down the sea food route for starters AND mains with crispy king prawns followed by fishcakes, while my mum went for prawn cocktail and steak. I was so pleased with my starter choice though, it was bloody amazing with an accompanying home-made mango salsa.
The fishcakes came highly recommended by the lovely staff member, Sarah, and I definitely back her up - they were amazing! I love capers as well so this addition elevated them in my eyes.
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| Crispy King Prawns with Mango Salsa and Siracha Sweet Chilli Sauce |
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| Cod and Smoked Haddock Fishcakes with Caperberries and Parsley Beurre Blanc |
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| Prawn Cocktail |
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| Steak |
Let's not forget dessert either which, as usual, was a highlight for me. Luckily my mum is big a chocolate fanatic as I am so I got to try BOTH the chocolate options, my mum's was a special while mine is a permanent fixture (yey!).
My mum's was the chocolate delice with salted caramel, cherry and white chocolate ice cream, and mine was the chocolate tart with white chocolate ice cream. It was honestly the richest, most beautiful chocolate tart ever and perfectly complemented by the ice cream and tangy raspberries. I also tried my mum's (obvs lols), which was a bloody delight! We were really struggling at this point, and I'd fully committed to letting my mum struggle on alone until she stumbled across a soft caramel centre in the depths of the delice, at which point I had to pick up my fork and participate once again. NEVER BEEN SO FULL. But well worth it.
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| Delice |
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| Chocolate tart |
After a couple of delicious flavoured G&T's, we had a lovely night's sleep and woke up for more food. We'd chosen our breakfasts the day before and after much deliberation, I'd gone for smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on sour dough, and my mum had opted for the full English. Again, no regrets with my choice, the eggs were so perfectly cooked and I love smoked salmon. My mum also loved hers!
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| There were also juice, fruits, muesli and cereals on offer, but I couldn't fit them in |
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| Desserts and gins... what a dream |
After breakfast, we were shown around the beautiful building. With its lovely fireplaces, local art, cosy pub and friendly management team, it really does feel homely, fresh and very much what I'd expect from a Northumberland Inn, to be honest! Scroll for our itinerary and tourist-style snaps...
Day one: the beautiful little fishing village of Craster & a short walk along the coast (about 7,000 FitBit steps!) to the amazing, derelict Dunstanburgh Castle and back.
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| The beautiful coast on the walk from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle |
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| Craster |
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| Me looking like I own the castle lol, great pose hun |
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| An endearing herd of sheep we walked past, or ran, in my mum's case, as she was terrified |
Day 2: Whitley Bay for a little explore and beach stroll, then on to Tynemouth for a coffee break and wander around the high street
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| Whitley Bay beach |
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| Outside the beautiful recently refurbished Spanish City building (yep, the one from the Dire Straits song). It's now a restaurant and champagne bar |
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| The beautiful interior of Spanish City, plus my #OOTD. It's the perfect place for an Instagram outfit snap! |
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| Tynemouth |
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| Mister Woods Coffee, Tynemouth |
I hope you enjoyed this post and are inspired to visit St Mary's Inn and the beautiful Northumberland coast!
