Your tour: Yorkshire and Northumberland
Marcus Leach and family enjoy scenery and shore in these dramatic regions
Harrison’s excited cry: “Look Daddy, I can see a rainbow!” came as he peered out of a window covered in droplets of water from the latest sudden downpour. I can’t say I shared his excitement at that moment. After all, this was our summer holiday road trip and I had hoped, perhaps rather foolishly given the unreliability of British weather in July, for a few weeks without rain.
As it was, we were doing the typically British thing – making the best of it, while cursing the weather gods and longing to be elsewhere.
There was a period earlier this year when we had genuinely hoped to get across to the Continent, although that hope was as fleeting as what seems to pass for summer on our shores. Not that a lack of sunshine was going to stop us from making the most of our time away: the moment we realised France would have to wait another year, we set about planning our latest UK-based adventure.
As a family, we tend to gravitate towards the mountains, so it was a break with tradition when we opted to head for the Northumberland coast,
with a few days in the Yorkshire Dales to break the journey north (as well as giving us a little dose of something resembling mountains), a key consideration when travelling longer distances with younger children. There are only so many games of I Spy you can play before they need to get out of the ’van and run around (although in fairness, the same is true of Kim and me!).
I’m also fairly confident we are not alone when I add that with all of the events of the past 18 months, we are more than ever happiest away from crowds of people and busy towns.
So the northern corner of the Yorkshire Dales, up past Reeth, was the perfect place to begin our trip, our campsite nestled in the rolling hills that lead towards Upper Swaledale and Great Pinseat, the highest point of the region at 583m.
Remote landscapes
Once we had settled in, I was sent out on my bike (happily, I hasten to add) to scout the local area for suitable places we could explore together on foot. It turned out there were several excellent options. Unbeknown to us, this region is replete with footpaths and gravel trails, each taking you deeper into a remote and open landscape, which at its pinnacle, morphs from wild moorland into a grey, rather moon-like appearance.
The area was once home to large-scale mining, dating back to the 1700s, of which the remains can still be seen in the form of disused mineshafts and, of far greater interest to adventurous children, the well-preserved ruins of the Old Gang Smelt Mill. Such was the appeal of the area that, had we not booked sites on the Northumberland coast in advance, we would happily have extended our time here to explore further.
As it is, the Yorkshire Dales are now at the top of our ‘UK places to visit’ list and somewhere we look forward to coming back to. But for now, it was time for us to head further north.
Family activities
Left to my own devices, I would plan every trip around a multitude of walks and bike rides, but that would be forgetting that as much as Harrison (aged six) and Dorothy (three) love adventures, they prefer a degree of variety to our family trips.
So our first port of call on the Northumberland coast was Alnwick, where Harrison was excited to visit Alnwick Castle, famed as the film location where Harry Potter and his friends learn to fly.
With broomstick-flying lessons on offer to visitors, it wasn’t long before Harrison, Dorothy and Kim (they are open to adults as well) were zooming around the castle grounds – or at least in their minds, that’s what they were doing.
Although we like our trips to have an element of flexibility, so we don’t plan them in minute detail before setting off, there are always a few places we highlight in advance as ‘must visits’.
One such spot on this trip was Craster. Famed for its kippers, it also marks the start of a walk to the impressive ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle.
Constructed between 1313 and 1322 on a remote headland, dramatic Dunstanburgh clearly took advantage of the site’s natural defences. Sadly, our hopes of making it to the ruins were washed away in an almighty downpour of rain, a sign of things to come for the next few days.
It took a trip back inland towards Kielder Forest to bring a change in fortune on the weather front, at which point I parted ways with Kim and the kids for a day on my bike (for a work project).
The joy of having my bike with me on our trips, work assignments aside, is that it enables me to see a different side to the areas we visit, as well as discovering places we can enjoy as a family, by plotting routes on minor roads and gravel tracks that would be inaccessible in the motorhome, and thus adding an extra layer of understanding to the locations we explore.
Forest and water
Kielder may not be the best place to visit in the summer, unless you have a penchant for small insects in large numbers, but its beauty cannot be underestimated, nor should it be overlooked.
Our suggestion would be to visit for a prolonged stay during the cooler spring and autumn, when you can enjoy the vast swathes of forest and open water in relative peace from the insect world.
Luckily, our fleeting visit was short enough to avoid the midges, but long enough for me to decide that I want to return and explore the endless gravel tracks criss-crossing the forest.
For now, though, we were back on the coast and the weather was at last proving a bit more conducive to spending a day on the beach. This was much to Harrison’s delight, given that he had packed all manner of equipment in his travel box with the beach specifically in mind.
Take a drive up the Northumberland coast and you’ll find mile upon mile of sandy beaches. Stray from the popular areas, and tucked away behind grassy dunes, there are long stretches completely free of other visitors. Our personal favourite was
the beautiful little beach near the quiet hamlet of Cheswick. Barring a handful of locals strolling on the sands, the whole area was empty and peaceful – most of the time we were there, the only sound we could hear was the waves lapping gently at the shore.
Our final port of call on the coast saw us crossing the border into Scotland and setting up camp on the edge of the charming old fishing village of St Abbs.
Built around the harbour that continues to be a thriving focal point for a variety of water-based activities, the village also marks the start of one of the most spectacular coastal walks we have ever done in the UK – as well as being famous for its part in Marvel’s movie Avengers: Endgame. In the film, St Abbs has been transformed into New
Asgard, home to the mighty Thor, and given the area’s charm and rugged beauty, it’s easy to see why it was picked as a film location.
However, not being movie buffs ourselves, the appeal for us was more the region’s solitude and the wonderful walks along the cliffs of St Abbs Head National Nature Reserve, home to a wide variety of birds and other wildlife.
Our campsite, a small but perfectly situated Caravan and Motorhome Club CL, meant we were within 200m of the start of the trail that winds its way around the gnarled and exposed clifftops, guarded by the lighthouse standing at the very tip of the peninsula.
Harbour and lighthouse
We had feared that, much like our planned walk in Craster, this one would fall foul of the weather, and as we crossed the border into Scotland, the giant sign warning of severe storms did little to ease our concerns. Thankfully, on this occasion, the forecast was wrong and, despite a few heavy showers during our time there, we had more than enough dry weather to explore the coastline, nose around the harbour and discover the dramatic St Abb’s Head Lighthouse.
Built in 1862 by David and Thomas Stevenson, it was the first in Scotland to have a fog horn, and until its automation in 1994, had three full-time keepers. Their cottages are now among the more remote holiday rentals in the UK.
With the forecasted storm arriving a few days late, we were, on this rare occasion, happy to be packing up to head home. As the first rumblings of thunder rolled in, we were all left to wonder if St Abbs really was the home of Thor, creator of thunder and lightning, and if he had perhaps allowed us time to enjoy the area before finally unleashing the storm. I guess we’ll never know!