Imagine building a castle and visiting it only once. That is the fate that befell Thomas, the second Earl of Lancaster, in the case of Dunstanburgh Castle on the Northumberland coast. He was executed when he was in his mid-40s, the year that the castle was completed – exactly 700 years ago – after he’d led a force of powerful barons in an uprising against his cousin Edward II.
On his retreat to Dunstanburgh, he fought the Battle of Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire, lost, was taken prisoner and beheaded.
I attend an event to commemorate the 700th anniversary, and am eager to find out more about the man, so head north for a look around his castle.
I’m the only passenger on the bus from Craster to Beadnell. Once in the seaside village I check a “what’s on in Beadnell” board. It is blank, but I have plenty to occupy myself on a hike down the coast from bay to bay. The first houses I pass, some of them art deco, are all straining for a view of the sea. I visit the site of the 13th-century St Ebba’s Chapel, now completely buried. It, too, once enjoyed a broad vista but, in common with present-day properties, now just overlooks the rocky foreshore. The coastal views really come in to their own just around the headland at Beadnell Bay, where the tops of the sand dunes – rather than first-floor picture windows – provide the best vantage points.
My starting post is three large, stone-built limekilns dating back to 1798. The silhouetted ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, nearly my finishing post, seem a long way away but on a day like today I’m not concerned. It’s the first day of spring, the sun is shining and there’s not a cloud in the sky. The low tide has planed the sands to a sheen. All I can hear is the distant rumble of waves, the trickle of a burn and the skidding of paws as a dog comes to a halt to pick up a ball.
Unlike the dog, I don’t want to get my feet wet so come up briefly from the beach to cross the burn via a footbridge. I could stick to the England Coast Path, but instead strike out across the dunes to explore. What I think from a distance is an old fishing boat is a large log, while a cabin is used by a ranger, rather than the wizened fisherman of my imagination.
The next beach is called Football Hole because of a flat piece of grass behind it where the game was once played. Just after the beach a courtyard of fishers’ cottages around a green at Low Newton-by-the-Sea is an unexpected delight and perfect spot for a halfway rest. What’s more, there’s a pub in one corner, the Ship, which boasts its own brewery. I drink my pint on the grass as all the outside tables are taken. The pub is full of people holding a glass in one hand and a dog lead in the other.
Mounds of glistening spume wobble in the breeze as I proceed along Embleton Bay, which has clapboard houses on the dunes at one end and, at the other, masses of evenly shaped and rounded black boulders. Just behind them is a second world war pillbox. I squeeze inside and peer out to sea through the seven tiny windows. Now, finally looming above, is that other, better-known defence, Dunstanburgh Castle.
The castle is transfixing and perhaps all the more impressive from a distance. Crowning an outcrop of the Great Whin Sill, which also underpins parts of Hadrian’s Wall, the ruins are all about context. Up close, yellow gorse provides a splash of colour to this austere prospect.
Seemingly a dreadful show-off, and with a very large chip on his shoulder, the second Earl of Lancaster fancied himself as a King Arthur figure and Dunstanburgh as his Camelot. It is almost a giant folly, as it served little practical purpose and saw battle only briefly, during the Wars of the Roses.
The view from the top of the gatehouse takes in almost my entire route. As I walk the last mile or so, I keep turning around for a last look at the castle – although by now my thoughts are turning to dinner at the Jolly Fisherman.
I find Craster clouded with the smoke that billows out of the roof of L Robson & Sons kipper smokehouse. Synonymous with the village, herring fishing from its harbour ceased in the 1970s because of depleted stocks and an eventual ban. They have since recovered but the fishermen catch other species these days and Craster’s herring now come from Norway. Done up like a kipper? Well, a little perhaps, but the smokehouse dates back to 1836 and I wasn’t too bothered about provenance. Either way the kippers provided a fine breakfast the following morning – and an immediate reminder of a grand day out.
Start: Beadnell
Distance: 7¾ miles
Time: 3½ hours
Total ascent: 35 metres
Difficulty: Easy
Google map of the route
The pub
The Jolly Fisherman, established as a pub in 1847 having been built as a cottage, has been family-run since 2011. It is famous locally for its seafood, most of which is sourced from North Shields, although the lobsters come straight from Craster harbour when available, which is about three times a week, totalling about 70 lobsters in summer.
Fishermen carry them from their boats up to the pub. The lobster salad comes with truffle mayo, beef dripping chips and either thermidor or marie rose sauce (£26 for a half lobster, £47 for a whole). Other specialities include crab soup and crab sandwiches made to a secret recipe passed down from the previous two landlords.
thejollyfishermancraster.co.uk
Where to stay
There is not a lot of accommodation nearby. Alnwick, seven miles away, has a better choice. The EveAnna B&B has been under new ownership since 2019 and is cosy, modern and comfortable. It’s part of a terrace built in 1887 as a hotel for passengers arriving at the station next door, although it was never used for this purpose and was subsequently divided into three houses. The station closed in 1968 and now houses the town’s famous secondhand bookshop, Barter Books.
Doubles from £100 B&B, eveannaleisure.co.uk
• This article was amended on 10 May 2022. The B&B building was constructed in 1887 not 1930.
