On the coast again, Hurrah. May 22nd
I love coastal walks, me. And this is one we walked in November 2025. The walk starts from that wonderful castle, Bamburgh, sitting on the Whin Sill in Northumberland, defying invaders and starring in films. To get there we drove to High Newton on the Sea, parked and caught the bus to Bamburgh.
If you want to do this, check the bus first. Run by Border buses it's number 418 and runs between Alnwick and Wooler. From High Newton to Bamburgh takes about 20 minutes. And the driver is very friendly.
And if you want a map it's: OS Explorer 340 Holy Island
We got off the bus in Bamburgh, opposite the cricket field which is below the castle. In a recent article on small cricket grounds published in one of the heavies, Bamburgh was considered one of the best.
Bamburgh castle. Celtic origins, later built by the Normans and even later rebuilt by William Armstrong, engineer and weapons magnate. The family still own it I believe. It has been used in two versions of MacBeth, The Tempest and many other films and TV shows. " Six and out" if you hit the ball over the castle on to the beach.
There is a coffee stall , barely visible, at the left hand side. WE sat at tables in the sun before setting out.
There is a path at the north end of the castle that leads to the first dunes of the day. It goes behind the castle on the seaward side, close to the visitor car park and it is part of the King Charle III/English coastal path. For about three miles we followed the path through the dunes until we reached Seahouses. The dunes are not very high but there are a lot of short ups and downs.
At Seahouses, popular little visitor town with a deserved reputation for fish and chips we took to the road and went down to the south side of the harbour. At mile 4, overlooking the harbour we made use of benches for a Herbie.
The harbour at Seahouses. Billy Shiels runs trips out to the Farne Islands, home to thousands of puffins, gannets and others, along with seals.
Continuing on the King's footpath on a track close to a caravan site we eventually descended to the sandy beach. Fortunately it was firm, soft sand can be worse than soft snow.
An amazing meteorological experience: There had been a cool southerly breeze so far, but suddenly the temperature shot up, rather like opening an oven door, the wind, coming off the land, was very warm.
At mile 6 we left the beach and walked through Beadnell to the harbour. Beadnell Harbour has some really well preserved lime kilns, and some benches for a short rest. Nearly 7 miles.
Beadnell Lime Kilns. They were used to convert limestone into fertiliser, using coal to break up the heated rocks.
Leaving Beadnell we walked on the beach around Beadnell Bay. Fortunately the wonderfully namd Long Nanny burn was very low so there was no need to head inland to the footbridge, we just got wet boots.
We left the bay at Newton Links, mile 9, and followed the footpath round the coast, passing Football Hole, until we reached Low Newton.
Low Newton by the Sea a Nation al Trust property. Mostly holiday homes. In the right corner, out of sight, is the Ship Inn, great pub frequently mentioned in the heavies when the list coastal pubs you must visit.
We went up the road to High Newton, took the path across a field to the village and decided to rehydrate in the Joiners Arms, using the beer garden on a warm day.
A lady member of the team said that in her opinion "gadgette" was not a suitable name for female walkers as it implied they were small. A bit of research by a male in the team, using AI, came up with alternatives: Gadgess or "a strong mountain walker - hill witch". I like it.
Contains OS data, copyright. Crown copyright and database right 2026
The walk is about 11 miles, easy going and good sea views, and castles.
No comments:
Post a Comment