After booking our accommodation and after packing our small running rucksacks night before our alarm went off and it was time to head down to the train station to get the train first to Newcastle and then on to Almouth.
This was our first attempt at fast packing between accommodation and we had decided to spend the bank holiday weekend doing most of the Northumberland Coast Path, running from Alnmouth to Berwick-upon-Tweed, which not only benefited from amazing scenery it also provided rail connects close to the route as one of the challenges with trying to do it over a bank holiday weekend was not loosing too much running time to getting to the start and back from the finish.
Due to time constraints, complexity in getting to Cresswell without a train station and trying to keep the total length down a little we decided to start at Almouth which had the benefit of the route going close to a mainline railway station. It was a shame to miss out a section of the route, particularly as Warkworth has a particularly lovely castle.
Even though we started and finished at different train stations, both ways we went through Newcastle enabling us to get a return to Newcastle and singles from Newcastle to Almouth and from Berick-upon-Tweed to Newcastle helping keep the cost down.
This was my first light weight trip longer than one night in a while with most of the others being part of Alastair Humpries 2014 year of micro adventure and there was a great feeling stepping off the train with a little bag and jogging off.
A wonderful feeling of freedom and inner peace with no other agenda than putting one foot in front of the other.
There are guides that do a great job of describing the route so for details on every twist and turn I will leave you in their capable hands and here I will just include some of our highlights and some insight into how we went about our trip.
For us we headed North along the coast to our first stop, a great little cafe in Craster, which was still serving breakfast before heading on to Dunstanburgh Castle. For me one of the great parts of travelling light, on foot and to your own schedule is having time to explore when you see something interesting. So we made the most of our National Trust membership and had a look around the castle.
When we were choosing a route we had looked at which routes the Harvey Maps covered with the entire route on one map. Not only does just having one map make things much simpler, I have always loved Harvey Maps and how clear and easy to use they are. This map was no exception, clearly marking the route, giving indications on where food can be purchased and even where there are public toilets.
The overview section gave us an idea of the length of each section and Booking.com help us identify options for overnight accommodation. For our first overnight stop we had decided on Seahouses which had a choice of Bed and Breakfasts and restaurants. For the second night it was a little more challenging to find somewhere as Fenwick was very limited on options and we decided to stay a little way off the route at West Mains on the A1 truck road.
On our run into Seahouses the heavens opened up and we were so glad to have brought our waterproof trousers with us. For us packing was a bit of an unknown; what would we need, how little extra could we get away with, what little luxuries would make the trip much more enjoyable.
A luxury we took was a legless washing line which was great to dry out our wet clothes at the overnight stops
After a restful night and a good breakfast it was time to head off again. After a little navigation blip, we were soon back on track and heading north towards the majestic Bamburgh Castle. This time we decided as it was still early in the day and as we were expecting a long day that we did not have time for anything more than a quick run around the walls and promised ourselves we would have a look around the next time we were nearby. One thing we did notice was that heading north meant we had the wind in our faces the whole time, maybe if we did it again we would head south and see if that would be any easier.
As we headed on we had a rather exciting crossing of the east coast mainline at a level crossing. When we arrived at the gate there was a sign to tell us to call the signalman and check if it was safe to cross, he asked how many of us there were and then told us if we went straight away it was safe to cross. From here the path took us inland slightly and as sad as it was to say bye to the sea it made for a nice change to the scenery on the stretch to the hotel for the night, with a nice bar meal to get in some calories for the next day.
This was our last day and a slightly shorter day, starting with a trip down to the causeway to Holy Island or Lindisfarne. This island had been with us in the distance most of the previous day and even though we did not have time to go far on the causeway we had a little explore of the refuge on stilts for stranded car drivers who had misjudged the tides. We were soon on the home straight on a small strip of land between the railway line and sea, as it got narrower we got closer to Berwick-upon-Tweed.
On arriving we had chance for an explore of some of the fortifications and streets that inspired Lowry before jumping on a train and heading to Newcastle for dinner.
We definitely had the bug to do more of these trips and planning for a similar trip in Luxembourg had started.
