Northumberland May 2022

The journey took approx 6 hours from Kent with a stop for food and was very straight forward.

The lodge was on a private Holiday Park and personally I would say it was an upmarket holiday home rather than a lodge. It was very smartly decorated, had a luxury feel and with a lovely outdoor space with chairs and a very good sunken hot tub.

One of the reasons we chose this lodge was that it had 2 double rooms, one en-suite and a main bathroom with shower so for 2 couples you had a bathroom each.

There is plenty of storage and each room has a small walk in wardrobe, there are many shelves, draws, hanging space and surfaces, sounds odd to mention this but its nice to be able to put all your belongings somewhere and that small detail has been well thought out.

Nice welcome basket on arrival with tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar and some snacks/biscuits, it had all mod-cons, comfy sofas and lovely beds plus very clean and tidy.

There is a Crazy Horse Saloon on site, we arent much for holiday park type entertainment but this had a different feel about it. Probably helps being outside of school holidays and not having very many childrens facilities, its more of a private site. Eating there on our first night was convenient, not the cheapest but the food was very good quality and plentiful and friendly staff.

They have a sports area downstairs with pool table, air hockey, darts, table football, etc which I can imagine could be busy with children in school holidays. Great for families.

They also have entertainers on a Friday night and we had a good time in the Saloon on the first Friday we arrived.

We went to Alnwick Market on Saturday and bought some local goods. Its a nice town which houses Alnwick Castle and a few other landmarks. We had lunch in of the cafes, The Olive Branch, which i can recommend, right by the market square. There are all sorts of shops here too, supermarkets, independents and mainstream.

We then went to Alnmouth Beach for a stroll along the sands and an ice cream. This is a large beach and connects to miles of coastline.

We went to see Bamburgh Castle, we didnt go in but you can go in to see the state rooms, etc, the town itself is very quaint with a couple of team rooms, pubs, especially the Copper Kettle Tea Room that has been televised a few times, we went in for refreshments!

The Castle which is on the sea has a large sandy beach and sand dunes, great for a nice fresh walk. The castle is imposing and an impressive backdrop for the town.

Another day we visited Chillingham Castle which is reported to be the most haunted castle in Europe. There are torture rooms, dungeons and stately rooms to view. Lots of artifacts and the gardens are well kept. For £10 entrance fee, we spent quite a few hours there. In the evening you can book Ghost Tours and even stay in the most haunted wing, but there is a 2.5 year wait!

Warkworth Beach is another great beach, lovely fine white sand that seems to go on forever, quiet and secluded with a golf course as well. Very relaxing place to sit and watch the waves.

One day we went on a boat from the town of Seahouses which took us around the Farne Islands to see the Puffins plus various bird species, it was a 2 hour trip and we saw thousands of birds plus a few seals. There are various different boat trips you can go on and you can book them down by the harbour.

Apparently there are approx 70k Puffins on the Islands and we did see quite a few of them.

A trip to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne was interesting as you have to watch for the tide times, you can only cross the causeway at low tide so you dont want to get stuck coming back at high tide. You can drive across and visit the old ruins, walk on the beach and visit the museum.

It was lovely to finish the day with a visit to Beadnall Beach, a vast expanse of sandy beach with shallow water, lots of dog walkers and just to sit and people watch, especially in the sun.

Hadrian's Wall is not too far away in Hexham, we visited the Housestead Roman Fort section, which was interesting to learn about how they built the wall, why and why the Housestead Fort was an important section. There is a small Museum there which would appeal to children with dress up boxes and easy explanations of the history.

You can pay £10 an adult to visit the different areas of the fort, but you dont need to pay just to walk along the wall.

The views there are stunning, you can just see countryside for miles and miles.

There is a lot to do in Northumberland, the lodge was on the main road up to Edinburgh and you could easily do a day trip to there.

Its a really picturesque part of the UK and well worth a visit.