You can read about the first part of my trip to North Northumberland here.

The following day, we headed back to Bamburgh Walled Garden Café for a full breakfast. I had the “small” breakfast, and despite the moniker it was more than enough for me! It’s quite pricey in here for breakfast, and for three of us the bill was close to £60, but the produce is all from local suppliers, cooked fresh and the restaurant is in a lovely setting. The whole area has recently been renovated with outdoor seating and a large kids play area (outside), so I imagine in the school holidays it will be extremely popular with families.

After breakfast I decided I was going to walk from Bamburgh to Seahouses along the beach. I’ve done this walk before in the winter on a glorious December day, but decided that doing it again in May would be equally as nice. It was a “warm” (highs of 20 degrees according to my weather app) day so I was wearing shorts, but I still needed a 3/4 sleeve t-shirt on to protect my shoulders against the somewhat chilly breeze coming off the sea – it would have been quite cold to do it in a sleeveless top! It’s one of the things I always find amusing at this time of year in the UK; nobody really knows how to dress (and that’s not a criticism!) – some people you see in May, when the sun’s shining, in shorts and strappy t-shirts, others are still wearing their duvet coats!

Anyway, clothing aside, it is a stunning walk down the sands from Bamburgh to Seahouses – a distance of about 7km/3.5 miles. It’s a bit challenging at the start, walking up the soft sanded dunes, but once you’re on the flat beach (especially if the tide is out and can walk on the firm, damp, sand) then it’s easy going. Whilst walking I took the time to have a look in some of the many rockpools – the tide was on the turn, so probably not the best time, as they’d been exposed for some hours, and anything that hadn’t hidden away had probably been picked off by the sea birds. I did see some sea anemones, and plenty of cool and colourful sea weed, but not a huge amount of critters. The best time to go rock-pooling would be a couple of hours after high tide; you can find out more information about how to get the best out of going rock-pooling from The Rock Pool Project website. The walk (done at a very relaxed pace) took me about two hours.

Often beaches are inaccessible to those with mobility issues because their mobility aids cannot go on sand. In Bamburgh, however, a new project by Beach Access North East and Bamburgh Parish Council has brought beach-ready wheelchairs to Bamburgh beach available to book/loan. You can read about the different chairs available and how to hire them here.

Following day, mum and I headed to Alnwick Garden. It was a bit of a palaver, which is a shame because Alnwick Castle & Garden is a great tourist attraction and has lots of things to do. The palaver occurred because we’d booked an electric scooter to help her get around and it wasn’t there when we arrived. It turned out there’d been some crossed-wires and there wasn’t one available, so we ended up having to take a wheelchair and I had to push her around. I was quite happy to do this, but seeing as Alnwick garden has quite a few uphill paths, it was a bit more exercise than I’d been anticipating that morning! Anyway, it was nice to amble around, although the beautiful sensory gardens weren’t quite out yet (June/July would be the best time to visit for this). The top garden with Alhambra-esque water features was lovely, with blooming lilac, clematis, a few tulips, and a wonderful trailing wisteria over the gateway.

I then went into Alnwick to go and have a mooch around The Accidental Bookshop (part of Forum Books, started in Corbridge), whilst mum went to have a coffee in Northern Angels – a new coffeeshop and lifestyle shop that celebrates the contribution of amazing women from across the North, as well as promoting sustainable living. Definitely worth a visit when in Alnwick!

Stay tuned for Part Three for the last update about my trip to North Northumberland…