This was recently featured in ITV’s top ten favourite walks in the UK, and it’s easy to see why! Despite it being a grey and drizzly day, we thoroughly enjoyed the short walk.

Distance: Walking here from the beautiful village of Craster is about 1.5 miles, so a 3 mile return walk means it’s great for children.

Location: Start at Craster Quarry car park. It’s a pay and display (£1 per hour at time of writing). No map needed.

Facilities: Toilets and takeaway cafe at the carpark. Highly recommend the Jolly Fisherman.

Accessibility: The route is a grassy path (so can get muddy) and fairly flat. We did pass one buggy as we walked, but it should be pretty robust. You also need to pass through kissing gates, so wide buggies (such as doubles) may have difficulty.

The walk from Craster with Dunstanburgh Castle

This fabulous walk starts from the fishing village of Craster.

Make sure you stop to appreciate the Mermaid statue; Fishermen used to rub her head before a trip out to sea for good luck! Obviously Jess had to have a go!

The route to Dunstanburgh Castle is easy to find, just follow the shoreline path to the castle that you can see in the distance!

It’s pretty impressive, with plenty of coves and rock pools to explore on the way with little ones. The North Sea is simply breathtaking, and arguably in poor weather like today, more dramatic!

As you walk through the fields, there are plenty of animals to spot. Does anyone feel like they spend their lives answering the same questions from their kids? Everytime she sees sheep we get asked why they have coloured spots on. Every. Time. And on this walk we got it on the way there and back… aaagghhhh!!

Arriving at the Castle itself is pretty impressive. We didn’t go in there on this occasion; pre-covid lockdown required pre-booking tickets. But usually both English Heritage and National Trust members can enter for free.

After having an explore you can head back to Craster. If you are after a spot of food, I highly recommend the Jolly Fisherman. Not only is the food amazing, but it welcomes muddy boots and dogs.

This is one of those walks that you keep returning to. If you’re looking to extend your day, you could head on the path at the back of the castle, and over to the sandy beaches at Low Newton, where there’s another great pub to enjoy.

For a longer option of the walk, you could try this 6 mile route provided by the National Trust.

And if you’re looking for other things to do in Northumberland, why not visit my absolute favourite National Trust property, the beautiful Cragside. Or for all my posts that mention Northumberland, have a look at this page.