A coastal walk in Northumberland November 7th. After the ups and downs of last weekend we are off on a coastal walk from Bamburgh to High Newton.
Drive to High Newton on the A1 north, turn off at Alnwick, for Denwick and head for High Newton on minor roads.
At High Newton catch the 418 bus (1028 am) for Bamburgh, get off and head south.
A map is not essential but OS explorer 332 Holy Island and OS explorer 340 cover the walk.
But this is the bus shelter in High Newton, taken on Saturday. It's better than the shelter near my house which is open to the elements.
The bus arrived on time and let us off on time close to Bamburgh Castle and the cricket field.
Bamburgh Castle on the Whin Sill. A fortified place for ancient Brits, Romans, Saxons and Normans. A bright blue sky too, very warm for early November. The left foreground is the cricket outfield. Not surprisingly this ground made the top ten prettiest village cricket fields in England, according to The Times. Quite right. Over the castle wall is six and out.
There was a coffee stall close to the castle and after we had partaken we set off on the path close to the cricket pavilion. It headed north then turned to go south on the seaward side of the castle.
The path is King Charles III Coastal Path or the English Coast Path or Northumberland Coast Path. Take your pick, they all follow the same route.
Sometime on the beach, sometime on the dunes, mainly to avoid slippery rocks, and sometime on the road side we headed for Seahouses. (mile 4).
Seahouses is a small coastal resort, famous for fish and chips and the boats which will take you out to the Farne Islands, a nature reserve well known for Puffins and seals.
Sadly the mist had rolled in, the blue sky had vanished and the Farne Islands were well hidden.
We walked round the harbour, followed a path by, but not in, a caravan site and reached the golf course.
The footpath across the golf course is well marked, but beware of flying balls. Nearly at the road, on the edge of hole 12, we came across two benches which made a fine Herbie Spot, even though the temperature had fallen. (Mince pies, sweet and savoury from Mrs A)
Lunch over we con tinued south, sometimes on the road side but mostly on the dunes until we reached Beadnell. (Mile 7)
Beadnell is always quiet, especially this time of year as many of the houses are holiday lets. It has a fine set of Lime Kilns and a small harbour.
Approaching Beadnell we saw this hard lady in the North Sea.
Makes me shiver just looking at her!
When I get round to it, this will be star in my Book of Kilns.
From the harbour the route follows the curve of Beadnell Bay and we set off on the sands rather than the footpath. The tide was coming in and at one point sense and sensibility sent us up on to the path, the water was lapping at the sandy cliffs.
The path took us to the delightfully named stream Long Nanny, which we crossed by the footbridge. We agreed we had never seen the water so high.
Bit of a cheat again, these two, Long Nanny and the footbridge were taken a couple of years ago.
Followingpart of St.Oswald's Way we reached Newton Links house and took the road back to High Newton and the car park.
Contains OS data, copyright. Crown copyright and database right 2025.
The walk is about 10.5 miles, easy going. Sea views, plenty of birds and on occasion Dolphins.
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