Craster, Dunstanburgh... and a Littlehoughton

Today was the final day of our holiday and being on the coast all week has made me wish for the hills. Northumberland reputedly has some fine hill country, and whilst we were never likely to do much walking on this holiday, a journey inland in the car should be a treat.

Well it would have been if the cloud and drizzle had stayed away. We were heading for Kielder Water, the UK's largest reservoir, but after travelling for nearly an hour we reached a sign telling us it was a further 18 miles away. This was just too far on a day when the views would be hidden behind the clouds anyway, and once we noticed that behind us the clouds disappeared near the coast, we decided to turn back.

One place we'd spotted when we did our first reconnisance after arriving was Craster, a tiny fishing harbour just up the coast from our cottage. Then the weather was too bad to leave the car, but we all agreed we should return on a fine day. The harbour was created in 1906 and named after a Captain Craster, who was killed in India on active service. The cottages used to be fishermans' cottages, but nowadays many of them cater for tourists, who hire them out throughout the summer months.

Craster kippers are quite famous and the smokehouse on the hillside was proving popular with visitors, but with a long journey home to come, there was no point in taking anything back with us. Of course, this didn't stop Mum getting a 'takeaway' of cockles, but although I'm partial to seafood, I draw the line here.

Another reason why Craster is so popular in the summer months is that Dunstanburgh Castle is only a mile or so further up the coast and is a relatively easy walk across the grass. Although the cloud had returned it seemed set to stay dry so we decided to give it a go. Dunstanburgh Castle was built in the 1400's for Thomas, Earl of Lancaster and was later inherited by John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. The castle was partially destroyed by cannonfire in the Wars of the Roses and was never repaired, gradually deteriorating into its present state.

The walk from Craster leads to the main gateway, and this is as far as we went before returning on the same path.

There was one final place to visit before leaving Northumberland - all week we'd been staying in a little village called Longhoughton, quite appropriate for us perhaps, until we realised that a smaller village further up the road was called Littlehoughton! We had to visit and take a photo of us next to the village sign, but the village was so small it didn't have one.

Not to be deterred, we found a sign for Littlehoughton house instead and spent a few minutes taking our photos outside whilst the neighbourhood curtains twitched.