Picture perfect coastal gem is not without its problems
DANIEL HALL on the delights of Bamburugh – come rain or shine
DESPITE Northumberland being home to the best seaside destination in the country for a second year in a row, one thing you can rarely rely on up in Bamburgh is the weather.
Visiting during the first week of May, I expected clear skies and sunshine – but it didn’t quite turn out that way. But maybe thunderstorms and intermittent torrential rain are just part and parcel of visiting the British coast.
Nevertheless, I wasn’t the only one out, with plenty of people walking on the beach and grabbing some lunch – some were even braving the seating outside the popular Potted Lobster seafood restaurant. Bamburgh has always been a popular place – wealthy North Easterners had weekend homes here more than 50 years ago – but its popularity has exploded hugely since the pandemic, and is a magnet for day trippers and staycationers who have had to rethink their holidays abroad.
And it’s not hard to see why. The imposing castle that stands over the village dates back to the 12th century and is one of Northumberland’s most recognisable views, while the beach flanking the other side has been named among the best in Europe and most beautiful in the world in recent months.
A windswept stretch of sand which attracts dog walkers and even horse riders, there are views out to the Farne Islands and its lighthouses. In fact, there are few places you can position yourself without having a lighthouse or a castle in your eyeline, with the north end home to Bamburgh’s very own lighthouse (which resembles a face), Stag Rock, which guards the rockpools below, and Lindisfarne Castle further back in the distance.
On the beach I spoke to Sandra and Peter from Low Fell, Gateshead, who were walking their dog Tasha during a week-long holiday. Sandra said: “We’ve been coming here for 11 years now and we absolutely love it. Bamburgh is my favourite beach because I get on it and it just totally de-stresses me.”
Back in the village, it’s an idyllic scene on The Grove, Bamburgh’s village green, too. You’d do well to find a sports field with such an impressive background anywhere in the UK, with croquet, cricket and tennis all played in the shadow of the castle.
Four members of the village’s croquet club have braved the bad weather for a game, two of whom were from the village and two from nearby Belford.
Judy Cowen said: “It’s exciting living in Bamburgh, there’s something on every single day of the week if you want to do it, whether that’s swim
ming in the sea, tennis, golf, table tennis or Scottish country dancing. It’s a very good and caring community, even though the majority of the community is retired people.”
Elizabeth O’Sullivan, who spends two to three months a year in the village, hopes to become part of that community after retiring from teaching at Dame Allan’s School. She said: “We’re in the middle of selling our house in Newcastle so we can spend more time in Bamburgh because we absolutely love the place. It’s breathtaking, awe-inspiring – I’ve been going since I was a kid and every time I drive there it gives me the shivers.”
I know what she means – from that first view of the castle whichever route you drive in on, you can’t help but be bowled over by it. However, the castle can’t mask some of the problems that have become apparent in Bamburgh as its popularity has grown.
One mentioned by many is parking. And considering the town is on the Northumberland Coastal Route and one of the supposed best road trips in the UK, that’s a big one.
Ronnie Watson owns the Castle Inn on Front Street (not to be confused with the Bamburgh Castle Inn, in nearby Seahouses). He said: “People can’t go abroad with this Covid, so what do they do?
“They get in the car and drive up the coast. There’s a car park at the bottom but even though there’s disc parking elsewhere in the county, there’s none in Bambugh and none in Holy Island so the motorist gets hit every time and there’s no need.”
“The car parks get full and if people can’t find anywhere to park they’ll go somewhere else like Holy Island or Seahouses.
“They have one chance to get money from the tourists, and they’re chasing people away, I just can’t understand it.”
Those who are lucky enough to get parking spaces might not mind paying an hourly fee as a one-off on a day trip, but it’s not the same case for those who live and work in the village.
Only one member of staff at the Castle Inn actually lives in Bamburgh, with the rest having to travel in and pay for hourly parking – not ideal during shifts that can last up to 12 hours.
It’s easy to see why people chose to drive to Bamburgh though, as buses are infrequent and making the trip on public transport is long and convoluted, often taking between 2.5 and three hours.
From Newcastle, it’s either a train to Alnmouth or Berwick and then catching a bus, or splitting the journey across two bus trips.
Sue Walby, whose family has lived in the village for generations, said: “What worries me is how people are getting to the countryside when there doesn’t seem to be a tourism strategy for travel.
“In my personal view, the local
and county councils need to come together to get their heads around this – perhaps they could run park and rides to reduce the burden of traffic.”
Parking and travel are problems that all popular tourism destinations have to deal with, and saying that Bamburgh is becoming a victim of its own success is a cliche, with the issues it faces not unique alongside other villages in the Northumberland Coast AONB, such as nearby Beadnell.
Arguably the most pressing is the property market in Bamburgh, and lack of affordable housing means that local businesses are struggling to fill jobs.
The Castle Inn is short of staff “in every area”, and the rising cost of fuel is having an impact too, with workers less willing and able to travel for seasonal jobs or hospitality wages.
Speaking to The Journal back in March, Rachel Douglas, a local resident who has submitted a petition to Northumberland County Council about the availability of affordable homes to rent in the area said: “It’s been more than a decade since the last meaningful development of any social or affordable housing in the Beadnell, Seahouses and Bamburgh area. Businesses are starting to suffer because there isn’t a pool of staff for the businesses.”
“Yes, we rely on tourism, but if we haven’t got a community here to support the tourism, there’s going to be nothing for the visitors to come to.”
Thankfully, for the moment, Bamburgh seems to be doing all right – at least from the outside. According to Ronnie from the Castle Inn, all the businesses in the village are doing well, especially the hotels.
There were plenty of people in the pubs and restaurants, and on the beaches, even on a day when black clouds were threatening to crack open, and on quite a few occasions, actually did.
But the issues with parking, infrastructure and affordable housing are not new, and need to be tackled if Bamburgh is going to top lists of the UK’s best seaside destinations in 10 or 20 years time.