The North East coastline of the UK must be one of the best-kept secrets ever and in my opinion Bamburgh Beach & Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland are the jewels in the North East’s crown. The area as a whole is simply stunning: it is peppered with wide-open, sandy beaches, rocky cliff-faces, and historic castles, all lying beneath vast skies that are ever-changing. In between all this gorgeousness are little villages, some with stone harbours, and most with pubs and coffee shops.
One of the best stretches of sandy beach is between Bamburgh and Seahouses, and this beach has the added attraction of the stunning Bamburgh Castle at one end of it. (map) You can’t miss it! Bamburgh Castle is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country and covers nine acres of land, sitting atop an uncompromising rocky plateau high above the sands. Dogs are not permitted within the castle, but to be frank you don’t need to go inside the walls to enjoy it.
There are many places to start your walk, depending upon how far you want to go: You can park at Seahouses in the pay and display car park (map) at one end of the beach on the coast road (there is another car park in town), or you can park at Bamburgh. There is a couple of larger car parks in Bamburgh: One is pay & display and is opposite the castle so you need to cross the road (map), and another just down Links Road, opposite the houses, to the south of the castle, which means you just need to wander through the sand dunes to get to the beach. (map) Hoover loves running up and down the dunes! There are also a couple of smaller car parking areas right on the beach (map) that are accessed by driving down The Wynding.
If you don’t fancy walking the entire length of the beach and back you will see that there are several lay-bys along the main road (B1340) between Seahouse and Bamburgh that you can park in. These all have a gate 
through the fence, or a stile over the fence, so you can access the beach at which ever of these you choose to park at and shorten your walk accordingly. (streetview)
There are a choice of pubs for lunch at both Seahouses and Bamburgh, but Seahouses is the larger of the two villages so probably has more choice. However both are well worth a visit, and Bamburgh is probably the prettier of the two. Bamburgh has a lovely gift shop (Blacketts of Bamburgh) and is home to the RNLI’s Grace Darling Museum. (Museum) The museum commemorates the life of Victorian Britain’s greatest heroine, who was the daughter of a lighthouse keeper. She risked her life to rescue nine survivors from the wrecked SS Forfarshire on 7th September 1838. Seahouses on the other hand has a fully working harbour to wander round. (map)
