Holiday apartments in Northumberland: Coast Path, castles and Dark Sky
Accommodation in Northumberland
Northumberland combines a distinctive coastline with expansive landscapes, Roman history, medieval castles and special culinary traditions. The character of the region is particularly evident along the Northumberland Coast Path: the coastal path is 62 miles, or 100 kilometres, long and runs from Cresswell in the south to Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north. It therefore connects various sections of the northern English coastal landscape.
File:Sedimentary Rock Layers at Embleton in Northumberland in England - geograph-5008139.jpg
Photo: Leanne Roden https://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/123334 via Source, CC BY-SA 2.0
Coast and paths
The ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle occupy a headland on Northumberland’s rugged coast. From Craster, the castle can be reached on foot via a 1.3-mile path along the Northumberland Coast, which runs across working farmland. Construction of Dunstanburgh Castle was begun in 1313 by Earl Thomas of Lancaster.
The longer route at Kielder Water & Forest Park can also be divided into sections: the Kielder Lakeside Way is 26 miles long, and shorter sections can be explored separately. Two long-distance cycle routes pass through Northumberland. The Coast and Castles Cycle Route runs for 192 miles from Newcastle to Edinburgh, of which 85 miles are in Northumberland. Hadrian’s Cycleway runs for 174 miles through England; 33 miles of it pass through Northumberland.
Nature
The whole of Northumberland National Park and most of Kielder Water & Forest Park became England’s first International Dark Sky Park in 2013. Northumberland National Park covers more than 400 square miles of landscape. This means that the same region contains both large, open natural areas and an explicitly protected setting for observing the night sky.
History and culture
Housesteads is considered the most complete Roman fort in Britain. Housesteads Roman Fort preserves a five-acre site with gateways, a towered wall, the commander’s house, a hospital and communal toilets. It also includes an interactive museum on Roman history.
Warkworth Castle was once the residence of the powerful Percy family; today, an audio tour leads through the Great Tower. Hexham Abbey was built as a monastery in AD 674, and the crypt of the original building is still preserved. On the tidal island of Holy Island, Lindisfarne Priory was built almost 1,400 years ago. Holy Island can be reached via a tidal causeway.
In addition, the second-largest inhabited castle in the United Kingdom was the seat of the Percy family for 700 years.
Food and drink
Herring is still smoked in Craster, as has been customary there for 150 years; kippers are served for breakfast. Amble has seafood huts and an artisan-oriented food market in its still-operating fishing harbour. Coastal towns and harbour life are therefore just as much part of the regional character as castles, monasteries and Roman sites.
Other places in Northumberland
Other location pages in Northumberland: Wooler, Slaley, Rothbury, Ponteland, Morpeth, Matfen, Longhorsley, Hexham, Fourstones, Duddo, Chollerford, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Berwick Hill, Bamburgh, Ashington, Alnwick, Newham, Eshott, Belford, Alnmouth, North Sunderland, Carham, Eglingham, Chatton, Allendale Town, Cornhill-On-Tweed, Kirknewton, Wark, Warkworth, Embleton, Bellingham, Newbiggin-By-The-Sea, Cramlington, Seaton Delaval, West Woodburn, Bardon Mill, Seahouses, Chathill, Blanchland, Heddon On The Wall, Wandylaw, Alwinton, Blyth, Prudhoe, Stocksfield, Powburn, Lowick, Haltwhistle, Gilsland, Bothal, Boulmer, Sharperton, Wylam, Greenhaugh, Felton, Spittal, Slaggyford, Guyzance, Wall, Shilbottle, Longframlington, Brampton, Ilderton, Hepple, Glanton, Elsdon, Ellington, Craster, Corbridge, Chillingham, Amble, Kirkwhelpington, Haydon Bridge, Greenhead, Holburn Village, Widdrington, Edlingham, Mickley, Lesbury, Swinhoe, Mindrum, Longwitton, Callaly, Wooperton, Newton-on-the-Moor, Cresswell, Coanwood.
To the higher-level travel overview: North East England.
