Earlier this week a rare thing happened where mine and boyfriend’s days off coincided. To celebrate we decided to have a trip to Alnwick to visit a pub we’d been really wanting to go and have a look around the town.
Alnwick, in Northumberland, is only about an hour’s drive from me and its such a lovely little town. It’s well-known for the castle and gardens but the town is well worth a visit too as it’s full of cute cafes, gift shops, retro and vintage shops, and some great places to eat. On the day we visited, the weather was miserable but I took that as a great excuse to wrap up all autumnal in cranberry jumper and matching lipstick. 
Our first stop was a pub called the Dirty Bottles. This had been recommended to us and I’m so glad we went as it was a really cool experience and the food was delish. The menu is sort of like an American smoke house style with burgers, ribs and lots of other things you’ll like if you’re a meat lover. We ordered the sharer which was a platter of mini burgers, chicken kebabs, pulled pork and barbecue ribs, sweet potato fries and coleslaw. It was amazing but so enormous we got nowhere near finishing. Aside from the food the pub is really unique as you can order your food and drink from an iPad on your table, and then pour your cider or lager from taps at your own table. I also loved the modern interior of such an old pub and all this made for a really fun and different experience of eating out. I’ll definitely go back and would recommend it to anyone.
After our meal, we went for a look around the little gift shops in the town as I was on the hunt for a silver wedding present for my parents. We also found a vintage/retro shop called the Beehive, this is great if you love vintage clothes, furniture, music and little nik-naks. Finally, we went to one of my favourite places in Alnwick; Barter Books. This is one of the largest second-hand book shops in Britain and is well worth a look round. It really is enormous and is set an old train station. I always find books I’ve always wanted to read and they’re really cheap. It’s also just a really cool and Instagramable setting.
