The Northumberland Coast
The Northumberland coast is an area of outstanding natural beauty and in my opinion is one of the most beautiful & unspoilt coastlines in England. The beaches are clean & scattered with shells. The little sea-side villages & towns retain their charm and remain uncommercialised. As a family we holiday in this area every year and discover a new hidden delight each time. Here are a few of our favourite destinations, if your personal favourite is not here email your suggestion to [email protected] and we'll check it out on our next visit!
Amble
***Amble***
Amble (once known at Warkworth Harbour) is a busy harbour town sitting on the mouth of the river Coquet just south of Warkworth. The large harbour, with its pretty red&white lighthouse, is a good place to spot shoals of fish and the occasional dolphin swimming in the clear water. Why not take a boat trip over to Coquet Island and see the puffins & seals, or follow the Town Trail walk and learn some of the history of the town. I like to have a wander along the harbour on a summers evening after spending the day at Warkworth.
Amble (once known at Warkworth Harbour) is a busy harbour town sitting on the mouth of the river Coquet just south of Warkworth. The large harbour, with its pretty red&white lighthouse, is a good place to spot shoals of fish and the occasional dolphin swimming in the clear water. Why not take a boat trip over to Coquet Island and see the puffins & seals, or follow the Town Trail walk and learn some of the history of the town. I like to have a wander along the harbour on a summers evening after spending the day at Warkworth.
Warkworth
***Warkworth***
Warkworth is my idea of a perfect village. It has everything I love! It's a quaint countryside village in a picturesque riverside setting, steeped in history, complete with magnificent medieval castle and several real-ale pubs and to top it all it is also next to the sea and has a fantastic award winning beach, there's even a little Island, Coquet Island, just out to sea and its a RSPB nature reserve! Perfect, it was definitely designed for me!
The English Heritage owned medieval castle was once the home of the Dukes of Northumberland and for a ruin it's actually quite intact & there's quite a lot to explore, there's even some indoor parts and there's an impressive view from the roof. There's also a lovely riverside walk along to the Hermitage.
When you're finish exploring the pretty village, head to the beach! A short walk through the sand dunes brings you too a beautiful unspoilt beach where you can rest a while while the kids make sandcastles & enjoy the sights of sea-birds acrobatically diving into the sea to catch fish. I hope you will enjoy a trip to Warkworth as much as I do!
Welcome to the Caribbean love!
***Alnmouth***
The tiny coastal village of Alnmouth, so called as it sits at the mouth of the River Aln, has a beautiful long beach which I always call 'the Caribbean!' Here you'll find the famous 17th century Schooner Hotel, it is apparently 'the most haunted hotel in Britain' if you believe in that sort of thing but I'm sure there's plenty of liquid spirits to be had at the bar!
There's not really much else to say about Almouth, it's small but perfectly formed with a large golf course, a few pretty craft shops & tea rooms with jingley doors!
The tiny coastal village of Alnmouth, so called as it sits at the mouth of the River Aln, has a beautiful long beach which I always call 'the Caribbean!' Here you'll find the famous 17th century Schooner Hotel, it is apparently 'the most haunted hotel in Britain' if you believe in that sort of thing but I'm sure there's plenty of liquid spirits to be had at the bar!
There's not really much else to say about Almouth, it's small but perfectly formed with a large golf course, a few pretty craft shops & tea rooms with jingley doors!
Craster harbour
***Craster***
Its easy to see why picturesque Craster was used in the TV show 'Distant Shores' as the fictional island of Hildasay. It's a pretty little place with a stoney harbour, famous kipper smokehouse & art gallery and I particularly enjoyed some delicious jam&cream scones in the Shoreline Cafe here on my birthday. Yum-yum! Its also a mecca for walkers and is the best place to access Dunstanburgh Castle. The 14th century castle is about a mile & a half walk from Craster through farmland next to the rocky shoreline. Its a nice walk and a lovely castle. There's also looks to be a lovely sandy beach further along from the castle, at Embleton, although I've never actually been there for some random unknown reason!
Its easy to see why picturesque Craster was used in the TV show 'Distant Shores' as the fictional island of Hildasay. It's a pretty little place with a stoney harbour, famous kipper smokehouse & art gallery and I particularly enjoyed some delicious jam&cream scones in the Shoreline Cafe here on my birthday. Yum-yum! Its also a mecca for walkers and is the best place to access Dunstanburgh Castle. The 14th century castle is about a mile & a half walk from Craster through farmland next to the rocky shoreline. Its a nice walk and a lovely castle. There's also looks to be a lovely sandy beach further along from the castle, at Embleton, although I've never actually been there for some random unknown reason!
lovely beach
***Low Newton-By-The-Sea***
Newton by the sea is a pretty little village with a gorgeous sandy beach at the bottom of a steep hill. The beach is popular with families while windsurfers & water sport lovers enjoy the sea here. The village has a lot of holiday cottages which would be ideal for a get-away-from-it-all holiday.There's also some pretty little 19th century fishermens cottages in a square surrounding the green and a pub, The Ship Inn, with its own micro-brewery. I recommend you park your car at the top of the hill near St Marys church & walk down into the village, that way you can enjoy the beautiful view of nearby Dunstanburgh Castle as you stroll along.
Its a lovely little place, I've only been the once but hope to return again someday.
Newton by the sea is a pretty little village with a gorgeous sandy beach at the bottom of a steep hill. The beach is popular with families while windsurfers & water sport lovers enjoy the sea here. The village has a lot of holiday cottages which would be ideal for a get-away-from-it-all holiday.There's also some pretty little 19th century fishermens cottages in a square surrounding the green and a pub, The Ship Inn, with its own micro-brewery. I recommend you park your car at the top of the hill near St Marys church & walk down into the village, that way you can enjoy the beautiful view of nearby Dunstanburgh Castle as you stroll along.
Its a lovely little place, I've only been the once but hope to return again someday.
***Beadnell***
Beadnell boast a long golden sandy sweeping stretch of beach and an 18th century, still operational, harbour. One of the main features of the harbour are the remnants of three historic limekilns dating back to the 1700s, originally used for making lime for fertilizer they've also been used for smoking herrings and nowadays used for storing lobsterpots. Beadnell is a nice place to chill-out & enjoy the beach on a sunny day and also the place where I aquired a lobster-pot for my garden!
Beadnell boast a long golden sandy sweeping stretch of beach and an 18th century, still operational, harbour. One of the main features of the harbour are the remnants of three historic limekilns dating back to the 1700s, originally used for making lime for fertilizer they've also been used for smoking herrings and nowadays used for storing lobsterpots. Beadnell is a nice place to chill-out & enjoy the beach on a sunny day and also the place where I aquired a lobster-pot for my garden!
***Seahouses***
I love Seahouses. In my opinion you'll find the nicest fish&chips ever in Neptunes. Enjoy them sat in the restaurant or take them away & sit on the seats overlooking the beautiful harbour. The harbour is usually
quite busy with boat trips going out to the nearby Farne Island, look out for the BBC they go over from here during Springwatch time as the Farnes are a favoured breeding place of puffins. One fine day I will take a Billy Shiels boat over to the Farne Islands and see the puffins for myself! Seahouses is a nice little town with plenty of shops & local attractions and its a place I like to visit when I'm staying in the area.
I love Seahouses. In my opinion you'll find the nicest fish&chips ever in Neptunes. Enjoy them sat in the restaurant or take them away & sit on the seats overlooking the beautiful harbour. The harbour is usually
quite busy with boat trips going out to the nearby Farne Island, look out for the BBC they go over from here during Springwatch time as the Farnes are a favoured breeding place of puffins. One fine day I will take a Billy Shiels boat over to the Farne Islands and see the puffins for myself! Seahouses is a nice little town with plenty of shops & local attractions and its a place I like to visit when I'm staying in the area.
***Bamburgh***
Bamburgh has the most fantastic sandy beach and we've enjoyed many a day out here with a picnic & plenty of sandcastles. The first thing you'll notice, of course, is the amazing castle that sits proudly on a hill overlooking the village. Its a great place to visit but privately owned so check admission prices here. There's quite a lot of the castle open to the public, with lots of weapons on display! There's a nice tearoom & I recommend the brie paninis! Its also been used as a film location many times & is a popular wedding venue.
Pretty St Aidans churchyard is also where you'll find the resting place of Grace Darling. Ms Darling is quite a hero of mine.
Daughter of a lighthouse keeper, in 1838 she famously rowed out into a storm and helped to rescue survivors of the 'Forfarshire' shipwreck. I have yet to visit the Grace Darling Museum, but be sure it's on the list for when we have our much anticipated 'vw campervan holiday' in the area in September.
Bamburgh is very pretty and 'villagey' with a few local shops, lovely pubs and lots of holiday cottages.
I've camped near here at Waren Mill many times and I enjoy a spot of bird watching at nearby Budle Bay.
Further up the coast is the Holy Island of Lindisfarne which I've already blogged about and you can read here.
Bamburgh has the most fantastic sandy beach and we've enjoyed many a day out here with a picnic & plenty of sandcastles. The first thing you'll notice, of course, is the amazing castle that sits proudly on a hill overlooking the village. Its a great place to visit but privately owned so check admission prices here. There's quite a lot of the castle open to the public, with lots of weapons on display! There's a nice tearoom & I recommend the brie paninis! Its also been used as a film location many times & is a popular wedding venue.
Pretty St Aidans churchyard is also where you'll find the resting place of Grace Darling. Ms Darling is quite a hero of mine.
Daughter of a lighthouse keeper, in 1838 she famously rowed out into a storm and helped to rescue survivors of the 'Forfarshire' shipwreck. I have yet to visit the Grace Darling Museum, but be sure it's on the list for when we have our much anticipated 'vw campervan holiday' in the area in September.
Bamburgh is very pretty and 'villagey' with a few local shops, lovely pubs and lots of holiday cottages.
I've camped near here at Waren Mill many times and I enjoy a spot of bird watching at nearby Budle Bay.
Further up the coast is the Holy Island of Lindisfarne which I've already blogged about and you can read here.
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