Seahouses (2) to Bamburgh beach

After the "Farne Islands" boat trip and some lunch, one of the two friends I travelled with, thought it would be a good idea to have a walk on the beach. I thought he was joking when he was talking about walking all the way to Bamburgh ...... err, no ... he wasn't, it was a great walk though (6miles / 9.6km round trip)

Seaweed and Farne Islands

Classic Northumberland coastline

Footprint in the sand

... eventually, the turrets of Bamburgh castle appear, so we leave the beach..

...by climbing over the sand dunes and passing the gates of the castle...

The history of this site is too great to mention, but briefly, it has been a fortification since Roman times and beyond when it was used as a coastal beacon. Later, the sixth century kings of Northumbria used it as their local capital. In Norman times the Keep was built for a price of £4 and the upgraded walls were eventually destroyed in 1464 during the war of the roses (York/Lancaster) when the Lancaster king was located here. In 1610, James 1 decided that he no longer wanted the castle as a royal building so it fell into the hands of private owners who, to cut a long story short, couldn't restore it to its former glory. Lord Armstrong (19th century Newcastle businessman - who has left his legacy on the area with the additional Cragside house and the Newcastle Swing bridge) restored the castle into what it is today at a cost of £1 million pounds. It is unfortunate that he never saw the finished product although the house remains in the family name.



After all that walking, my two friends were focused on some refreshment and while I was more interested in photographing the castle.....I caught sight of them heading through this doorway for a cup of tea !



Bamburgh village is now a small relaxing village that attracts tourists to stop for an hour or two on the Northumbrian Coastal trail, some stay longer for the beach.



As a post script to the previous post, Grace Darling has been buried in Bamburgh churchyard and there is a museum opposite about her story which has been refurbished recently. There was no time for that today as we headed off around the cricket pitch, ........

....... back through the sand dunes and down on to the beach .........

It was once again our privilege to take in the sights that we had seen on the way up  by enjoying once again, the views of the Farne Islands...



.... the pleasures of walking on glorious sands despite the three intrepid travellers spoiling it  !!

..... and to say hello to the passing walking traffic going in the opposite direction !!!