Father's Day in an English Village

For Father's Day this year, we decided to take my Dad and my Grandad on a drive to the village of Corbridge in Northumberland for a pub lunch.

Northumberland is a county in the North East of England, bordering Scotland. It's full of beautiful countryside, stunning national parks and traditional architecture. Corbridge is a popular village packed with independent shops selling antiques, vintage items, furniture, gifts and much more. There are also plenty of cafes and restaurants, a tearoom and an excellent bakery.

Even though we were visiting a beautiful village on a warm Sunday in June, there seemed to be no tourists around, only local people! If you want to experience real British village life without sharing your space with lots of other tourists, skip the Cotswolds and try Northumberland!

(Also, the North East of England also tends to have cheaper prices and the local people are famously more friendly than those from the south of the country. Even though I was born in the south I would definitely agree that most northerners are friendlier!)

During our trip to Corbridge, after looking around some shops, we finally settled at a pub for lunch. The menu included a lot of traditional pub classics like fish and chips, burgers and Sunday roast dinner options. However, it's now 2023 - these days many pubs will offer a more varied menu including dishes for people with allergies, vegetarians, vegans and health-conscious diners.

I ordered pan-fried sea bass with vegetables including potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and butter beans. It was pretty tasty!

The meal was nice and I think my Dad and Grandad enjoyed it a lot. Of course, I also gifted my Dad a bottle of whiskey. It's important to remember a small gift on Father's Day, after all.

Thanks for reading my column. If you would like to ask me something about British culture, or to share a little of your own culture with me, I have a free talk lesson available. Feel free to check it out!