If you go to Seahouses you can get boat trips out to the Farne islands to see the seals. We went in August but I would have thought they run them whenever conditions are OK. Northumberland and the beaches are lovely- hope you have a good time.

Pam

Oh just re-read my post after reading the reply, and realise I didn't make myself clear, sorry about that. We generally want to avoid seals, as we have read about dogs attacking them.
Ours has never comes across anything like a seal, and although we trust him, we don't want to risk him or the seals. Obviously he will mainly be on lead, but we would like to let him off at a few beaches, simply because he adores the seaside! (he's the only real reason why we going; if we didn't have him I think we'd be on a plane heading somewhere warm!)

Oh right, I see now!! Well we saw loads on the boat trip and tended to stick with the beaches at Bamburgh, which were fantastic and we never saw any seals on the beaches. Lots of Dunes and rock pools with Hermit crabs etc which kept the kids happy for ages but certainly no seals. I don't think our dog would know what do with a seal either, she has enough trouble with the cat!!

Pam

Tee-J would have problems with any kind of small furry, or even big furry. Will think about boat trip though, he's never been on a boat before.

Hi Clo Clo

How far are you willing to travel to find a hotel with a spa? One I've been to (it was quite a few years ago) is the Swallow George Hotel at Chollerford, which is about 5 miles from Hexham. Reviews are now somewhat mixed, but it was lovely when I was there.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Musicmaker

Hi. Thanks for all of the replies on this topic - we had a brilliant time. Did look into the suggested spa, but the weather forcast was nice so we decided to make the most of it. We also managed to keep Tee-J away from any seals, although he did manage a museum tour in Hexam, and a boat trip around Kielder Water.

Would reccomend the Riverside (well, River-something, I'll check) Hotel in Bellingham for most couples, espeically when travelling with dogs. Although they are not allowed in restaurant (only place where breakfast is served), the ground apartments are lovely (and bigger than some cottages we have stayed in). There is free internet access, which was useful as our phone line went down for 3 weeks over that period, so I managed to get my coursework done! Dogs are also allowed in the bar and games room for evening meals (staff were wonderful with our boy; one stood on the top of his leg whilst he was lying down and was growled at, and couldn't apologise enough for upsetting him!).

Only problem I found was some families allowing their kids to run around a lot, especially when they started coming up to our outisde patio, squealing at the dog, then running away.