Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland

Bamburgh Castle stands on a basalt outcrop above the North Sea coast in Northumberland, England, and overlooks a wide sweep of sandy beach and dunes. The site was the stronghold of the Anglo-Saxon kings of Northumbria, and the present castle is largely Norman in origin, with major restoration in the late nineteenth century by Lord Armstrong. It remains privately owned by the Armstrong family. Visitors enter through the main gate and explore the Keep, the Great Hall with its collection of arms and armour, the Armstrong and Aviation Artefacts Museum, and the castle's kitchens, dungeons and state rooms. The castle walls give long views across the beach to the Farne Islands and Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Below the castle, Bamburgh village has a green, cafes, the Grace Darling Museum and the church where she is buried. The beach below the castle is a favoured place for walking and for photographing the fortress, especially at low tide or sunrise when the walls glow. Visits take between two and three hours, with additional time for the beach and village. The castle is less crowded than Edinburgh or Warwick, but can fill on summer weekends and school holidays, with queues for the gate by late morning. Early opening or late afternoon is calmer. The Northumberland Coast Path passes through Bamburgh, so the castle can be combined with a coastal walk to Seahouses. Parking is available in the village, and a coastal bus serves the area in season. Wind on the headland can be strong, so layers are advised. The surrounding coast adds to a visit. Seahouses, a few miles south, runs boat trips to the Farne Islands, where puffins, grey seals and seabird colonies can be seen in season, and Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island is reached by a tidal causeway that must be crossed according to published safe times. Bamburgh has pubs, tearooms and holiday cottages, and the village sits on the Northumberland coast route, making it a base for exploring.