10 sublime reasons to visit Northumberland
Big, bold and beautiful, England's northernmost county has everything from cutesy coastal villages to ancient historic sites and the darkest skies in the country. It's easy to see why you should visit Northumberland, one of the UK's top holiday destinations.
Walk in the footsteps of Romans along Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage site, visit the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, which gets cut off from the world twice a day, or take a boat trip over to the Farne Islands to meet puffins, seals and sea eagles. There's so much to see and do in Northumberland, it's almost a shame to limit it to merely a weekend break.
Of course, there are numerous places to stay from ancient inns overlooking the moors, medieval castles and swish spa hotels surrounded by private estates. One of our favourites has to be the boutique Beadnell Towers Hotel in Beadnell. All 18 rooms are named after Northumbrian sayings like Ducket, Doose and Muckle Hoose, while the Hotspur Bar and Towers restaurant with its driftwood shelves, herringbone floor and mustard wingback chairs has already become a walker's favourite, not least for its incredible battered haddock and chips pulled fresh from the North Sea.
Home to the darkest skies in England, Northumberland also has celestial appeal and stargazing in Northumberland National Park is not to be missed. Open all year round, Kielder Observatory in the heart of Northumberland International Dark Sky Park, the largest gold-tier dark sky park in Europe, is one of the best places to explore the galaxy.
On Country Living's three-day tour of Northumberland, guests can explore the county's dark skies with astronomer Richard Darn. There's a special trip to the Kielder Observatory with Richard, where you'll get to do some stargazing and learn about the facility.
In the meantime, here are 10 things you'll love if you visit Northumberland...
The sunrise over Bamburgh Castle
There are few beaches in Northumberland that are quite as beautiful and atmospheric as Bamburgh. Miles of rippling golden sands and tufty dunes, all lapped by a bracing North Sea, it's easily one of the prettiest beaches in Britain. The skyline is dominated by the Norman redbrick fortress perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea. And if you can get up at dawn, there's something rather soul-stirring about watching the sun rise over the haughty Bamburgh Castle.
Getting lost in Alnwick Castle
Famous for its cobbled streets, castles and quidditch, Alnwick is a magical little market town on the Northumberland Coast. The ancestral home of the Duke of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in the UK and home to the Percy family for the past 700 years. However, to many it's better known as Hogwarts as it featured in the first two Harry Potter films. Wander the grand halls and enjoy a potter around Alnwick Garden, the castle's formal gardens which has the largest Taihaku cherry orchard in the world. Stay the night at the Cookie Jar, a converted convent which is now a gloriously chichi boutique hotel.
Puffin-spotting in the Farne Islands
The Farne Islands, the National Nature Reserve off the Northumberland Coast, is home to thousands of puffins, guillemots and Atlantic grey seals, and for me, summer isn't summer without a boat trip to see them. One of the best known colonies of puffins in the UK –some 37,000 flock to the islands each year – there are numerous boat tours launching from Seahouses harbour, including Golden Gate boat company which offers cruises around the Farne Islands.
It's currently the only boat allowed to land on Longstone Island, the outermost island in the Farne archipelago. Don't miss a peek into Longstone Lighthouse, the former home of Grace Darling, the young heroine who braved storms to save several shipwreck survivors in 1838.
The history of Holy Island
When the Vikings rowed across the North Sea in their longboats and invaded England in 793AD, it was the friendly Geordies they came up against first when they arrived on Lindisfarne. Also known as Holy Island, this tidal island off the Northumberland Coast is reached only by a narrow causeway and gets cut off from the mainland twice a day.
Here you'll find the Viking Domesday Stone, the 8th century grave marker famously inscribed with letters and runes of Viking men which is displayed in the museum at Lindisfarne Priory. And if you do get stranded (no bad thing) hunker down with a pint and a pie in The Crown and Anchor pub.
Stargazing in Kielder Water and Forest
Considered one of the best destinations in the UK for stargazing, Northumberland National Park and Kielder Water and Forest is designated an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association. The largest in the UK, there's almost no light pollution which means each time you look up it's like a celestial wonderland.
The Kielder Observatory on Black Fell, which overlooks Kielder Water, hosts regular stargazing events. Alternatively, you could join a three-day stargazing holiday and learn all about the night sky with expert astronomer Richard Darn.
Wandering the Roman ruins at Vindolanda
We don't know about you, but we love imagining toga-clad Romans pacing along Hadrian’s Wall. And if you can't quite picture it, visit Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort which dates back to 85 AD. Now a museum, you can see the Vindolanda tablets, wafer-thin slivers of wood with writing which date back over 2000 years and were once the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. Stay nearby at the Twice Brewed Inn in Bardon Mill.
The delicious seafood
With a coastline that spans almost 100 miles and a century-old fishing history, the seafood found here is simply glorious. From the sparkling fresh Lindisfarne oysters, the smoky buttery Craster kippers to huge turbot, Northumberland's finest bounty is pulled straight from the North Sea.
While there are many great fish shacks and restaurants dotted along the coast, it's worth booking a table at The Jolly Fisherman in Craster, which serves its famous crab soup, Craster landed lobster, and our favourite, kipper Scotch egg.
Bumbling around castles
The Northumberland Coast is dotted with castles built to protect the shores from marauding invaders. From the moody Bamburgh Castle, Alnwick Castle's star-studded appeal to the ruins of Norham Castle on the River Tweed, the 12th-century fortress where Robert the Bruce lived for a year. One of our favourites is Warkworth Castle near Amble. One of largest and most important castles in Northumberland, it's still owned by the 12th Duke of Northumberland (albeit run by English Heritage) and was once the main residence of the Percy family.
Now in ruins, English Heritage have created some great self-guided trails around the grounds, which are dotted with sculptures, to explain the jagged history of the castle.
The really long walks
When we're in Northumberland we like to do as the Romans did and go for a nice long walk. One of the most popular routes is following in Roman footsteps along Hadrian's Wall Path. The coast-to-coast path stretches for 84 miles across Northern England from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria. It takes a good seven days to complete, however, you can just do chunks of it.
One of our favourites is Chollerford to Birdoswald, which mostly winds through the beautiful Northumberland National Park. Stay nearby at the Langley Castle Hotel, a 14th century castle with an excellent 2 AA Rosette restaurant.
Berwick-upon-Tweed’s coastal charm
Once part of Scotland, Berwick-upon-Tweed is actually closer to Edinburgh than it is to Newcastle. It has some of the best-preserved fortified walls in Europe, where you'll find cutesy gift shops, independent art galleries and cosy seaside cafes tucked away. Learn more about life on the Borders at Berwick Barracks, a fascinating military history museum housed in one of the first purpose-built barracks in England.
Stay nearby in England's most northerly hotel, Marshall Meadows Manor House, which lies only 300m from the Scottish border.
Explore Northumberland's dark skies with astronomer Richard Darn on an exclusive tour.
You Might Also Like
