Healing Shores - The Camping and Caravanning Club

TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE
NORTHUMBERLAND COAST
TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE
NORTHUMBERLAND COAST
The rhythmical and reassuring breaking of waves
is the only sound I can hear. As each gentle fold of
water surges across the smooth and shimmering
golden sands, the sun breaks through a gap in the
clouds as it descends over the horizon. I’m bathed
in deep orange and occasionally purple light as I
stare out across the North Sea, its icy cold touch
gently caressing my bare feet, reminding me of the
earth where I stand. Dark and ominous clouds out
at sea perform a perfect contrast to the rich sunset
taking place behind me.
Sometimes, it takes coming to a place like this at
just the right time to truly appreciate the majesty
and the grand scale of the planet upon which
we live. Forgive me for being perhaps a touch
over-poetic here, but standing on this isolated and
beautiful beach gives me the perfect headspace to
reflect and appreciate.
I’m at Embleton Bay in Northumberland, just a
short, gentle stroll from nearby Dunstan Hill Club
Site. I didn’t realise until I was standing here on
the last day of a week-long camping stay that the
detachment and peace that camping gives you is
exactly what I needed.
Sometimes the simple act of camping is just
the answer for some much-needed rest and
recovery. David Guest discovered this on a
stay at Dunstan Hill Club Site on the tranquil
and majestic Northumberland Coast
CASTLES BY THE COAST
This part of Northumberland is probably the
worst best-kept secret in England. It has beautiful
beaches, great historic attractions and fantastic
wildlife spotting opportunities, yet remains a
pretty quiet part of the country, even in the
summer holidays. It seems strange that even
though the majority of people seem to know the
Northumberland coast is a hidden gem, it still
remains hidden.
I get my first realisation of this as I pull the
CamperKing Monte Carlo campervan that will be
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID GUEST
my home for this trip into the entrance of Dunstan
Hill Club Site. The site is reasonably full, but it is
one of the smaller ones on the network, and after
the usual extremely friendly and helpful welcome
from the Site Managers, I begin making up the pitch
while my girlfriend Hayley goes and checks out the
on-site amenities.
It’s quiet. Very quiet. We’re lucky enough to be
pitched facing the long, tree-lined boundary of the
site and pretty much all we can hear is the gentle
breeze brushing through the leafy canopy. In the
middle of those trees lies a gate onto a footpath
that leads straight to one of the fabled beaches I’ve
heard so much about. We decide to head straight
down – after a smidge over four hours driving to
get here, some sand between the toes will be the
perfect remedy.
In truth, we’re both hoping that the trip will be a
remedy for us in more ways than one: Hayley sadly
hasn’t been in the best health over the last year, and
the end of her rather intense treatment was a week
or so before this trip. I’m a great believer that time
in the outdoors is healing for both body and mind,
so the wild coastline that unfolds before us as we
The impressive ruins
of Dunstanburgh Castle
are just a few minutes
from Dunstan Hill Club
Site
Longhoughton Beach
is a great spot to enjoy
some lunch – a word
of warning, the access
and the car park here
is not entirely suitable
for caravans or large
motorhomes, and there
is definitely no camping
allowed
44 October 2022 campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
October 2022 45

TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE
NORTHUMBERLAND COAST
Clockwise from
top left: Embleton
Bay on the day David
and Hayley visited is
hard to beat; David
checks out the ruins of
Dunstanburgh Castle;
there is a great café
culture in Alnwick, with
many establishments
offering outside seating;
David marvels at the
interesting artefacts
and stories within the
Hardy Museum
KING OF KINGS
My home from home
on this fabulous coastal
camping getaway was
a CamperKing Monte
Carlo campervan, which
was kindly loaned to
me by CamperKing – a
leading campervan
converter based near
Banbury in Oxfordshire.
The company offers a
huge range of brandnew
and second-hand
Volkswagen T6-based
campers in its spacious
showroom, and also has
a well-stocked general
camping shop on site
too. If you’re in the area,
I’d recommend dropping
in and chatting to some
of their friendly team
(just leave the credit
card at home, because
you will be tempted!), or
find out more online at
camperking.co.uk
descend into Embleton Bay – just a 15-minute-walk
from our pitch – seems like the perfect place to be.
To the south of the bay, you can see the ruins of
the iconic Dunstanburgh Castle, which looks eerie
even in the golden light of the late afternoon sun.
The castle dates back to the early 1300s at a time
when King Edward II was fighting off a rebellion
from his most powerful baron, Earl Thomas of
Lancaster. Later, it became a keep to fight off the
Scots and it was also the focus of intense fighting
during the War of the Roses. What remains of the
castle is fantastic to view from the beach, or the golf
course that lies in its foothills. You can pay a small
fee of £6.60 to enter, but it’s also possible to simply
enjoy the walk along the England Coast Path and
have the castle as a backdrop as you meander over
to the quaint fishing village of Craster – famous for
its smoked kippers.
If a ruined castle doesn’t do it for you, then you
can head a little further up the coast to Bamburgh
(about a 25-minute drive from Dunstan Hill). Here
you’ll find a castle known as the epicentre of the
Kingdom of Northumbria. The earliest recorded
history of Bamburgh Castle dates back to the year
547, but the core of the modern-day castle was built
in the 11th Century. While it does look impressive
from the outside, especially from a boat out at sea
(more on that later), this one is definitely worth the
£14.10 entry fee for true history enthusiasts.
ALNWICK APPEAL
The historic county town of Northumberland,
Alnwick is the nearest decent-size town to the site
and has more than enough to fill a day or two of
sightseeing, shopping, dining out or learning.
It will not surprise readers of my previous articles
to learn that the first stop on my Alnwick tour plan
is related to fishing. Iconic fly fishing brand Hardy
was founded in the town 150 years ago and has a
fantastic museum right in the centre. This is a new
location for the museum, which used to be based
out of town on an industrial estate. The second I
walk through the door my eyes are darting from
left to right, taking in the fascinating history of the
brand and the memorable fishing tales from far and
wide that the museum depicts. For anyone with
even a slight interest in fishing, I can’t recommend
this place enough. For those who know nothing
about fishing, the Hardy Museum still gives you
an interesting glimpse into the history of Alnwick
through the lens of arguably its most famous export.
After my feed of fishing, we enjoy some food
of the more literal kind at one of the town’s many
cafés. Freshly fuelled by tea and cake, we wander
around taking in sights such as the archway of
Bondgate Tower, part of the fortifications built
around Alnwick in the 1400s. We eventually end
up at the gates of a rather illustrious-looking
bookshop (if fishing is my vice, then books are
definitely Hayley’s). Barter Books is a heaven on
Earth for bookworms – housed in an old Victorian
railway station building, the place has a wonderful
atmosphere that I can imagine being perfect on a
dreary winter’s day when all you want to do is curl
up with a good book. There’s even a model railway
patrolling the top of the shelves in one part of the
shop to remind people of its historic links. Laden
with the weight of a few additional novels for our
collection, Hayley and I decide to tick off the main
attraction of Alnwick: the castle.
To continue the literary theme, the stronghold
will be familiar to fans of Harry Potter as it was a
set location for two of the films. It’s a wonderful
building, with origins that date back to 1309, but at
the risk of sounding like a cheapskate, £19.50 is a bit
steep for adult entry in my opinion. We decide to
view it from nearby Lion Bridge instead, which runs
over the River Aln. Here, the castle looms overhead
at the top of a swooping, grassy hill, with the river
running below. It’s a perfect spot.
FARNE FROM HOME
As the end of our camping stay draws near, we
drive half an hour up the coast to visit the town of
Seahouses. From here you can book boat trips of
varying lengths to visit the nearby Farne Islands,
Dunstan Hill Club Site is one that could easily be overlooked.
It’s a relatively small and peaceful site that is out in what
some might call the middle of nowhere. That middle of
nowhere happens to be idyllic in every sense. Visit myccc.
co.uk/dunstanhill or call 024 7647 5426 to book – it’s open
until 31 October 2022. There’s also nearby Beadnell Bay Club
Site (open until 31 October 2022) if you want to be a little
closer to civilisation and family attractions, or try year-round
Certificated Sites within this area such as The Shepherds
Rest Inn (CS670) in Alnwick. Alternatively, you can find a
Club Meet or Temporary Holiday Site in the area by visiting
myccc.co.uk/outandabout.
Clockwise from top
left: The amazing Barter
Books – a safe haven for
all bookworms visiting
the area; the impressive
Alnwick Castle, a
familiar sight to Harry
Potter fans; Alnwick
Castle is best viewed
from the outside on
the Lion Bridge, which
crosses the River Aln;
the quaint fishing village
of Craster, famous for its
smoked kippers
46 October 2022 campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
October 2022 47

TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE
NORTHUMBERLAND COAST
PLAN YOUR TRIP
Clockwise from
top left: taking in
some views in a very
picturesque layby – only
in Northumberland;
one of the famous
smokehouses that
produces kippers – a
love it or hate it food;
the star attraction of
the Farne Islands is
undoubtedly the puffins,
which can be seen
between April and July
when they nest there
an ecological haven for a wide range of sea birds
including guillemots, shags, cormorants, gannets
and puffins. You can arrange a trip that lets you
land and set foot on some of the islands, but we
decide that we don’t want to risk disturbing the
birds at all, especially as at the time of our visit,
avian flu is having a flare-up with some of these
birds affected. It’s a stark reminder that our planet
is feeling the strain.
Our two-hour tour sees us travel around several
of the islands on a wonderfully calm day with
expert narration from our tour guide. Originally
thinking that it would be hard work to spot birds,
I soon discover that the cliff faces are packed to
the rafters with all the aforementioned species and
more. We also spot several lazy seals, taking in the
sun while the small rocky outcrops they lie on are
slowly swallowed up by the rising tide. As we dock
back in Seahouses and start to plan our return
journey to the Midlands, we both feel as if this trip
has helped lift a weight from us and taken us back
to a simpler existence whereby appreciating the
moment and the wonderful world in which we live
is more than enough.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO VISIT?
Summer is great – even in the height of the
school holidays the beaches here generally
stay quiet and there aren’t too many bustling,
typical British seaside towns. That said, this
is a place that could be appreciated all year
round, with the changing of the seasons
bringing different moody lighting and wild
conditions to the North Sea. I imagine being
nestled down somewhere along this coast in
winter would be very comforting. Just bear in
mind that Dunstan Hill Club Site is only open
from April to October.
HOW SHOULD I GET THERE?
If you’re driving to Dunstan Hill Club Site, then
it’s a fairly easy approach from either north or
south via the main trunk road that is the A1. It
is best to leave the A1 at the junction closest
to Alnwick signposted for the B1340 – look
for signs directing you to Craster. From here
you’ll be kept on roads of a decent width and
will only have to go over one level crossing.
If arriving on public transport, there is a bus
stop right outside the entrance to the site that
is serviced by 418 and X18 Max buses that
shuttle between Berwick upon Tweed and
Belford. It’s feasible to get a train to Alnwick
and then the 418 bus to the site from there if
you are tent camping or cycle camping.
HOW EXPENSIVE IS IT?
You can easily have a cheap holiday here.
Many of the best things to do are free, or next
to free. Just being on this dramatic coastline
will be enough for many people, but if you
want to venture out a bit further, Alnwick has
some reasonably priced restaurants and other
attractions. In my humble opinion, the castles
such as Alnwick, Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh
are best viewed from the outside anyway, so
that makes it free to see them. You can, of
course, pay to enter them if you wish at £19.50,
£6.60, and £14.10 per adult respectively. Like
anywhere, you can make it as expensive or
cheap as you see fit, but in general it’s not an
obscenely expensive place to holiday.
48 October 2022 campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk