A favourite coastal walk

 A favourite coastal walk. November 30th

We have a guest, an expatriate who left the North East for the sunny flatlands of Essex. As a reminder of the beauty of the Northumberland Coast he left behind we are off to walk from Craster. I don't mind, love the walk, coast and castles. Nine of us, almost a record, and the weatherman says dry  and not too cold.

Park at Seahouses Farm, a mile south of Craster. Limited space but free. There is a large carpark in the old quarry in Craster, it costs £6 for a day.

Two maps;OS Explorer 332 Holy Island and OS Explorer 340 Alnwick but not essential.

                    Not a winner but an action shot.

We took the footpath that goes between fields and is next to the parking area to the coast, turned left and headed north,

               The famous ladies bathing house for those living at Howick Hall and one of the bathing pools. Accessible through a doorway in the garden wall. 

We continued on the coastal path passing Cullernose Point, a breeding area for seabirds in summer but deserted today.

                   Looks very new

               Cullernose point.

Just before reaching the first house in Craster we turned left and after a hundred yards or so took the footpath behind some of the houses to the Piper's Pitch.

             The Piper's Pitch, sadly it was closed "until further notice". They do a great bacon sandwich but when open there is only seating outside. There is no other cafe in Craster.

Disappointed we crossed the road and took the footpath behind the Heughs until we reached a gate (mile 3) that, once through, took us to the more usual track to Dunstanburgh Castle.

  Dunstanburgh, my favourite ruin.

There is one tricky bit on the footpath but not too difficult to negotiate and  not far beyond it is the famous.............

                              ...........anticline known as Greymare Rock. (mile 4)

Not far beyond this well known landmark we took to the beach, soft sand today and the tide was coming in. At an easy to spot gap in the dunes, near mile 5 we left the sands of Embleton Bay and crossed the golf course to the club house. Tea coffee and a menu available but after a drink, and with their blessing, we Herbied on their outdoor picnic tables. Cherry Bakewells, cookies, almond slices and, of course, sweet and sour from Mrs A.

Dunstanburgh Golf Clubhouse.

Lunch over we walked round the edge of the golf course on a path that took us back to the castle and then into Craster.

                   Craster Harbour.

Round the harbour and up the street past the Jolly Fisherman and the Kipper smokehouse. Then we took the coastal path back to Seahouses Farm. Some went to the pub, some went home.

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The walk is about 10 miles. Easy going, seaviews, plenty of birds but some mud today.

Somewhere in there is a Goldfinch nest. Left of centre?

Most of this walk is on St. Oswald's Wy/Northumberland Coast Path/Charles III Coast path which used to be called England Coast Path.

Stannington Vale

 Stannington Vale November 22nd.

It has been seasonally cold, the day's are shorter so a local easy walk seemed like a good idea. For various reasons we are down to a team of four, and in spite of the low temperature its a lovely day for a walk.

Starting from the village of Stannington, a few miles north of Newcastle and just off the A1 it's  a country and woodland stroll. Easily done without a map but should you need one it's OS Explorer 332 Morpeth and Blyth..There is a large, free car park next to the Ridley Arms which takes its  name from the Ridley family who have lived in nearby Blagdon Hall for over 300 years. In the middle of the 19th century the family pulled down the 12th century church and had a new one built, St Mary's. On the way to Stannington we stopped at the cafe in the grounds of the giant earth sculpture Northumberlandia.

Apart from the pub and the church the village has little to offer. 

               Parking in Stannington. Not one for the calendar.

Booted and coated against the cold we set off, walking north out of the village to the roundabouts  which are a safer bet than trying to cross the A1, dualled as it is on this section.

Once on the east side of the major road we took the hard farm track to Briery  Hill farm.

       On the road to Briery Hill. The bridge carries the main line East Coast railway.

Not far beyond the farm we climbed the stile and walked across fields until we found the stile entrance to the woods above the River Blyth.

                To the woods.

Turning left we followed the footpath which became a good track until we reached the Visitor Centre at Plessey Woods Country Park. Although we had only overed about 2.8 miles we called a Herbie, making use of the picnic benches. (Cherry Bakewell tarts, almond slices and Mrs A sent sweet and savoury.)

 

             Plessey  Woods visitor centre. Popular with dog walkers and families, there is a good play area complete with slides and roundabouts. 

The name comes from John de Plessey who was granted the right to cut timber for his mill sometime in the 13th century. It was also a popular place for John Wesley to preach.

Feeding over we retraced our steps for a short distance before turning off and heading down to the River Blyth near Hartford Bridge. There are a number of paths in the park, not always easy to find the right one.

               Follow the sign on the track passing the totem poles.

 We walked along the riverside, watching a pair of dippers bobbing on some rocks, until we came to..........

               Maybe, had we been younger we might have given it a go but......

A series of steps climbing the bank took us back to the path we had used to get to the centre. After a couple more signs warning of blocked paths we found one that took us back to the riverside and at mile 5 we walked under the viaduct that carries the main line.

                                         The railway viaduct.

Staying on the riverside path we came to the A1. The path does not go under the road bridge so we climbed up to the side of the dual carriageway and amazingly  found gaps in the traffic to cross. The alternative is to walk south and cross the road by the bridge and turn back for Stannington. Once we had all dodged the traffic we walked back to the Ridley Arms which had Tyneside Blonde and Black Sheep.

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The walk is a bit under 7 miles, easy going and mud free .

Walking from Werce's settlement.

Walking from Werce's Settlement. November 17th.

Not having been out for a couple of weeks with a knee problem I'm joining the Greens for a short walk on the coast. 

Starting from Warkworth on a cold but bright morning the trip goes up the coast to the River Aln then returns across country. 

The small town of Wark gets its  name from Old English for fort, but Warkworth means Werce's Settlement. The town is dominated by an impressive castle, run by English Heritage and well worth a visit. There is also, on the north bank of the river, a hermitage, accessible by boat from the south side. The church is Norman, dates back to the 12th century and is dedicated to St Lawrence, patron saint of the poor and cooks or poor cooks in my case.

When we have done this walk on previous occasions we have parked at the bottom of the main street, passing the church and using the site by the river. Today, because of work going on there we are using the dunes car park. Drive across the river and turn immediately  right. Plenty of space, toilets and free.

It is quite possible to do the walk without a map but it is covered by OS Explorer 332 Alnwick and Amble

                  The Hermitage at Warkworth

                                      Warkworth castle

                               And finally a car park.

Leaving the car park the eight of us headed down the track towards the dunes but just before reaching them we turned right and followed what is usually a clear track to a point opposite Amble. The track in places was covered with flotsam, brought in presumably by a high tide. And at one point......

................. not a work of art or flytipping. It has been collected by volunteers and will be removed.

At the point where the north jetty starts  we turned north and headed for the beach, leaving behind the view of Amble.

                  Amble, possibly holiday lets

The harbour mouth and Coquet Island. 

The sand was quite firm, easy walking, the beach was popular for dog walkers and the dunes protected us from the west wind. 

To avoid the slippy rocks at Birling Carrs we left the beach at mile 3 and walked through the caravan park, very quiet, hardly anybody there, Once through the park we went back to the beach and walked round the point at the mouth of the River Aln. (Mile 5)

A short steep climb had us next to the cross which marks the spot where a church stood before the flood of 1806 changed the course of the river.

                                        The old rugged cross.

Not far beyond the cross and going down hill we came to the ruined chapel, usually a good lunch spot but there were too many of us so we made use of the remains of a WW2 pill box.

               It looks very old but is a 19th century lying in chapel. Lost its use when the flood changed the course of the river.

After lunch, (no sharing!) we followed the path, part of St. Oswald's Way/ Charles III/ Northumberland Coast path, back through the caravan site to the golf course.

On the way we passed the ruined guano shed.

Guano shed. Built before the storm and well away from the village because of the smell!

The footpath crosses the course and goes under a footbridge. 

                      The bell is to warn golfers that a party of walkers is about to cross the course, except we already had.

beyond the bell the footpath follows the edge of the golf course and back to the lane that leads up to the car park.

On the way home we stopped at the Widdrington Arms which sells TTL!!

             

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             The walk is almost exactly 8 miles, easy going.