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Welcome to our UK travel forum where you can get advice on everything from holidays to exotic destinations, to tips on London travel.

Original poster

Best base in Northumberland? Alnwick?

16 replies

Greedygirl · 10/02/2013 08:40

Planning a visit to Northumberland in May half-term. Trying my hardest to get over some of the prices hikes! We want to do a bit of everything - coast, Holy Island, castles, Hadrian's Wall and possible Newcastle. Would Alnwick be the best base for exploring? We have been before but I can't remember for the life of me where we stayed before!

OP posts:
HellesBelles396 · 10/02/2013 08:52

alnwick's a good base for coast and countryside and is close to alnmouth train station for trips to Newcastle. it is some distance from hexham, etc

Original poster
Greedygirl · 10/02/2013 09:00

Ah, it is coming back to me now, we never got to Hexham etc because of the distances involved, we were on on a short break last time. We must have stayed more towards the coast. Mind you, just googled it and it is only an hour or so away so we could make a day of it. Thank you HellesBelles396.

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HellesBelles396 · 10/02/2013 09:05

there is a train from Newcastle that goes along tynedale stopping at many stations on its way to Carlisle.

as a coastal northumbrian I still suggest alnwick Wink

VivaLeBeaver · 10/02/2013 09:17

I've stayed in Alnwick before for a week's holiday and it seemed a good place to be based.

You can get a bus from Alnwick bus station into Newcastle - took about an hour.

We went to some of the castles, Holy Island, nice NT place, boat trip from Seahouses. It was too cold for beaches. We stopped off at Hadrian's Wall on the way up to Alnwick.

Original poster
Greedygirl · 10/02/2013 09:32

Thank you both. We are going to see a comedian in Newcastle on our way up which complicates things slightly as we will have our son with us (hadn't planned the Northumberland trip when we booked the tickets) so I think that a stop over in Hexham (grandparents to babysit on their first night of holiday Blush) followed by a week more towards Alnwick and the coast might just do it!

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Original poster
Greedygirl · 10/02/2013 09:33

Hexham proving a pain to book though!

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Littlemissexpecting · 10/02/2013 09:45

Have you got car or using train?
We've just spent a week at a cottage with coastal retreats and they were amazing. Loads to choose from, we stayed in craster and found getting around easy enough by car. Depends if you want to be able to walk onto the beach or walk into Alnwick easily or if you would be going out every day.

Original poster
Greedygirl · 10/02/2013 16:28

Littlemissexpecting - we will have a car so hopefully should be able to get out about quite a bit. I love the look of the Coastal Retreat cottages and have spent many a happy hour drooling over the website but a bit pricy for us at the moment. Which one did you stay at?

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Selks · 10/02/2013 16:55

There's a nice youth hostel in Alnwick if you're on a budget.

MortifiedAdams · 10/02/2013 17:06

OOh which Comedian are you going to see? I live in Newcastle, and it.os quite a distance to Alnwick but worth it either way for exploring.

Add in a little trip to Bamburgh to.see the castle and walk.along the amazing beach (just north of Seahouses). Some good pubs with nice food too.

Original poster
Greedygirl · 10/02/2013 17:18

Yes I thought about that for Hexham Selks but want a bit more privacy for Alnwick or wherever we end up for the rest if the week.

Mortifiedadams / going to see Sean Lock. Can't wait. Is Seven Stories in Newcastle worth a look? We have a 5yo.

OP posts:
HellesBelles396 · 10/02/2013 17:23

a lot of the farms round here have cottages that are rented out as holiday lets. Hag House and Causey Park are two that relatives have stayed at. BOB but both on good roads though about twenty minutes south of alnwick. Also there are nice cottages in warkworth (lovely village, river, castle, 4 pubs, chocolate/ice-cream shop, buses and easy roads to lots of coastal northumberland)

campocaro · 10/02/2013 17:32

Seven Stories is great. There is also a little city farm nearby Ouseburn Valley nearby and 'The Biscuit Factory is a nice gallery/cafe

Littlemissexpecting · 10/02/2013 18:49

We have stayed at a few but our favourite is probably coastguards cottage in craster. They are really great for kids.
Beamish is great for a day out if weather good but its about an hour from craster. Loads of great pubs we tried the FBI in boulder for Sunday lunch which was good and very popular. Jolly fisherman in craster was busy too as lots of people visiting after seeing dunstanburgh (sp?) castle. I quite fancy staying in Newton by the sea next

MortifiedAdams · 10/02/2013 23:13

In the city centre I would recommend the Discovery Museum - history of gateshead and newcastle, quite interactive, and a river tyne activity bit set up with dams and bridges and boats (aprons provided as is quite a wet activity).

Also, the Hancock Museum is great, models of dinosaurs and all sorts. Very good!

Ive not been to Seven Stories yet as I do think its a bit ££ and DD is only 1.1 so Ill wait til she can get a bit more out of it.

Whitehouse Farm near Morpeth is, by all accounts, the best farm in the area.

Bunbaker · 11/02/2013 17:41

I would suggest anywhere in the Alnwick/Morpeth/Rothbury area (writing this between Morpeth and Alnwick right now).

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