Walking the Northumberland Coast

Miss Thorneycroft, 24/09/2022

A beautiful coastline and we were lucky with the weather as perfect for walking and only had an hour of rain on the whole trip. Was surprised at how flat the whole coast was so made for easy walking compared to my local coastline in North Cornwall. Clear notes to follow and signage throughout very good so couldn't really go wrong. Welcomed along the way, hotels good and food excellent in most places and luggage left in good time.

Miss Saunders, 19/09/2022

The Northumberland coast is just beautiful - even on the 2 very wet days at the beginning of our trip! Faboulous beaches, great walks, castles and views,and we were lucky enough to see seals and dolphins along the way. Accommodation - Alannah and The Old Rectory are both fab. The Sun, Manor House and Victoria are fine, with good breakfasts but some of the rooms are looking a bit tired, but all clean. The notes are comprehensive - you're given lots of options/ information but would have been clearer to just explain the main route. The visit to the Holy Island is a highlight - don't be put off by the ' worrying two pages of notes about getting onto the island/tides etc. Just check the safe crossing times and you'll be fine. If you don't eat in at Howick you'll need to get a cab to either Craster or Almouth for dinner. You need to book cabs in advance and they are not cheap. If you're in Warkworth on a Thursday night the Hermitage Inn does a great quiz night.

Mr Jenkins, 01/08/2022

An excellent walking holiday along one of the best coasts of England. We managed to book an extra night in Bamburgh in order to visit the Farne Islands by taking a bus to Seahouses on the free day. However, on checking with our booked Farne boat trip on the day we walked through Seahouses to get to Bamburgh, we were advised that the weather on the following day would probably result in cancellation of our trip so we opted to swap to the one leaving in 30 minutes time. We then continued walking to Bamburgh after our excellent boat trip. The following day we managed to do the optional walk to Budle Bay from Bamburgh but the weather deteriorated on the way back. The following day we managed to visit Bamburgh castle before catching the bus to Beal in order to cross the causeway to Holy Island, our safe crossing time not being until 17.05. To get off the island next day,as advised, we caught the bus to causeway end and then walked to Berwick. Essential to make advanced preparations.

Mrs Kelsey, 16/07/2022

Excellent walking and beautiful beaches. Notes easy to follow but a couple of sections need an update. However, the coast path is very easy to follow. Hotels good, but The Sun and The Manor House (obviously the same group) are a bit dated . Their mattresses are not of good quality and could feel the springs! However, staff at The Sun were helpful and changed our room without quibble. I do sometimes wonder if rooms booked via a company…. Are given the ‘less good’ rooms. Often seem to look out on and have to listen to an extractor fan or fan from air con unit. However, in general, we were ok with the standard. The Old Rectory was exceptional, in all ways.

I would recommend the holiday. The views and walking are excellent. We had the bonus of good weather too! Organisation, customer service and information from Headwater also excellent

Mrs Mendham, 24/05/2022

Northumbria is beautiful. The people are helpful and friendly. The walking was hard at times, mainly because of the distances. The hotels are not as comfortable as we expected. If you want to experience all Northumberland can offer you need to take time in some of the places to see the attractions such as the Farne Islands, Alnwick castle and gardens, Bamburgh castle, Dunstanburgh castle and Lindsifarne castle. It is a shame just to walk past them

Mrs BARTLETT, 01/10/2021

Excellent holiday, wonderful walking, beautiful castles, pretty villages

Mrs HACON, 26/09/2021

Wonderful location and great walking, helped by excellent weather. The accommodation was fair, but well located, although understaffing due the current situation seemed to be a recurring problem.

Mr LEWANDOWSKI, 23/09/2021

We have been on a number of guided walks abroad, this was our first self guided trip. What an excellent choice Northumberland lovely coastline, nice people and excellent weather as a bonus. Followed the route as directed and didn't get lost Another bonus

Headwater response:
A superb review of our Northumberland holiday, thank you for sharing. We look forward to welcoming you on many more self-guided holidays in the future.
Headwater Customer Service Team

Mr COOK, 18/09/2021

Overall the holiday was well organised and enjoyable, although several of the hotels were of a disappointing standard eg Sunn Inn and Kings Arms. We would have loved to have stayed at The Old Rectory, however, due to a double booking we were redirected to The Amble Inn, which was corporate and had a poor standard of food. Several rooms in other hotels had plumbing problems, fan or bar noise and smells.

Having said that the route and information was good allowing us to make the most of our days. Lindisfarne was a definite highlight. Not all information was up to date regarding hotels however. The Joiners Arms had brilliantly taken the initiative and booked us in for dinner. Most places we were told did not need bookings but turned out to be full with few other places in the area to eat. A recommendation to book in advance would have been useful. Headwater should be aware that most places are really struggling with staff. The restaurant in the Kings Arms was closed completely!

Mr SNOWDEN, 11/08/2021

We had a terrific holiday in Northumberland. All was good with the hotels and all the staff we encountered were excellent. The walking and swimming were great. The highlight for us was walking barefoot along the Pilgrim’s Path over the sands at low tide to Holy Island - a truly memorable experience.

Headwater response:
Thank you for sharing the memory made on your holiday with Headwater - how lovely to share wtih us! We look forward to helping you make more memories in the near future.
Headwater Customer Service Team

Dr ADAMS, 20/07/2021

A great, but often under rated walk. Distances worth getting up for, but not too strenuous. Beautiful scenery which often varied from wide open beaches with dunes to cliff tops with rocky shore. Some parts similar to the lovely, but over used Dorset coast. Accommodation often above what we expected. Well worth doing, even on the rainy day.

Mr HOMER, 27/06/2021

A very good holiday and excellent walk. The directions and route were easy to follow. Some of the hotels could be more comfortable. Breakfast were all excellent or very good, but evening meals available were of an average standard. Covid restrictions were still in place.

Mr Damesick, 01/10/2020

Northumberland coast path makes for excellent scenic walking. Route instructions were clear and reliable. Luggage transfers efficient and reliable. Accommodation was adequately comfortable - a couple of hotels could benefit from a sprucing up : Sun and Manor House Hotel.