Alien invasion?
AT last we got away and headed for the new Lodge in Dumfries & Galloway, but we took the long-cut, and travelled via Northumberland and Edinburgh.
With five months of inertia behind us, the trip turned out to be a well-timed tonic for the soul, especially when we got onto the beach at Alnmouth at 6am on the first morning, with not a soul about except for the attendant oystercatchers, curlews, terns and hundreds, yes hundreds, maybe even thousands of jellyfish.
The sudden influx in the North East and indeed all over the UK and Ireland is likely down to strong winds and unusual tidal patterns, and when the swarms become stranded, most will survive until the next tide takes them back out to sea.
The Sun newspaper described them as ‘alien like’, which of course they are not, and there will be no hyperbole here; yes there were lots and lots of them, Lions Mane Jellyfish, to be precise, but alien, nah.
Guinness, our half-pint Miniature Schnauzer paid scant attention to the brown gelatinous blobs, as he was just excited to be beside the sea, which makes him even more animated and exuberant, I would say, with more than a hint of anthropomorphism, that he was smiling.
Joanie was not so sure, and even less keen when I told her the facts and that, even if the jellyfish is dead, the stings will still give you a nasty surprise.
A sting from a Lion’s Mane can cause nausea, sweating, cramps, headaches and other symptoms and severe stings should seek urgent medical attention.
When swimming, the lion’s mane pulls all its tentacles in tight and the bell pulses to push the body through the water.
When hunting, it relaxes, and the tentacles stretch out forming a large net for capturing prey.
The tentacles are packed with tens of thousands of stinging cells and when prey brush against the tentacles, the stinging cells fire injecting venom into the prey.
Once the prey is paralysed, it is transferred to the mouth and stomach to be digested.
I tried to reassure my long-suffering partner, and explained, ‘Don’t worry, they are a giant of the jellyfish world at up to two feet in diameter, like that one, (I said pointing to the specimen pictured here) and their tentacles can reach lengths of over one hundred feet.’
The largest recorded specimen was measured by Alexander Agassiz off the coast of Massachusetts in 1865 and had a bell with a diameter of 210 centimetres and tentacles around 36.6 m long.
‘What can you do if one stings you?’ Joanie asked.
‘Well, you can wee on the affected area’, I replied laughing.
Truth is, this oldfashioned remedy is not recommended anymore, and you should wash the wound with warm water and remove any sting if you can see it.
With the jellyfish behind us we moved inland to the Kielder Forest, Otterburn and discovered castles, churches and abbeys around every bend.
We were tempted to travel to Barnard Castle, purely for devilment, but decided that my eyesight was tip-top.
14th century Edlingham Castle caught our eye, as did the 11th century church nearby and we spent a happy hour exploring.
The best preserved part of the castle is the solar tower.
This provided accommodation for the owner and his family.
The north and west walls of the tower survive almost to full height; a forebuilding was situated on the north side and on the corners there were stepped buttresses, each originally surmounted by a circular turret with battlements.
The tower is three storeys high and each floor contained a single chamber.
The first-floor room has a double line of windows and the remains of an elaborate fireplace.
The mantle of the fireplace has not budged one inch in 600 years, and was surely put together by a Master Mason in an unmoveable jigsaw pattern.
Joanie took a fancy to the fireplace, whereas I was fascinated by the sandstone pillars, worn to a wafer by the Northumbrian weather but still standing.
To conclude, although Joanie is not one for the ‘last word’ you understand, she had it here when, courtesy of Google she announced whilst sitting in the ancient fireplace, as you do, ‘Did you know the collective noun for jellyfish is ‘smack’?’
I was not going to argue in case I got one myself!
Next week finds us stranded on Holy Island, before an impromptu trip to Edinburgh.