Northumberland - June 25

[s3pc1989]

Hi all,
Attending a wedding in June this year and looking to take advantage of being in the area to tack on about 7 days of holiday. Where to stay / what to do in Northumberland?
We like walking / hiking, decent pubs / restaurants, bit of history (would like to see Hadrians wall) and maybe a few gardens etc (hear Alnwick is worth a visit...)
Suggestions welcome and appreciated. Ideally we'd like to stay in / on the edge of a town where we can walk in the evening for food / drinks etc.
Thanks!

[blue_haddock]

As you like gardens and history i'd recommend The poison garden at Alnwick.

https://www.alnwickgarden.com/the-garden/poison-ga...

[STe_rsv4]

Some beautiful areas in Northumberland and places to visit.

Walking / hikes Inland:
Simonside hills, Rothbury.
cheviots
lynehope spout waterfall
Kielder forest / reservoir /Kielder bird of prey centre

Places of interest to visit:

Cragside house, rothbury
Alnwick gardens
Bolam lake
Bamburgh castle / seahouses / beadnell
Holy island/lindisfarne
farne inslands - boat tour
Warkworh castle / amble
hadrians wall / vindolanda etc

Plenty more that google will bring up

[Venisonpie]

I had a week in Alnmouth in June 2023 for exactly this, the coastal walks are stunning particulalry North bound. Local bus services are reasonable if not brilliant for returning back to base.

If I went again I'd pick Alnwick as its got a fair bit about it and a fabulous bookshop in the old station building.

[Harpoon]

Park at Craster, walk up the coast past Dunstanburgh Castle and then along the beach to Low Newton. Lunch with a pint or two in the Ship Inn (ideally on the green in the sunshine) and then stroll back to Craster the way you came. Don't forget to get some kipper pate from the Craster smokehouse.

You could also park at Craster and head south down the coast, then go inland to Howick Hall which has gardens / grounds and a tea room.

In 2021 we were staying in Boulmer, so started from our rental cottage and walked up to the Jolly Fisherman in Craster. Lunch in the sunshine on their outside terrace looking over the bay, then back down the coast path and took the detour into Howick Hall. Cream tea at Howick Hall to refuel for the last stretch home. Just over 11 miles walking in total and an absolute delight on a sunny day.

{Edit]

If you want to go further north, Eyemouth to St Abbs on the coast path is another very nice walk. That's about 9 miles round trip. The village cafe in the village hall in St Abbs had good cake for refueling.

A bit inland, then the villages of Ford & Etal are nice to explore. We did a circular walk starting in Ford, along the river to the railway and corn mill at Heatherslaw and up to Etal. We detoured on the way back to take in the Cheviot brewery tap and sample the beer

Edited by Harpoon on Thursday 20th February 13:16

[Catz]

We’ve stayed in Beadnell a few times. Village feel but still a few good places to eat and drink, great beach with a tern colony (if you’re into that sort of thing) and fairly central so you can visit many of the places mentioned above.
Also stayed in Warkworth which was lovely too but a different vibe to Beadnell.

[littleredrooster]

STe_rsv4 said:

Some beautiful areas in Northumberland and places to visit.

Walking / hikes Inland:
Simonside hills, Rothbury.
cheviots
lynehope spout waterfall
Kielder forest / reservoir /Kielder bird of prey centre

Places of interest to visit:

Cragside house, rothbury
Alnwick gardens
Bolam lake
Bamburgh castle / seahouses / beadnell
Holy island/lindisfarne
farne inslands - boat tour
Warkworh castle / amble
hadrians wall / vindolanda etc

Plenty more that google will bring up

Bits in bold are (IMO) must-do's - Cragside in particular, there's so much of technical interest in it.

Try to fit the Kielder forest drive in if you have time - it can show you what total isolation feels like when you get towards the mid-point and all you can see for miles around is trees!

Be very, VERY careful if going to Holy Island over the causeway - the tide comes in very quickly and has caught huge numbers of overly optimistic people over the years. Take the tide tables with a large pinch of salt!

As a tourist, I would probably try to stay in Alnwick as a central-ish point.

[Steve Campbell]

Some good recommendations above. My wife is from Alnwick and it’s an area of the country that many never consider, so when you come back, tell everyone it’s terrible so we can keep the secret 😁.

Kielder is also a designated dark skies area so if that’s your thing you can arrange an evening staring at the sky.

If you love walking, I think Northumberland has some of the best scenery in the country.

[Lotusgone]

All the above is good info - I would add Hexham as a place to visit or to be based. Some good places to eat and there's a Waitrose if you feel like staying in.

[sawman]

How about a bit of a road trip
https://northumberland250.com/

[Lotobear]

Lotusgone said:

All the above is good info - I would add Hexham as a place to visit or to be based. Some good places to eat and there's a Waitrose if you feel like staying in.

Was going to add this - a great base from which to reach most of the areas of interest esp Hadrians Wall, with the added bonus of having a regular, short, train service right into Newcastle if that takes your fancy for a neet oot.

Hexhamshire is remote, beautiful, and different to many other parts of Northumberland - and links you to what are without doubt the best driving roads in all of England. Seek out Blanchland, a remote a beautiful model village.

...and Hexham itself has IMHO one of the best French restaurants bar none in the north of England:

https://www.bouchonbistrot.co.uk/

[Boxster5]

[quoteLotobear]

Lotusgone said:

Hexhamshire is remote, beautiful, and different to many other parts of Northumberland - and links you to what are without doubt the best driving roads in all of England. Seek out Blanchland, a remote a beautiful model village.

Was going to mention Blanchland - stunning village near Derwent Reservoir with a decent pub/hotel (Lord Crewe Arms) and the lovely White Monk Tea Rooms for brunch/lunch all homemade and dog friendly too. A favourite of mine if I am taking our dog for a walk around Derwent Reservoir and within 15 miles or so for me.

[marcosgt]

Going there too, in July.

Plenty of history, castles galore

Jim Clark museum is pretty close, too

[s3pc1989]

Hi all,
Thanks very much for all the inputs. Very much appreciated. Decisions made, we have decided to have ~4 nights in Alnwick and 3 in Hexham. Looks like there will be plenty to keep us occupied.

As always Piston heads delivers....!

[Lotobear]

s3pc1989 said:

Hi all,
Thanks very much for all the inputs. Very much appreciated. Decisions made, we have decided to have ~4 nights in Alnwick and 3 in Hexham. Looks like there will be plenty to keep us occupied.

As always Piston heads delivers....!

Sounds like an excellent plan - two great bases which put you in decent range to explore both ends of the county.

Make sure you drive down to Hexham cross country via Rothbury and Otterburn, it's a great route

[Pablo16v]

We stayed just outside Haltwhistle a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the area. There's a lovely pub/hotel/brewery nearby called Twice Brewed which I can recommend, as I stopped off a couple of times while out on my bike to grab a pint and sit in the sun for a bit. We ate their one evening too.

https://twicebrewedinn.co.uk/the-brewery-tap-house...

If you're adventurous and fancy doing a bit of SUP paddle boarding on the Tyne, my daughter and I went out with a company operating near Hexham which was a lot of fun.

Also, the Heatherslaw Light Railway is lovely if you like that sort of thing https://www.heatherslawlightrailway.co.uk/history

[LimaDelta]

Boxster5][quoteLotobear said:

Lotusgone said:

Hexhamshire is remote, beautiful, and different to many other parts of Northumberland - and links you to what are without doubt the best driving roads in all of England. Seek out Blanchland, a remote a beautiful model village.

Was going to mention Blanchland - stunning village near Derwent Reservoir with a decent pub/hotel (Lord Crewe Arms) and the lovely White Monk Tea Rooms for brunch/lunch all homemade and dog friendly too. A favourite of mine if I am taking our dog for a walk around Derwent Reservoir and within 15 miles or so for me.

LCA can be hit and miss for food, but worth visiting just for the setting. The White Monk is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so plan accordingly.

[Lotobear]

LimaDelta said:

Boxster5][quoteLotobear said:

Lotusgone said:

Hexhamshire is remote, beautiful, and different to many other parts of Northumberland - and links you to what are without doubt the best driving roads in all of England. Seek out Blanchland, a remote a beautiful model village.

Was going to mention Blanchland - stunning village near Derwent Reservoir with a decent pub/hotel (Lord Crewe Arms) and the lovely White Monk Tea Rooms for brunch/lunch all homemade and dog friendly too. A favourite of mine if I am taking our dog for a walk around Derwent Reservoir and within 15 miles or so for me.

LCA can be hit and miss for food, but worth visiting just for the setting. The White Monk is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so plan accordingly.

Whats Edmundbyers like for pubs these days - ISTR the punch Bowl changed it's name, is it any good?

[LimaDelta]

Lotobear said:

LimaDelta said:

Boxster5][quoteLotobear said:

Lotusgone said:

Hexhamshire is remote, beautiful, and different to many other parts of Northumberland - and links you to what are without doubt the best driving roads in all of England. Seek out Blanchland, a remote a beautiful model village.

Was going to mention Blanchland - stunning village near Derwent Reservoir with a decent pub/hotel (Lord Crewe Arms) and the lovely White Monk Tea Rooms for brunch/lunch all homemade and dog friendly too. A favourite of mine if I am taking our dog for a walk around Derwent Reservoir and within 15 miles or so for me.

LCA can be hit and miss for food, but worth visiting just for the setting. The White Monk is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so plan accordingly.

Whats Edmundbyers like for pubs these days - ISTR the punch Bowl changed it's name, is it any good?

Derwent Arms nothing special, but The Baa is nice and cosy for a pint.

[Composer62]

Just to add Chillingham Castle is worth a visit if you like a bit of spookiness.

The Percy Arms in nearby Chatton does some decent food too.