With its straight-out-of Game Of Thrones castles, its idyllic fishing villages and its enigmatic backdrop of lonely moorland, the Northumberland coast crams in more sights per square mile than most corners of the country. Start your exploration here…
1. Berwick
A town which knows a thing or two about the turbulent relationship between England and Scotland, Berwick is now in England, but its football team plays in the Scottish league. Walk around the town’s lofty ramparts (built in Elizabethan times to stop rampaging Scots) for the best views of this handsome old trading town. Take the Lowry trail to see why L.S. Lowry favoured painting here, or hunker down in one of the town’s excellent restaurants (such as award-winning bistro, Oblo 20 Harbour Road).
2. Holy Island
An easy half-hour drive from Berwick’s Travelodge takes you to this enigmatic tidal island – get your timings right, though, you don’t want to be stranded! – drive over the causeway and escape to another time and place entirely. Here, on a rocky bluff, rises the romantic bulk of Lindisfarne Castle. But, in truth, the entire island has a spiritual, otherworldly calm about it. Sample a glass of Lindisfarne Mead and you might well feel even more relaxed!
Another half an hour south and you’ll see the magnificent silhouette of Dunstanburgh Castle: a jagged edge looming above the remote headland, jutting out into the North Sea. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster in 1313, and became a borderland stronghold. It’s a powerfully provocative status symbol – even if the past 700 years have eroded it somewhat. Coastal walks in either direction here offer simply breathtaking panoramas.
4. Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Adventures await at Alnwick Castle
You’re now in the heart of the Northumberland Coast AONB – an area covering some 39 miles of coast from Berwick to the Coquet estuary. Within, you can enjoy bracing coastal walks, invigorating water sports, and fascinating historical sites. Try the photo-ready village of Warkworth for riverside restaurants and cobbled lanes leading to warm and welcoming pubs. Or visit timeless Craster – a fishing village justifiably proud of its famed oak-smoked kippers.
If you like your beaches wide, sandy, dramatic and – usually – blissfully peaceful, Northumberland’s the place for you. We love Bamburgh Castle Beach (and, for that matter, the impressively intact Bamburgh Castle), with its mile after mile of soft white sand backed by tussocky dunes. Same goes for delightful Seahouses Beach, adjoining the historic fishing village of Seahouses (great fish and chips!). Bring a bucket – this is sandcastle-building central!
6. Gardens
Love mooching around country homes? Visit Howick Hall, the home of the second Earl Grey after whom the tea was named, the hall was built in 1782. But it’s the gardens that most delight. The Snowdrop Walks, daffodils in late March to May, and the woodland garden vibrant with camellias, magnolias and rhododendrons are spellbinding – especially in spring. While the arboretum is home to exotic specimens from around the word – all seemingly doing just fine in the cool Northumberland air!
The Alnwick Garden (30 mins drive south of Seahouses) is another stunner. A contemporary designed-showcase, the Grand Cascade is gardening as high art, while the Rose Garden and the Ornamental Garden offer tranquil corners to while away an hour or two. In the Serpent Garden eight water sculptures nestle in the coils of a topiary serpent. It’s a wonderfully realised vision. And don’t forget Gertrude Jekyll’s Garden at Lindisfarne: only half an acre, this is where the revival of the English cottage garden style began.
