The open days are quite limited at Cherryburn, and I added it onto our itinerary as a quick stop on the day that we were scheduled to leave the area. Admission was by appointment, and I was able to reserve the first of the morning. I never dreamed that it would be such a delightful venue to visit and I am grateful that we took the time to tour the house and grounds. We were on site the day that the Big Dig was filming for a Channel 4 News program. The archeologists had located several items that correlated with the expected time periods they were researching, including a 1767 sixpence which we were told is very rare. The tour guides were delightful and very informative. The printing press in the house was extremely interesting, and we were given a print made by the guide on site. There is a small library that holds many of the books featuring Bewick's talents. A fabulous find for us. And well worth making the effort to visit.

Cherryburn is owned and administered by the National Trust. You had to Pre-book when we went in September (it is now closed for the winter). Cherryburn was the childhood home of Thomas Bewick an 18th century artist and probably the UK's best wood-engraver and someone I have to confess I did not really know about prior to my visit. The two rooms of the original house are accessible; one was being used to house an exhibition of 20 intricately engraved glass panels by Phoebe Connolly. There is also an engraved greenhouse again by Phoebe Connolly in the grounds. In the brothers house are some of Thomas's original engravings as well as an exhibition of printing presses.

Cherryburn is the home of Thomas Bewick the famous naturalis and engraver. The house is quite small with only a few rooms but provides a fascinating insight into his skills as an engraver, printer and naturalist. Across the courtyard from the main house is the the building where he was born and grew up. The whole family lived in a couple of small basic rooms.