Northumberland Coastal Path, 59 miles, 4 walking days, May 2013

Berwick-upon-Tweed – Holy Island (Lindisfarne island) – Bamburgh – Craster – Warkworth

The Northumberland Coastal path is a delightful and easy 59-mile walk along the north east coast of England. The trail is characterised by hefty sand dunes, inland trails (to prevent damage to the dunes), rolling sea mists, clamorous squawking seagulls plus oystercatchers and herons, and Craster kippers of which more later. The walk is easy. There are no steep hills to clamber over nor sheer cliff-top drops to navigate with trepidation. The walk also takes in the off-shore Farne Island known as Lindisfarne or, more commonly, Holy Island, one of the alleged birthplaces of Christianity in England way back in the 7th century.

The weather was mostly cloudy and misty which restricted photography and meant we never got to see the far-off Farne islands nor their puffin inhabitants but highlights included: walking the ramparts of the historic garrison town of Berwick-upon-Tweed; walking over the 2-mile tidal causeway to Lindisfarne without need for the half-way refuge hut should the tide come racing in; visiting the old priory, founded by St. Aidan, plus a very interesting National Trust place called Lindisfarne Castle; staying in a B&B in Craster and devouring the famous Craster Kippers for breakfast (£2 Supplement but worth every penny). Craster kippers have been acclaimed ‘the best British kipper’ (Wikipedia article) and, as I subsequently discovered, available in my local Waitrose supermarket. As Stanley Unwin would say – deep joy! I eat them regularly.

7 images to follow.

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