Northumberland Holiday Guide 2009
ROTHBURY & COQUETDALE
Lordenshaws
Rothbury
Black Sheep Bikes
01669 620887
Burradon, Rothbury
www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk
01669 631121
One of the best preserved of the area’s many Iron Age hillforts and the
www.blacksheepbikes.co.uk site of Stone Age ‘cup & ring’ marks carved into the rocks. According to
The bicycle is one of the best ways to explore the more quiet lanes and local legend these mysterious marks are milestones on the road to the
cycle tracks around Rothbury and Black Sheep Bikes offer a wide range
lost Faerie Kingdom!
of cycles for hire as well as sales and accessories.
Northumberland National Park Visitor Centre
Coquetdale Arts Centre Church Street, Rothbury
Front Street, Rothbury 01669 620887
01669 621557
www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk
www.coquetdale.org.uk
Information about the mid-section of the National Park with maps and
Excellent arts centre offering gallery and studio space to a variety of
guides to Coquetdale, the Simonside hills and Rothbury. There is also
local artists working in a variety of different media - but all inspired by
an exhibition on the history and geology of the area and a gift shop.
the beauty of Coquetdale.
Otterburn Ranges
Upper Coquetdale
01830 520569
www.otterburnranges.co.uk
As the name suggest this huge tract of countryside is the second largest
live firing range in the UK – but don’t let that put you off! There is now a
public road from the head of the Coquetdale valley, through the ranges,
to the main A68 road to Edinburgh. The road is open to motorised traffic,
walkers, riders and cyclists except when red flags are flying indicating
a military exercise is taking place. Along the way there is breathtaking
scenery to enjoy in one of the least visited areas of the country.
Rothbury Forests
Rothbury
01434 220242 (Ranger)
www.forestry.gov.uk
Mountain bikers are especially welcome to explore the forests of Rothbury
Cragside House, Peter Atkinson
which cover a total area of 10,500 hectares. The main forests are at
Kidland, Uswayford, Harbottle, Thrunton and Harwood and offer a thrilling
mixture of terrain and features. There’s more information at the National
Cragside House, Gardens and Estate
Park Visitor Centre and bike hire from Black Sheep bikes (see above).
Rothbury
01669 620333
BERWICK COAST & COUNTRY
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
This neo-Tudor mansion, built by Victorian industrialist Lord Armstrong,
was described by Pevsner as ‘Wagnerian’. Certainly the grounds were
Bamburgh & Belford
designed on a near mythical scale with a whole hillside remodelled into
the world’s largest rockery! Don’t miss Armstrong’s ingenious hydro-
Bamburgh Castle
electric system, which made Cragside the first house in the world to be
Bamburgh
lit by ‘green’ power, or the 1,000 acres of rhododendrons that bloom in
01668 214515
early summer.
www.bamburghcastle.com
Besides his ‘Wagnerian’ country house at Cragside (see below), Lord
Crown Studio
William Armstrong bought a little seaside cottage – the mighty Bamburgh
Bridge Street Rothbury
Castle! Once capital of Saxon Northumberland, and legendary home
01669 622890
of Arthurian knight Sir Lancelot, the much restored Bamburgh is still a
www.crownstudio.co.uk
magnificent Medieval castle and still home to the Armstrong family. The
Marvellous gallery and pottery studio exhibiting art and craft work by museum has fine displays of armour, a display about the life of Lord
local and national artists. Rothbury’s Bridge Street is also home to a William and the history of aviation. There are also wonderful walks along
wide variety of other art, craft and antique shops. the beach below the castle walls – don’t forget your camera.
Harbottle Castle
Belford Craft Gallery
Harbottle Village, Coquetdale
Belford
01669 620887
01668 213888
www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk
www.belfordcraftgallery.com
The historic 12
th
century castle has been reduced to little more than a
Belford is just off the A1 is and well worth the short drive for this
grassy bank but there are good walks to the Drake’s Stone and a hill top
wonderful gallery full of paintings, prints, ceramics, textiles, woodwork,
lough (lake). In the village there’s a pub, shop and craft centre.
jewellery, furniture and other treasure made by Northumberland artists.
Lady’s Well
Holystone Village, Coquetdale
RNLI Grace Darling Museum
01669 620887
Bamburgh
www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk
01668 214465
In Saxon times, the Lady’s Well was one of the main centres for
www.rnli.org.uk/gracedarling
baptising pagan Northumbrians and after the Norman Conquest a
Victorian heroine Grace Darling was only 22 years old when she helped
nunnery was built here. The spring and basin of Lady’s Well are still
her lighthouse keeper father rescue nine people from the doomed SS
there, as well as a number of pleasant walks to a cave reputed to be the Forfarshire wrecked off the Farne Islands. Tragically Grace died of TB
hiding place of Rob Roy; Wolf Crag where the last wolf in England was just four years later. The modern museum has preserved the lifeboat
shot; Dove Crag Waterfall and an Iron Age hillfort.
used in the rescue and many of Grace’s personal possessions.
www.visitnorthumberland.com 41
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