Flittingford bothy

Nice midweek trip up to Kielder with Sam and Ghyll to spend a night in Flittingford bothy to celebrate the new year. Parked at Black Middens and took the long way round, rather than starting in Falstone as it seems most people do (at least, based on the bothy book).

Walked in with plenty of fuel (kiln-dried from Aldi, truly the lap of luxury) so we stayed nice and toasty overnight. Wandered outside to relieve myself at the late hour of 6pm and found a stunning aurora in full glory. Stood around taking pictures of the sky until our fingers started to numb with cold, then retreated inside and learned how to play rummy with the well-worn deck of cards someone'd left behind in ages past. Popped a couple of coals on the fire to keep us going overnight; asleep by 9pm.

The walk back out was in glorious clear weather (if a tad nippy). Stopped by the Sidwood Romano-Saxon settlement on the way out; little more than some earthworks to see, and a moss-overgrown plaque. Then popped up to Black Middens to ogle The Way the Other Half Lived (the Other Half are Border farmers from the Tudor period).