Embleton to Craster and back

 Embleton to Craster and back.

"It was a sunny day,

Not a cloud was in the sky"

Another heat wave, another walk on the coast to take advantage of a cooling coastal breeze. Take the A1 north, leave just beyond Alnwick for Denwick and follow B1340 and B1339 to the village of Embleton.

Park near the Dunstanburgh Castle Hotel On the side of the road. A septet today, lightly dressed for the promised 24 feels 27C.

                    Not a contender but handy for the pub and free. A couple of benches nearby too, useful when booting up.

                                  Ye olde villagee pumpe.

Once ready we set off up the street next to the pub, turned right at the top of the hill, continued a short distance by road and then took the footpath through Glebe Farm, crossed the burn at Shirewater Low Mill and turned left for Dunstansteads.

On familiar ground here we followed the concrete strip (supposedly built for testing tanks) and walked to Dunstan Square Farm.

                Yes, it's a lime kiln

                   and yes, it's left from WW2.

At Dunstan Square we turned left, walked down the field towards the coast then turnedright, going through a gate and walking behind The Heughs to Craster.

About 3.3 miles into the walk we stopped for breakfast at the Piper's Pitch next to the car park in Craster. Toilets too.

 The Piper's Pitch. Very busy and very good too. Outdoor seating only.

Leaving the pitch the next section took us past the harbour and across the fields to Dunstanburgh Castle.

                             Craster harbour

              Looks like the sort of boat you row across the Atlantic

                         Dunstanburgh, my favourite ruined castle even if built by a Lancastrian.

We stopped north of the castle, above Rumble Churn for a Herbie. ((apple pies, ginger biscuits, almond slices, cookies and sweet and savoury from Mrs A)

         The cliffs behind the castle. Popular nesting site for sea birds

                    and the famous Greymare Rocks of course.

Heading north along the King Charles III/ England Coastal Path/Northumberland Coastal Path, we skirted the golf course before leaving the dunes for the beach of Embleton Bay.

The area was fenced off. A flimsy but effective barrier.

Leaving the beach, happily, the sand was soft, we took the footpath round the golf course, through the holiday chalets to the bird hide overlooking Newton Pool Nature Reserve, Fairly quiet, perhaps the birds felt the heat too. In the next pool we saw maybe a dozen Avocets. A passing walker told us we had just missed a pod of dolphins, Shame. apparently they are seen frequently, I've only seen them once.

                         All quiet on the Newton ponds.

Not far from the hide we passed the square of cottages at Low Newton by the Sea.

The Ship at Low Newton. Pops up frequently in those lists of "Best British Seaside Pubs" in the magazine sections of the heavies. Quite right too.

We walked up the road to High Newton by the Sea, headed for the car park and took the footpath for Embleton. (One post says Emblton, it wasn't me.)

The track starts off well made but then becomes a grassy footpath edging fields of barley until it reaches Embleton. Before heading for the cars we went to  Embleton Quarry. Transformed into a nature reserve with apond and several goats it's well worth a visit.

                           Embleton quarry.

Back at the cars and changed we went to the Dunstanburgh Castle Hotel which had TTL and a beer from Ossett called White Rat. Both excellent thirst quenchers, it had been a hot day.

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the walk is 10.5 easy going miles

 

Walking from Ingram again

 Walking from Ingram again. July 4th

Ingram is a tiny village in the Breamish valley in Northumberland. A1 north, A697 at Morpeth turn left at signpost and after four miles, cross the bridge, turn left, pass the church and use the carpark at the visitor centre/cafe/valley museum.

                 Car park and centre at Ingram. Nice cafe and a room with a history of the valley.

There are nine of us out today, a goodly if not godly team. (Group of nine: an ennead, nonuple or even nonet) On previous occasions we have done today's walk in an anti clockwise direction, but, rebels that we are,  we are off the other way round.

We left the centre, after breakfast, and walked up the lane past the church.

St. Michael's, Ingram. Norman origins, medieval changes and a rebuild in the 19th century.

By the village hall we went through a gate and followed a track almost to Ingram Mill where we turned south east and headed upwards on a good farm track, passing the remains of an ancient cross, hard to see anyway, until we started downhill again and came to the large farm at Foden.

                     Just a small bit of Fawdon. 

The footpath does not go through the farm but uses a gate on the right.(marked). Once through we started a two miles (at least) tramp through fields and bracken covered moorland, contouring Old Fawdon Hill, seeing but not visiting an ancient settlement, until, after 3.5 miles of walking we descended to Rocky Burn. (Which then becomes Fawdon Burn as it approaches the farm.)

              Overcast skies and a strong wind but good views of Northumberland.

WE walked past the delightfully named Thieves Road Plantation (mile 4) and continued on a good farm track before turning north east to the old farm at Chesters.

Two gadgies and Chesters. The farm is being renovated, double glazing in the house and what appear to be small dormitories. (Through the windows). No indication of the developers, perhaps the scouts or an outdoor organisation.

The wind was strong, we hunkered down behind a wall for a Herbie, sharing scones and biscuits.

                 More gadgies and gadgettes.

With the wind on our backs we followed the path from Chesters down to, and through a plantation. The path through the wood was steep and tricky, at least one member tripped.(No)

Easiest part of the plantation. The bridge crosses the Chesters Burn.                                                      Out of the plantation we were faced with a short but steep climb but having reached the shoulder of Ewe Hill we followed tracks downhill to Ingram Farm and then back to the cars at the centre.

On the way home we stopped at The Shoulder of Mutton in Longhorsley, it keeps TTL.

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The walk is about 9 miles with some short steep climbs and great views.

From the Tyne to the Wall, almost

 From the Tyne to the Wall. June 27th

Back in Northumberland after the Cotswolds Way today's  walk  starts and finishes in Corbridge. The small town on the banks of the Tyne has a Roman fort. Corstopitum, a bridge that withstood the great flood of 1771 and a book shop. It also has a free carpark on the south side of the river.

Well that was the plan and I had already written the title but the weatherman told us to expect rain all day near Corbridge so we made a quick change and walked from Earsdon.

Earsdon is a village east of Newcastle and slightly north of Whitley Bay. Close by is a garden centre where we met for breakfast. And close by the garden centre is a parking place on the roadside.

The Earsden Garden Centre, good for breakfast and plants, is on a narrow road parallel to the main link between Earsden and Holywell. At the north end is enough room for several cars to park.

                           Parking near Earsden Garden Centre.

Once booted, and lightly dressed on a warm morning we set off, walking the road back towards Holywell. Once across the road bridge we took the footpath back across the burn and into the dene on the south bank. The footpath through the woods wanders along, occasionally climbing up stairs then down again, passing a footbridge until we reached the road into Hartley.

                                   Holywell Dene and an old railway bridge.

At Hartley we crossed the road and took the path to the coast, passing the Delaval Arms and the Blue Stone.

The Blue Stone outside the Delaval Arms. It once marked the centre of Hartley Village. (Now gone) Weighing between 400 and 440 pounds (200 kg if you must) it was lifted in 1776 by Willy Carr, the strong man of Blyth. Also lifted more recently but unlikely to be stolen.

We followed the footpath on the cliff tops round Collywell Bay (Known as Collywobble Bay in our house), passing Charley's Garden, a lump of rock in the bay, before settling down on benches behind the Kings Arms for a Herbie. (Cherry Bakewell's, ginger biscuits, flapjacks and sweet and savoury from Mrs A.)

Charley's Garden and the lunch-spot view. St Mary's lighthouse just visible.

After a rest and and lunch we carried on round to the harbour at Seaton Sluice.

                   Seaton Sluice Harbour, once a busy port for coal and glass. The sluice, built toflush out the harbour is gone.

The mermaid at Seaton Sluice

            The cut, carved out to make a dock.

We took the footpath down to the harbour, crossed the dene on the footbridge and went under the road bridge to re-enter the dene on the north bank. We climbed the steps out of the dene near the famous Starlight Castle, built as a bet by one of the Delaval family in 1750 and now a ruin. We missed it.

Once out of the dene we followed what looks like, and probably is, an old wagon way, heading south west in a straight line, crossing the Tyne and Wear heritage Way and coming to a halt at the hide at Holywell Pond Nature Reserve.

Herons, geese, swans, gulls, grebes but not a Kingfisher to be seen.

Leaving the hide we continued to Holywell Village, past the Fat Ox and then turned left to find a gate back into the dene. After a stretch of woodland we left the dene and headed south on a track on the edge of the fields. Beyond Holywell Grange Farm we turned left. edging more fields, before we were back at the cars. Unusually we went to the garden centre for tea and cake before going home.

At one point on the walk we passed the house of a fellow gadgie who was away. Cheekily we rang his doorbell, it was one of those with a camera. We offered greetings but were surprised when the fellow gadgie replied. He was in a pub by the Tower of London! Amazing.

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