The 70-mile stretch of British coast with dolphins and golden beaches – but

Northumberland. The very word conjures up a feeling of open space and big skies. There’s a character here that is uniquely different from any other English county – and the 70 miles of coast are the jewel in its crown.

Sandwiched between Scotland and England, the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) has some of the finest scenery in Europe, is home to some of the continent’s finest beaches and sand dunes, and is steeped in history.

Among the small fishing harbours and towns are silent stories of the time when herring was king, when Viking warriors waded ashore, when Victorian heroines rowed in fearsome seas to rescue shipwrecked families, and when a small fire gave birth to a worldwide breakfast favourite.

Blissful solitude

Amid 70 miles of wild and glorious seaside, Sugar Sands is a tiny haven that oozes a Mediterranean aura and blissful solitude on a sunny day. It’s one of a series of delightful little coves along the stretch of coastline running to the crags of Dustanburgh, which sit two miles north. Here lie ruins of the mighty Dunstanburgh Castle, built in 1313, which hang onto the retreating cliffs. 

To the south, along the Northumberland Coastal Path, sits the fishing village of Boulmer, with its wide beach. Stationed here are traditional Northumbrian cobles, direct descendants of the Viking longships. With no keel, the boats are launched from the beach by tractors and used today for netting salmon or potting lobsters. Their catch can be sampled at the Fishing Boat Inn, once the haunt of smugglers and excisemen, on the large deck terrace overlooking the sea.

Birthplace of the kipper

Seafood is king in these parts, and nowhere more so than in Seahouses – reputed to be the birthplace of the kipper, supposedly by accident after a fire in a local hostelry. The large car park in the centre of the town was once the railway station where fish was sent to smart London restaurants.

Fish and chip restaurants and an amusement arcade now occupy the high street, but the virtually unvisited old village is home to the squares and alleyways where the fishing families once lived. Here they mended their nets and baited their lines and it’s a fascinating place to while away an hour. The deep scars in the gate posts at Chapel Row are evidence of where fishermen sharpened their knives and tucked away in South Street lies Swallow Fish. A hidden gem, it’s England’s oldest Smoke House, and still trades on the sale of kippers and seafood fresh off the boats. 

Europe’s answer to the Galapagos

Top of many visitors’ lists is a boat trip from Seahouses to the National Trust-run Farne Islands. Home to over a quarter of a million seabirds, the islands are known as Europe’s answer to the Galapagos. With vast colonies of puffins – or ‘tommy noddys’ as they are known locally – and arctic terns, which fly as far as Antarctica before returning to nest in the north (and dive bomb and peck the heads of the human visitors), the islands are a major draw until mid-August when most of the residents migrate for another year.

The boatmen offer cruises around the island if the sanctuaries are closed and quite often the local dolphins, feeding on the shoals of mackerel that move up and down the coast, swim in their wake. A sunset cruise is simply magical as the light paints the sea orange and yellow, before the boats return back to the harbour.

A mile further out to sea and overshadowed by the other islands is the Trinity House Longstone Lighthouse, once home to Victorian heroine Grace Darling. From her bedroom here, on September 8, 1838, she spotted the survivors of the wreck of the SS Forfarshire clinging to the rocks and rowed with her father through raging seas to rescue them. The pair were awarded Silver Bravery medals and over £700 (roughly £68,000 today) was raised for her, including £50 from Queen Victoria. She became a national hero, with songs being composed about her and hundreds of gifts, letters, and proposals of marriage delivered to the island.