After a few days staying by Hadrian’s Wall we moved to the Northumbrian Coast near Craster, with a list of places we wanted to see, and walks we wanted to do.
We rose early on our first morning at Dunstan Hill campsite because we planned to visit Holy Island and, in particular Lindisfarne Castle. The trip had to be planned around the tides because the sea water comes over the causeway to the island twice a day, cutting it off.
We safely crossed, parked Bertie in the car park and walked into the small village to get something to eat. It was about 11.30 now and many people were starting to leave, before the tide covered the causeway and they were trapped on the island until it turned again in the evening. We were in no rush because we’d booked a table for dinner and if we finished our walk before then, we could sit in Bertie and have a cup of tea and read our books.
After we’d eaten, we set off to walk around Holy Island, starting at the castle. Lindisfarne Castle is stunning, perched on top of a lump of rock, surveying the views for miles around. We went inside and heard all about its history too, which was fascinating. I can imagine living there. It could be made very cosy!
We then spent several hours walking along the coastline, past the lime kilns to the triangular landmark and Emmanuel Head. We watched the sea birds looking for food, but unfortunately didn’t spot any dolphins.
The tide was covering the causeway when we got back to it and I spent some time doing some long exposure photography as the sun set. We were amused by all the people who hadn’t realised the tide would cover the causeway, who drove down to try and get off the island! They had a long wait! We enjoyed our dinner then, John got cosy in Bertie for a bit, while I took some photographs of the stars. This was probably my favourite day of the trip.
The following day we did a beautiful walk from Craster to High Newton, via the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. We were lucky with the weather again, and had another lovely meal.
There are so many castles in Northumbria. The next day we visited Bamburgh Castle. It’s an impressive building in another great location, and the beach was stunning, even on a drab cloudy day. The interior of the castle was very grand, but I didn’t like it as much as Lindisfarne, which was smaller and felt more homely.
The weather was kind to us considering it was the end of October, but our last day was a bit damp and drizzly. We visited Cragside, yet another National Trust place. We really got our money’s worth from them up in the North East!
Cragside is a Victorian House with beautifully landscaped gardens and woodland. It was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity and is well worth a visit.
The next day we packed up and made our way home via the Angel of the North at Gateshead. We had a great trip and will definitely be visiting the North East again one day. There’s so much to see and do.
Ramblings 
Loved the blog and the photos. It’s a place that I have never visited. I will now š¾š¾š
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It’s definitely worth a visit. So much to see and do!
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Wow, some more gorgeous pictures, those long exposures…
I am really looking forward at travelling around the UK a bit this year with my husband while he lives there, you’re giving me lots of ideas!
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I’d definitely recommend Northumbria. Let me know if you visit North Wales. There’s lots to see here too… mountains castles and the coast… and it would be lovely to meet you
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Will certainly do that!
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