We chose to do this section in reverse so that we could finish walking at our holiday cottage in Beadnell. Also this meant that the rest of the family could do a much shorter walk from Beadnell to Low Newton and meet up with us there for lunch.
We were dropped off in Bamburgh at 10:30am and took a short detour to see the two remaining pubs in the village.
21.Victoria Hotel, Bamburgh - 10:30am
A large building overlooking the head of the green. Didn't stop.
22.Mizen Head, Bamburgh - 10:35am
A few minutes from the village centre. A newly refurbished building. Didn't stop.
We then headed back down past the magnificent castle to the beach. This enormous fortress is sited on dominant rocky outcrop, providing a perfect defensive position with views for miles around.
A great expanse of sand stretched out ahead of us, and only a handful of people were on it.
It was easy walking along the beach as the sand was firm where the tide had receded. Bamburgh castle soon disappeared behind the large sand dunes as we turned towards Seahouses. There were good views out to the Farne Islands, with Inner Farne appearing quite close.
It wasn't long before we reached the busy resort town of Seahouses.
23.Olde Ship Hotel, Seahouses - 11:45am
A lovely pub, inside is quite a pleasant surprise from what we expected from the exterior. Packed full of ship treasures. We had a drink in the small cosy bar.
24.Harbour Inn, Seahouses - 12:05pm
A large modern pub on the main road. Didn't stop here.
25.Schooner Inn, Seahouses - 12:10pm
A small traditional pub. We enjoyed a nice coffee here.
26.Black Swan, Seahouses - 12:30pm
Right next door to the Schooner, overlooking the harbour. Didn't stop here.
From outside the pub there was a good view across Seahouses harbour where boats were preparing for their next trip. We could see back to Bamburgh castle, and also Lindisfarne in the very distance.
Leaving Seahouses behind we passed around the rocky edge of North Sunderland point and along the side of a now flooded quarry, then returned to the beach through the dunes after crossing Annstead Bridge. As we followed the beach south towards Beadnell the cloud began to break up and the day became much warmer and sunnier.
We arrived at Beadnell Bay opposite the harbour, where people were fishing off the wall. This is a very pretty harbour surrounded by some large limekilns.
The beach was quite busy at this point but just a couple of minutes further along and we had the enormous expanse of golden sand to ourselves. This is one of the best beaches along this stretch of coastline, with both clean soft sand and beautiful clear water.
On reaching Long Nanny river we had to detour inland along the edge of the dunes to cross it at the footbridge. At the edge of the dunes is the hut used by wardens to monitor nesting birds on this National Trust protected area.
We walked inland of the Newton Links dunes on a good path passing by Links House and the coastguard lookout at Newton Point. From here we looked down over Newton Haven and Embleton Bay with the familiar view of Dunstanburgh Castle beyond.
It was 2.40pm by the time we arrived at Low Newton by the Sea and unfortunately just too late for lunch. We however enjoyed a nice beer and a packet of crisps sitting outside in the sunshine. Our parents who were only walking from Beadnell had got delayed enjoying the beach and joined us fifteen minutes later.
27.Ship Inn, Low Newton by the Sea - 2:40pm
A lovely setting for the pub in a square of little cottages. The pub has it's own brewery, their own dark beer was very nice.
Revived by our beer and the fantastic sunny day we decided to continue on to Embleton. Passing to the back of the ship inn we followed along the edge of Newton Pool nature reserve.
28.Sportsman Inn, Embleton - 4:25pm
Very large building with great views out over Embleton Bay. Didn't stop here.
29.Greys Inn, Embleton - 4:30pm
Nice smart bar. We sat at the tables across the road to have a drink
30.Bluebell Inn, Embleton - 4:40pm
Very pretty inn, looks more like a house than a pub. Unfortunately closed
31.Dunstanburgh Castle Hotel, Embleton - 4:45pm
Very smart looking hotel. Didn't stop as we had to get back to Beadnell
From Embleton village we retraced our route back to the beach and walked along it towards Low Newton, once again admiring the views of Dunstanburgh Castle.
We decided to take a slightly different route back, this time walking around the headlands of Newton Point and Snook Point. The footpaths were very quiet, with only birds and bumblebees for company.
At the southernmost tip of Beadnell Bay we dropped down onto the beach. The huge sweep of the sandy bay appeared to be deserted.
The water looked very tempting and so we were soon taking off our boots and paddling our way back to the harbour. By now the tide had gone out and it was possible to walk across the mouth of Long Nanny easily. Here there was a large flock of herring and black backed gulls feeding.
We reached the harbour at 6:30pm, the tide was well out and the boats were left standing high. By this point we were getting quite hungry, so it was back to our cottage for a quick freshen up and off to the pub for tea.
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