Our recent trip to Northumberland, famed for its miles of scenic coastline, innumerable castles and legendary kippers, was truly memorable. We were blessed with gorgeous blue skies and stuffed ourselves with some fantastic food and wondrous sights. So here’s our itinerary and the full lowdown on this epic place.
Our home for the week was The Old Ale House in Dunstan Village, just outside Craster, managed by Coastal Retreats. It was stylish, funky and comfortable with everything we could possibly need and in a great location, close to Craster harbour and Dunstanburgh Castle.
A highlight for the kids was the “shower bath” which they insisted upon having every night, wanging the shower head around so water sprayed everywhere and pretending it was a microphone.
It is a real luxury to have somewhere so lovely to return to and relax after a day full of adventures.
So here is what we got up to during our stay.
Chillingham Castle
Northumberland has more castles than any other county in England, a legacy of its turbulent past, including the notorious Border Wars between England and Scotland which raged for centuries. We spent our first morning relaxing and having a lazy brunch, then the afternoon discovering our new favourite castle – the hugely atmospheric Chillingham, near Chatton.
Chillingham Castle is privately owned and fantastically quirky, featuring an eccentric mix of artefacts ranging from invitations from Buckingham Palace, personal letters from Jools Holland, stuffed alligators, old wooden skis used on Everest expeditions, fireplaces from TV sets and suits of armour.
Chillingham is very appropriately named, given its reputation as being one of the UK’s most haunted castles and this spooky fortress hosts regular ghost tours. Several ghosts are said to wander the castle’s timeworn interior and it boasts high levels of paranormal activity, with a large collection of spectres and apparitions reported by visitors over the years. There are also tales of curses – heed the warnings not to steal the silverware, or you’ll be hideously jinxed – curious weapons, an eerie dungeon and a chilling torture chamber, complete with gory contraptions. Perhaps give this section a miss if you have young or sensitive children, but mine were absolutely fascinated by this completely weird and macabre display!
It’s not all gruesome – there are lovely formal gardens, woodland and lake walks and the chance to get up close with the only wild cattle in the world at the Chillingham Wild Cattle Park down the road.
This 12th century stronghold was abandoned in the 1930’s and fell into disrepair. Since 1982 it has been the home of Sir Humphry Wakefield and his family (topically he’s father-in-law to Dominic Cummings), who has since restored the castle to a habitable state to display his eclectic collection of curiosities. He’s clearly something of a character, as well as a hoarder!
It is not the most famous or majestic of Northumberland’s many castles, but Chillingham is perhaps the most unusual. Just don’t go expecting a polished display of well curated items and informative historical references. Individual and unique Chillingham is well worth a visit for something completely out of the ordinary.
Craster was an easy 10 minute walk from our cottage in Dunstan, so on our return we strolled down to the harbour in the early evening sunshine. It was very blustery and the waves were crashing in but the light was amazing.
Craster To Howick Circular Walk, With A Detour To Sugar Sands
Next morning we again walked from our cottage into Craster where we stopped by Pipers Pitch for a kipper in a bun for breakfast (totally delicious, you can read more here).
We’d planned a circular walk, following an inland route from Craster to Howick, returning via the coast path (details here). The route passed through diverse farmland, beneath Hips Heugh, a rocky escarpment with steep sides, and on to Howick Hall (home of Earl Grey and his famous tea), where you can detour and pay to enter the gardens and tea room, if you fancy. We passed fields of wheat, pastures with handsome limousin cattle and meadows with beautiful margins blooming with sunflowers, poppies and other wild flowers. From Howick Hall the route then continued to eventually join the Northumberland Coastal Path at Rumbling Kern.
At this point, a left turn on the coast path would have taken us back to Craster, but we had promised the beach bores some beach action. Rumbling Kern is a tiny beach in a rocky cove, perfectly sheltered behind some small cliffs that face inland from the sea. There is a hole in the rock that separate the beach from the sea and waves shoot water through the hole with a rumbling roar when the tide is high, hence the name. However it was busy on this sunny summer afternoon, with a group of guys who looked to have been camping overnight, and there were bags of litter and even graffiti on some of the rocks. Unfortunately it’s too accessible from the nearby carpark to be secluded and, although picturesque, it didn’t really do it for us. So we turned right and walked further south, as far as Sugar Sands, where there is the most beautiful bay of soft golden beach, sheltered by a backdrop of low cliffs and dunes. It was quiet and definitely worth the extra trek.
The sea here was quite rough with big waves and currents, it shelved steeply and felt slightly wild. I wasn’t entirely happy with the kids swimming here or going in alone, but they had lots of fun paddling and dodging the waves. It’s important they understand the dangers and respect the sea, and proper risk analysis and appreciation of ‘smart’ risks is always a good life lesson.
We retraced our tracks back to Rumbling Kern then continued north along the beautiful stretch of coastal path, past a holiday cottage perched on the edge of the rocks overlooking the sea (formerly the bathing house for Howick Hall). Beyond this the path winds on to Cullernose Point bird cliffs, where fulmars and kittiwakes nest in summer, and on to Craster. Views of Dunstanburgh Castle ahead further enrich the return route for the last part of the way.
In Craster the path passes the playground which the kids enjoyed, whilst we enjoyed a sit down and took in the lovely sea views.
Today really had something for everyone, which is sometimes a difficult balance to achieve when holidaying with kids.
We ended the day with delicious freshly cooked fish and chips from the takeaway van outside the Jolly Fisherman, washed down with beer and a Prosecco (which inevitably got spilt, but you can’t have everything!). Days really don’t get much better.
Seahouses And The Farne Islands
Next morning we headed to the fishing village of Seahouses to board a Billy Shiel’s boat for a trip round the Farne Islands. You need to book online in advance and masks are mandatory on the boats for over 11s. Normally you have an option to land on one the National Trust islands, but landings are not operating at the moment. On our 90 minute cruise we spotted sea birds aplenty and a bob of Grey Seals hauled up on the rocks, they are surprisingly large when you see them in the wild. We also passed Longstone lighthouse, from where Grace Darling mounted her daring rescue in 1838 (the fab Grace Darling museum in Bamburgh was unfortunately still closed during our visit).
On our return to dry land we enjoyed tasty crab sandwiches and chips in the sunny beer garden overlooking the harbour at The Olde Ship Inn. The bread was basic from a sliced loaf, but it was fresh and absolutely packed with delicious crab meat – a good mixture of brown and white. The great white bread scandal then ensued as Addy had inexplicably opted to order us white, not brown, bread for our crab sandwiches. Crab on white – what sort of heathen is he? Still, they were scoffed and tasted utterly delicious. The chips were grand too.
The town felt a bit manic on such a lovely sunny afternoon, so we headed down to the beach for a stroll. The sandy beach stretches for about 3 miles from Seahouses, all the way to Bamburgh, and it didn’t take long to get away from it all. Even though the sun was out, there was a chilly wind and it felt positively cold, even in a fleece with a hoodie over. Not to be deterred the kids went for their customary swim and we got some funny looks and comments from passers by. They insisted that they weren’t too cold for an ice cream from the kiosk in town afterwards either.
Ross Back Sands
We’d promised the kids a full on beach day and today looked like it would be the warmest so we set off early, heading for Ross Back Sands. This beach is quite literally off the beaten track, so much so that you’ve got to locate a remote parking spot then walk over a mile to reach it – but it’s certainly worth it to get this piece of paradise practically to yourself.
Walking over the dunes to be confronted by this glorious, empty expanse of sparkling white beach in all its big skied, early morning glory properly got me. It was simply stunning.
I took a ridiculous amount of pictures, but words really don’t do this place justice. I’ll just leave all these here and say it is one of the most secluded and amazing beaches in the UK. You have to go find it and experience it for yourself.
Bookended with amazing views of Bamburgh Castle to the south and Holy Island to the north, this beach really is a special place.
At one point whilst the goons were in the sea, two seals popped their heads out of the waves not far away and hung around bobbing in the water nearby for ages – an unforgettable moment!
On our way home we stopped off at Sunnyhills farm shop in Belford, where we had hot choc, coffee and cake. There is a well stocked farm shop with loads of local produce, a bistro/ cafe and a nice outdoor seating area with a kids playground.
For tea we stopped by The Craster Arms in Beadnell, on the off chance as we hadn’t booked. We managed to get a table inside but were lucky as it seemed pretty busy. The food was great but it’s a big pub and it felt slightly crowded, particularly at the bar. Their COVID policy appeared to be a peculiar combination; they have some plastic screens up in places and ask that you order via an app and pay in advance, but then at the same time no staff were wearing masks or visors and the tables were definitely less than a metre apart in places. They had sanitizer in the entrance and asked that you logged your contact details for track and trace, but many people entering didn’t bother, a couple told us they’d been the night before and it wasn’t necessary. To be honest it didn’t feel entirely safe, there were just too many people, we would perhaps have been better eating in the beer garden outside. However, staff were friendly and the burgers and pie really good quality.
Crazy Golf And Seaside Fun
Wednesday was a poor forecast and the boy had been pestering to play the crazy golf course he’d spotted on the front in Seahouses, so that’s what we did. He was disappointed not to win with a score of 96 over 18 holes, but we had a fun game. Seahouses is a lovely seaside town with a picturesque working harbour, huge sandy beach, crazy golf, gift shops (check out the legendary Farne Gifts for an Aladdin’s cave of kitsch treasure), amusement arcades, an ice cream shop and chippies. It’s a great place to stop if you’re with kids for some traditional seaside fun.
We followed our round of golf with a cream tea at Saltwater Cafe in nearby Beadnell, sitting outside by the pretty church. Shame a stinky bin lorry parked immediately behind us for the duration of our visit. Bin lorry aside, it was deemed a 7/10 by Addy (self professed cream tea expert). His verdict: a good quantity of jam and cream and a good sized scone, but the scone was slightly heavy – not as good as his own award winning efforts. Overall a fair assessment, I thought.
We always stay with Coastal Retreats when visiting Northumberland and some of their cottages come with temporary membership to the leisure club in Seahouses, which is a great option on a wet day or to just fill a spare hour or two. Luckily the pool had just reopened to guests and we managed to book a slot at 4pm. So swimming it was, with delicious old fashioned fish and chips at Pinnacles after (onesies mandatory). A great way to while away a blustery, wet day!
An Iconic Walk
Our plan for today was to do what has to be one of the most iconic and scenic walks in the UK; Craster to Low Newton, via the mighty ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle and sweeping Embleton Sands. Details of the walk we followed are here, but to be honest it’s fairly self explanatory, apart from the alternative return to Craster from the castle and that bit is distinctly lacking in detail in the directions, but we managed to find our way back without too much bother.
The blue skies had returned this morning and we made an early start. From our cottage we walked down to Craster harbour, from where it is immediately obvious the direction to take. It is just over a mile from the harbour to Dunstanburgh Castle and so scenic, with the coastline on your right and the castle ruins providing an iconic view up ahead, looming ever larger as you make progress towards it.
We had booked online in advance for entry into Dunstanburgh Castle; you select an entry time and must enter within an hour of your given time, you can then stay as long as you like. Some of the more interesting narrow staircases are currently closed off to visitors as they would be impossible to manage with social distancing guidelines. The castle is operated by English Heritage, but as National Trust members we got free access. You can just walk to the castle and take in the view from outside, without having to pay to go inside, if you’d rather. However the atmospheric ruins are well worth further exploration, in our opinion.
Our onward route skirted round to the left of the castle and followed the coast path, past the golf course, before dropping down onto the stunning sandy beach at Embleton Bay and on to Low Newton.
It’s a 6 mile round trip and The Ship Inn at Low Newton makes the perfect half way pit-stop. In an impossibly picturesque setting right next to the beach, Low Newton’s quaint village square is surrounded on three sides by white-washed cottages, built in the 19th century for local fishermen, with the historic pub nestled in the corner. We enjoyed a lovely lunch on the green; unfortunately crabs were in short supply and not available so the girl and I both opted for the kipper pate, Addy had the cheese ploughman’s Picnic Box and the boy a classic toastie. It was perfect sitting out in the sunshine with a pint of one of their own brewed beers.
We then returned to Craster through the Newton Pool nature reserve (unfortunately the bird hides overlooking the freshwater pools are currently closed) and over the huge dunes.
It was such an enjoyable day and this definitely rates one of the best foodie-inspired coastal walks around.
Back in Craster the kids still had energy for the playground, but only just. Then we were hungry – again – so headed to Alnmouth to track down Box.Pizza, whom I’d discovered were operating out of a converted retro camper in the pretty garden of the Old School Gallery. The traditional artisan wood-fired pizzas were great; we sampled a couple of Hot ‘Dujas (pancetta, N’duja spicy sausage and sriracha chilli), The Spaniard (Parma ham, rocket and balsamic glaze) and a Sgt. Pepper (pepperoni), along with a garlic bread. They were all fantastic – good sized and generously topped pizzas with crisp bases, without being too charred, and I really loved all the topping combos. They had a variety of San Pelegreno fizzes on offer, along with some hip cans of real ale. Perfect!
Making The Most Of Going Home
We were determined to make the most of our last day, before embarking on our journey home. We enjoyed another breakfast at Pipers Pitch, prior to stocking up on kippers to take home from L. Robson & Sons in Craster, then headed along the coastal road through the traditional fishing village of Boulmer (pronounced Boomer) to Seaton where we spent a good few hours exploring the rock pools and walking on Seaton Point Sands.
It was pretty chilly but the sun emerged for a brief time and the kids made the most of a last opportunity to go in the sea. The sea here is perfect for young kids – it’s very safe, shelving gently and remaining shallow with really small waves and little current. Given the parking, easy access and gorgeous setting, we were surprised there were so few families on the beach here, just a few dog walkers. However we felt very privileged to have yet another spectacular beach to ourselves!
On our way to the A1 we visited Morwick Dairy, near Warkworth, and treated ourselves to an enormous freshly made icecream from their herd of Championship winning pedigree Ayrshires and Holsteins. Interestingly there is also a vending machine here selling raw (unpasteurised) milk, which is becoming increasingly popular. I love how rural businesses are cleverly adapting and diversifying to survive.
Final stop was Northumberlandia, just off the A1 a few miles north of Newcastle at Cramlington. It’s a great little stopover and an opportunity to picnic or stretch your legs if you are driving north or south. Photos don’t really do it justice but Northumberlandia, “The Lady of the North”, is a huge land sculpture in the shape of a reclining female figure. Made of 1.5 million tonnes of earth from neighbouring Shotton Surface Mine, which the sculpture overlooks, it is 34 metres high and 400 metres long, with 4 miles of footpaths on and around the landform. There are toilets and a cafe. It’s free to visit, although a donation is suggested, and well worth a stop.
Before we embarked on the trip I was a little worried about everywhere being busy – it seemed everyone had a trip to Northumberland up their sleeve this summer! However I needn’t have been. Certain places did feel busy, but it’s easy to avoid the crowds if you search beyond the obvious.
We had an amazing week and I know we will all remember this trip for a long time to come.
