Berwick Upon Tweed - good holiday destination?

[Wiifitmama]

I am thinking of booking a week in Berwick Upon Tweed for the first week of July and looking for opinions.

For context, we go as a family of mostly adults (me, dh, two adult boys with girlfriends, and one teen boy). We enjoy holidaying together every summer.

We like: small towns near the coast with river or estuary, castle or historic house to visit, lots of nice walks, good food a must (both shops and restaurants). We travel by train from London - no car so would not travel further afield for trips out.

We did Conwy in Wales last summer which was perfect. We want to go further north this year and Berwick Upon Tweed seems to fit the bill.

I would love to hear from anyone who knows it well. Does it fit the bill?

It's perfect- enjoy!

To be fair there's not a lot in Berwick. Not far to travel into Newcastle etc. or there are plenty of other seaside towns nearby but prob not by train

We went there this year. Berwick itself is a little bit tired, not the prettiest of towns. Was a good base for exploring the stunning Northumberland coastline and there are so many awesome places to visit but if you can't drive I am not sure I would go.

It's a great base for north Northumberland (Holy Island, Bamburgh, Seahouses etc) and also the Scottish Borders (St Abbs, Coldingham Bay, Eyemouth etc).

We don’t want to use it as a base. I don’t mind getting a bus to a localish attraction but mostly we want to stay in the town. We like to take it easy. Lots of walks, eating, maybe some ruins and a historic house. However, I did not the poster who said the town is tired looking which is a shame.

I love Northumberland.

We stay in Berwick because there's different places to eat, beautiful places for days out like the honey farm, the heavy horse centre, Paxton house, sea houses, Dunbar, a wick castle, Eyemouth, holy island and the trains are good. York is 2 hours away on the train as is Newcastle.

Fabulous place with lovely beaches, chippys and lots of different things to see and do nearby or use as a base to travel further.

The town doesn't look tired at all, not sure why a pp has said that.

Hmmm. Hmmm. That's tricky! I love Berwick, and I love Northumberland (we live in Newcastle). BUT most of the glorious castles/stately homes etc in the region are very very difficult to reach on public transport from there.

I might be tempted to suggest looking at Hexham or Corbridge instead. Not on the coast, but they are on the Tyne, and there's great walking and easier access to historic sites including Hadrian's Wall via public transport and/or walking.

(I've also been to Conwy so I sort-of understand what you're looking for!)

Love Berwick but it would be to use as a base. Have visited many times but wouldn't want to spend more than a day or 2 there as part of the holiday. So many amazing places within easy reach as PP have mentioned.

I love those places! But how easy are they to get to by public transport? Genuine question, not a snarky comment. (A boat trip from Seahouses out to the Farne Islands is an absolute must, if you can get there!)

Not a massive foody place, the Green Shop is excellent and one or two nice bistros. Fish n chips of course. Spittal is a good walk. But yes, shops are quite run down as with many towns.

Reading your second post. I would look elsewhere.
It's pretty tired and I csnt imagine enough o do

Sorry @user1583920194858592910103848559201 but I respectfully disagree, the high street was not great, the opportunities to eat weren't very exciting, the place looked to us tired. I enjoyed my morning run around the bay but I absolutely would not want to spend my whole holiday in Berwick - as I say it was perfectly nice as a jumping off point to explore other areas but in and of it self really didn't do anything for us. There are much prettier/interesting towns in Northumberland to stay in though I know Berwick is very simple to get to from London.

You would be bored after 2 days max, there isn’t a lot to do I’m afraid, fab as a base but you can walk round the town in an hour and there isn’t that many restaurants.

I loved Durham or even Alnwick but still not huge.

I agree it's more of a base really as it's not so very exciting itself. I mean it's pretty, and I wouldn't say it was "tired", but it's not a destination in itself.

You can get up and down the coast on the bus easily enough - you can certainly go to Bamburgh castle, lindesfarne, seahouses and Alnwick Castle by public transport.

Hexham is nice but I wouldn't go there without a car. Maybe Alnwick itself?

Hmmmm thank you all. You are definitely giving me pause for thought. I am struggling to find the right place though! Really do want coastal.

It is nice for a couple of days, but I actually preferred North Berwick, then you can, lots to do and so beautiful and a shot trip into Edinburgh.
If you do go to Berwick, please do go to the Green shop and Lemoncello.

It's a good base, but not a holiday destination in itself. We had a week there last summer. It's also quite a long way, from quite a lot of Northumberland! Nearly 100 miles to Vindolanda.

That was a bit garbled!
Obviously it's a short trip to Edinburgh.

We tried to go to Lemoncello - 2 days running, booked a table and everything, but both days they were so busy, that we were still standing outside after 45 mins and gave up. Got some cracking fish n chips to eat on the harbour instead.

I’d say all of the costal Northumberland towns are just to small to be anything other than a base as they just don’t have enough to see or enough restaurants etc to last you a week.

What about Edinburgh itself. We have history galore and beaches too!

This might really not work, but to throw it out there: Tynemouth / Whitley Bay? They are towns on the coast linked to Newcastle by the "metro" light-rail/underground. You can catch the metro right from the mainline station. Some lovely walks (as far as you like up the coast!) plus ruins (Tynemouth Priory etc) and gorgeous seascapes/beaches. Plus you could pop into Newcastle for as much history as you want (and museums/galleries/fine-dining).

What about just south of Northumberland in somewhere like Tynemouth? You have the beaches, the priory, aquarium and great transport links to lots of other places of interest. Newcastle itself is an easy day out from there.

@CeeceeBloomingdale Jinx!!

Ha ha spooky @PhotoDad

Berwick-upon Tweed - NO (if you want to stay and spend most of your time there i.e. not using it as a base).

North Berwick (East Lothian) - YES (easy to get to on train from Edinburgh) and utterly wonderful