Northumberland Coast

The coast between Amble and Berwick is the emptiest good beach country in England. Bamburgh's sands run for miles under a castle on a basalt outcrop, Embleton Bay curves round to the ruin of Dunstanburgh, and at Ross Back Sands you can walk an hour without meeting anyone. Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is cut off twice a day by tide across a causeway with published safe crossing times that people ignore at their own cost; the island holds a priory ruin and a small castle on a crag. Offshore, the Farne Islands carry one of Britain's most accessible seabird colonies - puffins, guillemots, kittiwakes and terns in summer, and a large grey seal population year-round, reached by boat from Seahouses.

What you actually see

• Bamburgh beach and castle - a fortress on basalt above miles of sand.
• Lindisfarne - the tidal island with its priory ruin and castle.
• The Farne Islands - puffins, terns and grey seals by boat from Seahouses.
• Dunstanburgh Castle - a ruin reached only on foot along the shore.

When to go

Puffins are ashore roughly late April to late July, which is the peak reason to book a Farnes boat. May to September gives the warmest sea and longest days. Always check Lindisfarne crossing times before setting out. The coast is exposed and the wind is a constant, even in July.

Honest expectations

The North Sea is cold enough to shorten any swim, and the haar - a cold sea fog - can sit on the coast for days in early summer. Farne boats cancel in swell with little notice. Cars are recovered from the Lindisfarne causeway most years. Arctic terns dive-bomb visitors on Inner Farne, so a hat is not optional.

Nearby

Alnwick's castle and garden lie inland, and Hadrian's Wall country is an hour southwest.