Sand Castles & The Secret Kingdom

---

As with Holy Island whilst the causeway is open, “The Secret Kingdom” is not really a secret anymore. The wide open spaces, miles of golden sand and good northern hospitality have all been discovered, so much so that even the smallest of cottages is seriously expensive even out of season and out of school holidays. We too up residence in Beadnall - not as upmarket as Bamburgh, but more pleasant than Seahouses. There isn’t a great deal to the village apart from two pubs, the old lime kilns on the harbour and a wide sweeping bay of sand that would be recognised as one of the world’s great beaches if temperatures were higher. The website views suggested that we would be taking up refreshment residence in the Craster Arms, but appearances can be deceptive and we didn’t even get as far as tasting the beer, before turning on our heels - maybe it’s just got a better feel to it if you are a local.

The walks on wide open windswept beaches were the plan, which sort of came to fruitition except for the fact that the weather was surprisingly pleasant and the windswept bit was missing. We headed out on the first day to walk to Craster......well it didn't look that far on a map. It transpired to be nearly 4 hours of solid plodding down the beaches and cliffs and the beaches were indeed pretty wide open and quiet up until the area around Dunstanburgh Castle. Dunstanburgh looked awfully familiar, even though neither of us have ever been .... it just shows how a school project from a heritage booklet can sink in and stay with you for 30 + years. Craster was a sort of Staithes with kippers ......the cobbles clearly not just for show, but with an active artists community producing water colours for the visiting hordes. The merits of public transport looked appealing at this point and a bus loomed back towards Beadnall and Seahouses. The double decker seemed to exceed the demand capacity and it was little over priced, but it transpired to drop us at our door o it was as good as an oversized taxi. The short cut back allowed us to head off to Bamburgh in the car and wander round the Castle.

The next day's long windswept beach was at Ross, which somebody subsequently told us has a naturist slant ............... mind this wasn't evident on a chilly March morning. The beach was almost completely deserted with commanding views south to Bamburgh and north to Holy Island, where I had an appointment with a Tyneside blonde!

---

Photos

Dunstaburgh Castle
...........war through the ages

Beadnall
Lime Kilns on the Harbour

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

You've got some great photos.
Love the dunes.