Why?
Cliff walks and castles, crab shacks and dune-backed beaches: the Northumberland coast is Cornwall without the crowds, Devon without the price tag. And the 30-mile stretch from Holy Island to Craster is the best bit, with crabbing piers and beachfront pubs, seal-dotted islands and a new boutique hotel in Beadnell.
What you do
Check the tide tables because first stop is Holy Island, accessed via a one-mile causeway that’s swallowed up by the North Sea at high tide (visitnorthumberland.com). A wild, windswept outpost of 7th-century Celtic Christianity, Holy Island was invaded by Vikings in AD793, but a priory was re-established there in the 12th century, and its ruins still whisper of the ghosts of marooned monks (£7.20; english-heritage.org.uk). Walk out to the dramatic rock-top Lindisfarne Castle (£9; nationaltrust.org.uk/lindisfarne-castle), then head back for a fireside pint of Northumberland ale in the Crown & Anchor Inn (holyisland crown.co.uk). Across the square, St Aidan’s Winery is the essential souvenir stop for Lindisfarne Mead (£10.50 for 70cl).
Next, pretty Bamburgh is dominated by its mighty Norman castle, perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the village and three miles of beach. It’s packed to its Siamese teak rafters with crossbows, tapestries and muskets (£11.25; bamburghcastle.com). If time allows, the Grace Darling Museum tells the story of Bamburgh’s most famous daughter, who rowed through stormy seas to rescue a shipwrecked crew in 1838 (free; rnli.org). There is a memorial to her in the graveyard of St Aidan’s Church across the road.
Three miles down the coast, Seahouses is a kiss-me-quick town with crazy golf and caravan parks, amusement arcades and chippies. It’s a great place to stop if you’re with kids, or if you want to catch a sightseeing boat to the Farne Islands, which teem with grey seal pups, shags and dolphins (90-minute cruises £15; farne-islands.com).
The best coastal walk is the two-mile yomp south along the beach from Low Newton-by-the-Sea. The snaggle-toothed ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle (£5.70; english-heritage.org.uk) beckon from the headland, and the Ship Inn, back at Low Newton, serves cockle-warming soup (£4.50) and crab “stotties” (£8.95), plus wheat beers, stouts and ales brewed on site (shipinnnewton.co.uk).
Advertisement
Alternatively, walk to Dunstanburgh Castle from Craster village, stocking up on pots of crayfish from L Robson & Sons (£2.95; kipper.co.uk), then heading north across a grassy one-mile clifftop path. Back in Craster, the Jolly Fisherman is a salty-seadog pub with flagstoned floors, low-beamed ceilings and crackling open fires (thejollyfishermancraster.co.uk).
Where you eat
The Potted Lobster in Bamburgh is a friendly bistro with clapboard walls and a seafood-heavy menu, including Lindisfarne oysters (six for £15), potted lobster (£10), and fish soup with bread (£2.50; thepottedlobster.co.uk). The best chippy in Seahouses is Neptune, which uses haddock landed in North Shields (£6.80; neptunefishandchips.co.uk).
Where you stay
Reopened this summer after a £3m facelift, Beadnell Towers is an 18-bedroom, grade II listed boutique hotel, a five-minute walk from Beadnell Bay. It’s dog-friendly, has a buzzing bar and is one of our Best Places to Stay in the north of England (doubles from £99, B&B; beadnelltowers.co.uk). On the village green in Bamburgh, the Victoria Hotel has castle views (doubles from £85, B&B; strhotels.co.uk). Or stay on Holy Island in Glen House, a one-bedroom terraced cottage on the tiny main street (three-night minimum stay from £299; nationaltrust.org.uk).
Jeremy Lazell was a guest of Beadnell Towers
