Toast the fourth!

[neveradullmoment99]

Welcome :)

Persephone, thanks for the tips on MH sizing, that is useful.

Ah thanks @Moominmammaatsea. We’re staying in Alnwick, v looking forward to a change of scene tbh! Have heard Bamburgh, Seahouses and Holy Island are lovely, and I want to go to the dark skies park too. Any ideas would be great, thanks 😊.

Also planning to pop in here too www.re-foundobjects.com/

@Saurus72 I live on the NE coast at Tynemouth so know the area where you are going very well. We have a camper van and take it up to Bamburgh on a regular basis throughout the summer.
Bamburgh is just beautiful.
If you go to Holy Island be sure to visit the side of the island that is uninhabited as the beaches there are just breath taking. I've lost many an afternoon and evening in The Ship Inn on holy island as well - great pub, very friendly landlord and they have their own gin distillery. Holy Island gin is definitely worth a try!
From Seahouses you can take a boat out to the Farne Islands and visit the seal colonies. Fish and chips sitting looking out over Seahouses harbour is also a must,
Alnmouth is lovely, so is Amble and well worth a visit.

@Saurus72 you must visit Barter Books if you are staying in Alnwick

@Saurus72, Embleton Bay, not far from Alnwick. Ssshhhh! Copper sands and quiet, quiet. Bamburgh is all fur coat and no knickers. Forget Alnwick Castle (unless you have die-hard HP fans) in favour of the Gardens (particularly in this Covid/post-Covid world). We went to the Castle last week (free pass and it was a pale imitation of itself). Seahouses will most definitely not be for you (apart from as the start-point for a boat trip, but you are there in the wrong time of the year and also to visit the very moving Grace Darling Museum and grave). Holy Island is amazing, don’t forget to check the tide times. The castle is really quirky, the abbey very boring but the best bit of all is the free coastguard station lookout, you can see for miles and miles. Other highlights are the walk up to Dunstanburgh Ckastle from Craster (you could tie this in with a visit to Embleton Bay)

I’ve got my thinking cap on so will post more suggestions shortly.

@Saurus72, agree with Amble and Alnmouth and also Barter Books in Alnwick!

Ooh thanks for the recs! Forgot about Dunstanburgh castle, was recommended the walk you suggest. @Ellapaella - am DESPERATE to go to a bookshop so thanks for that and the Holy Island tip.

@Moominmammaatsea Embleton Bay sounds lovely - OH said the same about Alnwick castle. Why would Seahouses not be for us tho? Have had a few people say it’s nice so interested. V excited about somewhere new and wide open spaces, can’t wait! Have had to cancel both European holidays so just so glad to have A Plan 😊

Alnwick castle is expensive and not very exciting but the gardens are nice (nicer in the summer 😁).
Seahouses is not glamorous but there is a good fish n chip shop and it's a nice walk along the beach from Seahouses to Bamburgh. There is a great pub near Crastor - The Joiner's arms which do a fantastic Sunday roast. So many lovely places to visit, I hope the weather stays dry for you.

Me too - one day of rain would be ok (enforced staying in/reading) but hopefully not more than that. Is it cold enough for tights and trainers? Or bare legs? (Not a jeans wearer!)

I’m taking notes for when I’m next up north.

I’ve had a real life mooch around a Toast shop. Most of the jumpers were quite scratchy, the alpaca and the wool cashmere ones were the best of the lot. The fair isle was diabolical. I went to buy the Maeva dress and the colours looked completely different from the website! I returned empty handed. Pah!

@Saurus72, if you’re happy to travel, Kielder Water is a magnificent spot in the Dark Skies area.

The alpaca and wool cashmere are gorgeous. I do have one itchy one but always wear a shirt under and it’s a gorgeous colour.

Mostly what I love about toast is the quality of their fabrics

It's a bit mixed at the moment @Saurus72. Chilly mornings and evenings/nights but the days are quite warm. Yesterday was a scorcher! We are due some very warm weather this week.

Oh wow..how strange. . we are planning on going to Bamburgh next week in our new van !! ( At least hope to, I am still checking out the Covid situation before we decide if we are going away ) ..
Thanks for the tips though ! Good to hear that the weather is looking good

So I managed to get 10 minutes in the Toast store closest to me (not very close sadly!) The staff in there are always so friendly and welcoming.
Again the items I wanted to see in person that I imagined ordering as soon as there's a code (!) we're not the items I really liked having seen them
The wool marl sleeveless tunic is actually very blue which surprised me, it is also quite rough. I took a close up which I'll attach.
I also wanted to see the soft cotton twill trousers in green but they were much thicker and stiffer than I thought they would be.
Instead I fell in love with the indigo denim dress which is the most beautiful thing! It is thick, you could almost wear it as a coat over other clothes, certainly with a blouse underneath as styled in the shop that I'll also attach a photo of. I need it in my life

Thanks for the photos @AFingerofFudge. The denim dress looks really versatile.
Lots of comments on reviews about scratchy woollen items, is it that we’ve all got so used to less wool rich garments.

I spend half my life searching for clothes in properly crunchy fabrics - so wouldn't complain about scratchy wool.

But there's an interesting thread of complaint within the reviews for one woollen jumper which is "made in China". It's definitely something that would put me off buying an item. (iphone notwithstanding ...) And not just because we have woollen mills in the U.K.

@AFingerofFudge No way! I went to Toast in Cambridge earlier and ended up buying that very dress! www.toa.st/uk/product/womens+dresses+and+tunics/c1pbd/indigo+denim+dress.htm

I wanted to go in and try all of the things that have been on my wish list but there were quite a few and I just couldn’t face the hassle of multiple order/returns. So I tried on both of the corduroy dresses which were far too voluminous. The green cord skirt was pretty nice but didn’t love it. The indigo denim dress however is a beauty. Did you try it on though? I started by asking for size 14 - as soon as the assistant brought it up I knew it would drown me so she brought a 12 instead which was still v roomy. I ended up buying size 10 (I’m not a size 10 🙄). V pleased with it and perfect for Northumberland trip as can wear with sandals and trainers (and boots when it gets colder).

Also to add - store felt fine. Friendly helpful staff, 2 customers at a time, hand sanitiser at the entrance and changing room cleaned between customers. So so much easier thAn trying to second guess Toast’s mad sizing tbh.

@Saurus72 that is so funny!! I know I will end up buying it, I'd just like to have a bit of a discount if I can!!
Yes I was thinking of the 12, I was a 14 but have lost a bit of weight recently (10lbs) so maybe the 12 for me too.
Are you brave enough to post a picture of you wearing it!?!

I would say size down at least twice - here it is on me.

That looks lovely @Saurus72.
It makes such a difference the changing room being open . The sizes are so variable. It’s very difficult to buy from a distance,

@PersephonePromotesEquanimity

I spend half my life searching for clothes in properly crunchy fabrics - so wouldn't complain about scratchy wool.

But there's an interesting thread of complaint within the reviews for one woollen jumper which is "made in China". It's definitely something that would put me off buying an item. (iphone notwithstanding ...) And not just because we have woollen mills in the U.K.

You will be well pleased about the scratchiness of the wool that Toast is offering this year persephone

I have Toast items going back 10 years plus and the wool used to be much softer. I can’t seem to get rid of any of the old stuff as I cannot buy the same quality at Toast prices again.

Gabi cords in the brown slate ( nigh on black) . Really pleased with them