And other delightful account from the roving northern Dog Golf correspondent team of Bertie and Steve:

Having visited the highest and oldest nine hole golf courses on this holiday we then played Alnwick Castle. This would be easier for controlling Bertie as we were joined by the youngest daughter. On arrival went in to pay, told the lady the secretary had said we could bring a dog, she didn’t bat an eyelid “no problem”.

Now Alnwick Castle is a real 18 hole course, and it is a club that is on the up. I understand the Duke of Northumberland owns the land. While we were there work had started on a new club house and there will also be a number of expensive properties built on the outer edge of the course.

It is £15 a round and a small charge for trolleys and the current clubhouse is next to one and eighteen so nine if furthest from the clubhouse, this will change as the new clubhouse is right in the middle of the course.

The day we went there was a seniors competition on and none of these even noticed the dog. Mrs B parred a short par 3, well done her. Couple of seniors saw her drive the ball straight onto the green and then me shank it wide left onto their tee. They were still waiting to play as we arrived and the old fellas just gave me that pitying look as i was clearly being outclassed. One whispered “My wife does that when i play with her as well”!

The course opens up into an open parkland course with good views of the surrounding countryside. There are some steep climbs but overall it was in excellent condition. There were lots of ground staff knocking about and they all waved and said hello as wed passed with Bertie.

On returning to the clubhouse for a drink the bar staff insisted that Bertie be served first taking a bowl of water out to him before we could even order ours!

It is a good course and the addition of a new clubhouse will really enhance the experience, we speculated about buying one of the houses should our lottery numbers come in.

Bertie (and Steve) provides another first-hand report on a Northumberland course while Grace relaxes in the backyard for a well-deserved break and a bit of recuperation:

Alnmouth Village Golf Club is the reason why we took up golf. When Bertie was a puppy we stayed in Alnmouth and Bertie loved the beach so much we have been back a few times. There is a magnificent nine hole course between the village and the beach, it really is stunning. We always said it would be great to play the course hence we started golf lessons and this was the first time we would actually play the course instead of just walking the dog on it!

We played twice, once just us and then with another couple who came to stay for a couple of days, they have a Jack Russell. Alnmouth must be the most dog friendly place in Britain, dogs are welcome everywhere.

The clubhouse has lots of picnic tables and dogs are welcome inside as well. They do the whole range from bacon butties to Sunday lunch. It’s incredibly friendly and £15 for nine holes. Trolleys, just help yourself and put them back afterwards.

The course is flat apart from one hole, the sixth. You drive up onto the plateau onto another fairway with a short iron shot onto the most elevated green, it’s a short sharp incline and its a blind shot requiring you to ring the bell for the next group to play.

The next tee gives you amazing panoramic views of the course and Northumbrian shore. It’s a quite satisfying tee shot as you see your ball fall downwards onto the fairway below. It’s a typical links course and if your ball disappears into the rough don’t bother looking for it!!!

Members are so used to dogs, as we played and crossed other parties they would wave ask if we were on holiday and pass on tips for the next hole. On one occasion we were just walking Bertie on the path alongside the course watching others play. Bertie spotted a ball on the fairway and ran to retrieve it with two mortified owners running after him. The four ball just fell about laughing while the owner of the ball just complained that Bertie could have dropped it nearer the hole.

Alnmouth Village Golf Club is England’s oldest nine hole course and remains an enduring course to play you are ever anywhere near.

I am sad to report that Grace might just be entering dog golfing retirement as she is suffering from a lame right-rear leg making it very difficult to walk. The debilitation has slowed her down and is combined with some other indications that she is simply becoming a very old girl (14 years old in a few weeks). I am happy to report that one of Dog Golf UK’s supporters, Bertie (and his person, Steve Brown, unofficial “northern correspondent”) has stepped up to share a number of guest posts from their recent Northumbria golf tour. Thanks Bertie (and Steve)!

Alston Moor Golf Club – The highest golf course in England. Bertie, our Tibetan terrier is two and a half years old. Having a dog changes a lot of what you and where you go on holiday. We have now gone to the same Northumbria cottage three times since we got Bertie. During that time we have also started playing golf, so whereas the three hour drive from Lancashire to the cottage would have been broken up with a quick stroll along Hadrians Wall we now look for golf courses!

So Alston Moor Golf Club fitted that description perfectly. It is a remote course with wonderful views of the North Pennine moors. I had emailed the club secretary who made it clear Bertie would be welcome. It was £15, which is outstanding value.

On arrival we were welcomed by the secretary and as the weather was bad we had the golf course to ourselves. The course has ten greens, nine holes with eighteen tees. The course was in really good condition with some tricky holes. The course also had two defibrillators, it is a steep climb back towards the clubhouse! The clubhouse was closed while we were there so plan to not have access to standard facilities.

We saw deer just yards from the course and bertie had a great time.

What did we learn about dog golfing? If you hook him up to the trolley he pulls it over. And, we need a second lead to attach him to benches etc while we tee off. Eventually we gave in and gave him his own golf ball.

Alston Moor will definitely be visited again on our journeys north.