A couple of weeks ago my family and I headed up to the Northumberland coast for a week away from it all. We stayed in Belford, which lies between the Northumberland coastline and the Northumberland National Park. Here are some of the highlights of our trip.
On entering Northumberland we decided to swap the fast but boring A1 for the slow but potentially stunning drive along the Coastal route. I strongly recommend this after six or seven hours between motorways and motorway service stations. The scenery is beautiful and made a perfect start to our holiday. Look out for the brown signs off the A1.
We couldn’t resist stopping at Druridge Bay so that the children and the dog could let off some steam. I have to say this is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever visited anywhere. The sea lapped gently onto clean white sand, which lay peacefully behind some grassy sand dunes a little walk away from the car park. Although there were lots of people on the beach, the open space meant it wasn’t crowded. The girls played in the clear shallow sea for a while and the dog ran around with a couple of whippets before we headed back to the car and completed our journey along the Coastal route to Belford.
After a good night’s sleep we visited Chillingham Castle, reputedly the most haunted castle in Britain. On entering the building we read letters from previous visitors who had stolen things from the various rooms only to have suffered bad luck and subsequently returned the items, apologising for their dishonesty. Ghosts or no ghosts, there are certainly some spooky sites at Chillingham Castle – particularly in the torture chambers, where you can peer down a trap door and see the genuine bones of a child in the vault below!
For some light relief, the next day we drove to the picturesque village of Alnmouth. Walking around the village doesn’t take long at all, so we were soon heading down toward the mouth of the River Aln on the beach, where the sand is perfect for making sand castles. After a couple of hours the girls had completed their fortress and the dog was whinging because we wouldn’t let her off the lead (she has a habit of wandering off and peeing on sand castles, which can be very embarrassing when people’s children are still making them!) we decided to drive to Bamburgh.
Bamburgh Castle makes for a spectacular site as you drive into the town. We knew we had to stop, so we parked across the road from it and made our way to the beach – accessed by walking around the castle, which sits high and mighty 150 feet above the coastline and watches protectively over the sea. We found a spot right in front of the castle, where once again the girls set to work on building a fortress in the sand. I remember sitting back and thinking to myself that there cannot be many places in the world where one can enjoy beautiful views of unspoilt coastline, and then turn around to find the shadow of such an awe inspiring piece of history creeping up on them in the other.
Our next destination, Alnwick Castle, is yet another spectacular piece of history. The castle is also the setting for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. As we walked around the castle and grounds, our eldest daughter, Ella pointed out where the various scenes in the Harry Potter movies had taken place. Being Potter mad, she had been looking forward to this more than anything else.
I have to say, the state rooms at Alnwick Castle are amazing. The library houses an impressive collection of over 16,000 books, and the dining room boasts an elegant Italian marble fireplace as well as many magnificent portraits, including those of the 1st Duke and Duchess. The children were occupied with the task of finding a fluffy owl in each room – so we were left to marvel at the surroundings in peace.
Alnwick Castle offers lots of activities for children, including archery, magical tours and the Knights Quest. My favourite (as a big kid) was the Dragon’s Quest, where you have to make your way past ghouls and ghosts, and pick your route through a hall of mirrors before coming face to face with a “Geordie dragon.” Our youngest daughter, Grace, who has just turned six, can be a bit of a scaredy pants, and found this a bit much – she started to cry pretty much as soon as we entered, so my wife picked her up, and they made their way to the exit as quickly as possible, whilst Grace kept her eyes firmly shut!
The walk from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle is well worth doing, especially if you like wide open spaces. Craster is an old fishing village, which is famous for its kippers, and you can smell them being smoked as you wander along the road between the old houses that are perched above the harbour. The walk to Dunstanburgh Castle takes you past some great rock pools, and if you choose to hobble along the rocky shoreline you’ll see crabs, shell fish and anemones galore.
Luckily we were not in a hurry, because the girls did not want to leave and could have quite happily spent the whole day exploring. Before leaving, we all bought “kippers in a bun” for lunch – absolutely delicious. L Robson and Sons Ltd, suppliers of original Craster kippers have apparently supplied the Royal Family. Their kippers and salmon are prepared in the traditional method of oak smoking, and can be delivered to all parts of the UK mainland. I think I’ll be putting an order in soon!
Away from the coastline and in the Northumberland National Park, are the Cheviot Hills, which we had time to explore, stopping in the Breamish Valley for a paddle in the river and a picnic. The Cheviots are on the borders of Scotland and the Cheviot summit is the highest point in Northumberland. We went for a more child friendly climb nearby.
There are lots more great places in Northumberland that we would have loved to visit. Unfortunately we ran out of time. I think next time we’ll go for two weeks. One place I would particularly like to visit is Kielder, which apparently has the darkest night skies in England and the largest man-made lake in Europe – two pretty good reasons for returning in my book.
For more information about Northumberland check out www.visitnorthumberland.com
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