After visiting the King of Castles in Bamburgh (see separate review) we headed out on a walk we found in a book – Short Walks Around St. Oswald’s Way. It is a 2 mile (3.2 km) walk that took us up the coast past the castle and Castle Green and into the town, right down The Wynding then along the road to the Bamburgh Lighthouse “the most northerly land based lighthouse in England.” You will pass two car parks on your right so, yes; you can drive out here too. There are lovely views of the castle, the beach and the Farne Islands. We watched a kayaker and a surfer just past the breakers though it looked a bit chilly to us for those activities. There were also a few kites getting a good workout in the wind on the beach.
As you get to the Harkess Rocks and the lighthouse you will see the white stag painted on the rocks. We had read about it and expected it to be bigger and on a big cliff but it is still impressive. It is unknown why the stag is painted on the rocks though, according to our guide book there are two stories: “a stag jumped into the sea to escape hunters” or “it was painted by Italian prisoners of war in” WWII. From the lighthouse you can see Lindisfarne Island/Holy Island and there are storyboards detailing the various shore birds and wildlife you might see.
At this point on the walk you turn back and return to the village the way you left and turn right when you get back to the end of The Wynding. It was very windy on the coast and we were glad we had hats, scarves and gloves. The end of the walk takes you up Church Street to St. Aiden’s Church. The elaborate grave you can see in the churchyard is that of Grace Darling, a local heroine famous for saving shipwrecked people in 1838. She was the first woman to receive the RNLI Medal for Gallantry. To learn more about her you can visit the museum across the road from the church.
Bamburgh is a lovely little village in a stunning location on the coast and well worth a visit if you’re in the area.
“Bamburgh”:http://www.bamburgh.org.uk/
