Tag: Northumberland Coastal Path

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The Mighty Hike

Posted on by Jackie B

Sorry it’s been quite a while but I really need to get back into blogging!

I had a lovely day on Saturday. Daughter got a place on the McMillan Mighty Hike along the Northumberland Coastal Path. A place became available at the last minute when a friend’s sister had to drop out. It’s a 26 mile walk from Alnwick Pastures (by Alnwick Castle) to Bamburgh, via the coastal villages of Alnmouth, Howick, Craster, Embleton, Newton by-the-Sea, Beadnell, and Seahouses. The route took in some of our most beautiful coastal views.

The walkers were raising funds for the MacMillan charity, which provides support for cancer patients and their families, including specialist nurses. It’s a really worthwhile cause.  The route soon filled up with walkers wearing the charity’s distinctive green and white T-shirts. Around 2000 people were participating.

It was a gorgeous sunny day, but with a nice breeze to keep the walkers cool. The plan was to keep track of daughter using WhatsApp Location Finder so I could meet up with them. This backfired as the mobile signal is not good along parts of the coast! I was looking after her little Labrador, Wren. 

The walk has a staggered start and daughter and friends were setting off just after 7 am. I was supposed to meet them later on. Daughter would collect her dog and veer off the path onto the beach so she could have a nice walk. We met up at Embleton Golf Course, where I parked near the path where the walkers were coming past and handed over the dog, then drove to Newton by-the-Sea.

 Somehow we missed each other at that next rendezvous point as I was unable to track her location but probably also because I was distracted by the view.

Newton Beach is one of my favourites and I spent so much time there as a child. Today it was at its best and I enjoyed sitting in the sunshine watching that view while I had a coffee and my picnic lunch. Although there were only tiny waves there was enough wind for the sailors: there were a couple of Laser dinghies getting up quite a speed and some larger yachts sailing past outside the bay.

Consequently, the dog got a much longer walk before I eventually caught up with them at Seahouses ! I was so glad I’d brought some water and a bowl because Wren was pretty thirsty after covering such a long distance. Even though I’d packed snacks and drinks the only other support I needed to give our walkers was to pick up daughter’s walking boots when she changed into trainers – it saved her carrying the heavier boots in her backpack. The  event was very well organised with lots of refreshment stops providing drinks and food.

The last 3 miles of the hike between Seahouses and Bamburgh are the toughest. The imposing Bamburgh Castle is visible throughout this stretch and never seems to get any closer. That’s got to feel even worse if you are getting a bit sore and tired, even though the route is fairly flat.

Eventually they arrived at Bamburgh.

The group made it in good time, completing the 26 miles in around 8 hours. At the finish, on Bamburgh cricket field, the walkers were presented with a medal and a glass of non-alcoholic fizz. There was plenty of food available too.

I waited in a nearby car park where there is my favourite view of Bamburgh Castle from the north

Wren was delighted to meet up with her Mum, who was feeling slightly sore but suitably proud of her achievement – She reckoned she hasn’t walked more than 8 miles in one go before this.

As I drove her back to Alnwick to retrieve her car she shared how much fun, but also how emotional the day had been. As they set off U2’s Beautiful Day was playing – this was one of her Dad’s favourite songs and was played at his funeral. She said it felt like a sign that he was watching over her and she’d be ok. With that and the very personal messages walkers had written on their numbers about why they were supporting the charity, there were a few tears on the way round.

Well done to all the walkers on the Mighty Hike (both on the 26 miler and the shorter 13 mile version held the following day)

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Knitting With A View: Newton-by-the- Sea in March

Posted on by Jackie B

Spring is in the air! The birds are singing, the daffodils are in bloom and the first of this year’s lambs are bounding about in the fields. It was a perfect day for K and Daughter, and the dogs, Buddy and Wren, to take a coastal walk and for me to indulge in a bit of scenic knitting.

We initially drove to the fishing village of Craster. I dropped them here and decided to get myself a coffee at the Piper’s Pitch – a small food kiosk in the main car park at the entrance to the village, just next to the Tourist Information Office. They were doing a brisk trade in kipper sandwiches (with the local kippers that Craster is famous for). There’s no waste with these. There’s a sign offering free kipper skins for your dog!.

It was such a nice day I decided to sit at one of the tables – I think this is the first al fresco coffee I’ve had this year.

After a quick look to see if there was anything of interest in Tourist Information I drove to Newton-by-the-Sea and parked in the disabled bay overlooking the see. I may have mentioned before on here that to access this you have to remove a heavy chain hung across the road – not very accessible for blue badge holders. Luckily however someone was walking past and kindly moved the chain for me.

The sea was pretty calm and there were lots of walkers about, Many with dogs. A group of children, sensibly clad in wetsuits and lifejackets were having great fun in the water with their makeshift raft. There was also a kayaker and some sea anglers.

Out to sea I could see the brilliant white and black male eider ducks swimming about. A whinchat was perched on a longer stem of marram grass next to the sand and every so often flitted away to catch an insect.

I got on with my current project: a black and white sweater in my handspun Jacob wool.

It wasn’t long until my human and canine companions reappeared further down the beach. They’d had a lovely long walk. We aren’t expecting much activity from the dogs this evening!

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Disability Access: The National Trust Must Try Harder.

Posted on by Jackie B

The Northumberland Coastal Path comes through Newton-by-the-Sea. We were there recently with some friends, one of whom is a scooter user. She has a beast of a machine – it’s called the Tramper and it will drive on sand (unlike mine).

Even though both machines could take the paths to Newton Point and Football hole without problems, access is either via cattle grid (no good for small wheels)…

…or kissing gate (no way)!

The path to the accessible hide behind Newton Dunes is too narrow in places for my friend to get through on her scooter.

There are a couple of designated disabled parking bays at Low Newton – they aren’t extra wide to allow for wheelchair transfer, but that’s not the worst of it. This is what you have to negotiate to access the disabled parking bays at Low Newton. Useless!

Come on National Trust. Get your finger out. Disabled people want to access the countryside too.

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Sea and Sunshine

Posted on by Jackie B

It’s been a glorious day today here in Northumberland. We headed to Howick for a dog walk and there was a parking space by the Coastal Path so K and Buddy headed off for a walk and I sat and knitted and watched the birds.

There were two pairs of eider ducks swimming close to the shore showing some breeding behaviour, throwing their heads up. The females are a nondescript brown (and fairly well camouflaged when they are on the nest) but the males are a striking black and while – you can’t miss them really. My favourite thing about eiders however is the sound they make – they don’t quack, they coo!

There were also lots of fulmars flying about. They nest on the cliffs here. Superficially they look like gulls, but whereas gulls have a “W” shaped outline, with bent wings, the fulmar has straight wings and glides over the water – it is more closely related to the petrels and shearwaters. If disturbed they spit a foul smelling oil. Not nice!

A few oystercatchers flew past emitting their piping call.

I was lucky enough to see a couple of dolphins swim past – all summer when there was loads of dolphin activity along the coast we saw nothing and here were a couple when we hadn’t;t particularly set our to find them. Typical!

Not long before we left, couple of canoes went by. – what a perfect day to be on the water.

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On the Coast: Ponies, Eider Ducks and Signs of Spring

Posted on by Jackie B

We had a drive up the coast today and came across these ponies on Annstead Dunes , a Northumberland Wildlife Trust nature reserve north of Beadnell. This was a small herd of six Exmoor Ponies, one of our native breeds. They were brought here some years ago as part of the reserve’s management plan. Several groups of ponies graze on the course grasses, which allows wildflowers to grow, improving the biodiversity of the site.

The Exmoors are very distinctive: bay with a pale “mealy” muzzle, pale underside and ring around the eye. We catch sight of them regularly when we drive up this stretch of coast, sometimes grazing, sometimes trotting along the dunes in a tight herd. It’s always lovely to see them.

We drove south to Howick, where there is a place to park by the Northumberland Coastal Path. K took the dog for a walk while I looked around to see what I could see and did some knitting.

The sea was quite calm, so conditions were reasonable for spotting whales and dolphins but nothing was about, and not many birds either, just a few gulls and a pair of eider ducks.

You can just make them out as dots on the water: the striking black and white male and the drab brown female. Eiders often mate for life. It’s too early in the for this pair to be breeding yet though.

With nothing else about, I got on with my knitting. I’m still making my socks -it’s a very compact portable project for knitting on the go.

There are some definite signs of spring about. We saw these winter aconites growing under a hedge on our trip out today.

All of a sudden there are clumps of snowdrops everywhere, including these in our garden. We do often get snow in February or even March, so winter will be with us for a while yet, but it always feels positive to see the first flowers of the year.

What is your favourite sign of spring?