Northumberland, the land of castles and beaches…
Once one of the largest and most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Northumberland is a sparsely populated county in northernmost England filled with ancient castles, unspoilt beaches, rolling hills, rugged moorland, friendly market towns and a unique cultural heritage. We decided that it was an ideal place for a 2020 staycation and so, a couple of months ago, booked a stone cottage in the market town of Alnwick (pronounced Annik).
Our timing couldn’t have been more perfect; with most of England suffering from a stifling heatwave, the air cooled en route to the north and we had pleasantly warm and sunny weather for most of the week. We enjoyed cycling along the smooth, quiet roads and running up and down the rolling hills. But more uniquely, we loved walking mile after mile along deserted beaches and following the ancient trail of Hadrian’s wall and its fortifications. Perhaps we could have timed our 5km walk along the causeway to Lindisfarne a little better – the tide had only just gone out so it was a rather slippery experience but no doubt much easier than the journey to the Holy Island in the early days of Christianity.
One highlight was the number of castles dotted around the county. Some, like Bamburgh Castle, overlooking the coast, and Alnwick Castle, nestled in the town centre, are inhabited and well maintained. Others, such as Warkworth Castle and Dunstanburgh Castle, are more ruined but equally spectacular.
Another highlight was a boat trip to the Farne Islands with Serenity Tours https://farneislandstours.co.uk/. £15 each bought us a 90 minute catamaran ride around the islands where we paused within metres of nesting kittiwakes, shags drying their wings like cormorants and one of the largest grey seal colonies in the UK. Unfortunately, we missed the puffins which spend August to April in the North Sea before returning to the islands to breed (always with the same mate) in spring. This gives us a good reason to return.
Finally, as quasi pescatarians, we must mention the seafood. Every meal we ate out was delicious….from chilli crab soup, scallop ‘popcorn’, seafood platters and risotto to plain old fish and chips with mushy peas. And if you’re in Amble early Sunday afternoon, be sure to visit the market fish seller to pick up some bargains.
In case we’ve tempted you to visit, this is where we stayed:
and this is where we ate:
http://www.thejollyfishermancraster.co.uk/
https://cookandbarkerinn.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/LillysLandingAmble/
https://www.facebook.com/Carlos-Fish-and-Chips-192588407451673/
Enjoy….
