A Northumberland Road-Trip
Driving The Nland 250
The most sparsely populated county in England, Northumberland is the perfect location to escape the madness of city life.
With beautiful beaches, a vast national park and miles of untouched landscapes you aren’t exactly short of options for adventure. What's more, Northumberland is home to a network of scenic and relatively empty roads, meaning that it is perfectly set up for a road trip.
This set of ingredients recently led to the birth of the Northumberland 250, a 250 mile road trip route that loops around the county, taking you through the very best it has to offer and introducing you to perhaps the most surprising corner of England.
We recently embarked on the NL250, heading out on a 4.5 day discovery filled adventure. Our road trip itinerary includes our favourite discoveries, best hikes and adventures along the way.
Your Northumberland Adventure: What You Need To Know Before You Go:
Ok so you’re thinking of taking on the NL250, but what do you need to know before you set off?
Well firstly it’s important to state that you can take as little or as long as you like over this adventure. We took 4.5 days and that felt like a good amount of time, however even if you only had a day in the area (maybe you’re en route to Scotland) then tackling a section of the route is certainly worthwhile.
When is the best time to go to Northumberland?
The best time to do this adventure is May-September with the weather and long evenings best suited. It is worth noting that Northumberland isn’t exactly famed for it’s tropical climate or consistency of weather, even in the summer months and so we advise to pack appropriately.
What to take to Northumberland?
As stated the weather can be fairly temperamental and it isn’t uncommon to have sunshine, cloud and rain in one day and so layers are a safe bet! What’s more, although a road trip, this is very much an outdoor adventure and so appropriate footwear is a good idea; we advise trainers, ‘comfy shoes’ and some sort of hiking boot. Additionally, the beaches are a big feature of the trip and so pack accordingly, simmers, towels etc. Even if it’s raining it’s worth a dip!
Finally as it’s a road trip make sure you have your playlists and podcasts sorted. There are long stretches of remote road without 4G and so have them downloaded and ready to go!
Where to stay in Northumberland?
Northumberland is well set up for adventure seekers with a wide variety of options to suit all tastes and every budget. As this is a road trip, and an action packed one at that, the chances are you will not be spending all that much time in your room, maybe just a shower and kip at each stop. Therefore we recommend the budget friendly option of staying in pubs each night.
Not only is this achievable for those on a tighter budget, but it also gives you a slightly more local insight into a part of the UK that knows a thing or two about pubs and will undoubtedly lead to you meeting a fair few characters along the way!
Pubs can cost anywhere from the cheap and cheerful £60 a night, through to the more boutique, gastro pub end of around £150/200, which I think you’ll agree is a fairly reasonable scale.
One final decision before you leave:
Depending on where you are coming from you need to make the basic decision of do you want to tackle the 250 clockwise or anticlockwise? As with most of our adventures we let the Met Office make the decision for us, and as there was sunshine forecast for the next day we decided to head anticlockwise in the direction of the coast.
The Northumberland 250 - Our Itinerary
Day One | London to Rothbury
Setting off from London we had a 5 hour drive to the old town of Rothbury where we were to spend our first night. Situated near the edge of the Northumberland National Park in one direction and a short drive to the coast in the other, we calculated Rothbury to be well situated for our needs. Arriving early in the afternoon we were met by the traditional Northumberland welcome of rain, but you know what they say.. There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing, and so were prepared… bring it on.
A Short hike from Rothbury
A change of kit and we were off on a short loop walk along the Croquet River that runs through town. We picked this AllTrails route as 2.3km leg stretch sounded like the perfect, easy to achieve post journey leg stretch, and it was perfect. Very easy, very wet, very beautiful!
Day Two | Along The Coast:
Bamburgh Beach and Castle
The forecast was for sunshine from the off and so we set our alarms for 5am and hit the road. We were heading to Bamburgh Beach, home to England's most famous coastal fortress, Bamburgh Castle. As photographers we like to wake up early to catch the warm light, but this approach also allows us to experience often crowded tourist spots with next to nobody else there, a basic but very effective ‘adventure hack’.
We arrived at the carpark at 6 and were immediately rewarded for our early efforts as we began to walk along the spectacular Bamburgh beach. It was just the two of us, and whether you’re a photographer or not the light at that time totally changes the experience as the landscape lights up, changing all manner of colours as the sun rises.
The castle is the most famous tourist attraction in Bamburgh, and rightly so. Standing proud only 150ft from the sand, this 1500 year old Anglo Saxon stronghold is an extraordinary sight. However we’re not big into taking organised tours of crowded tourist attractions and being there at that time in the morning, touring the castle was not something that we had ever planned to do. Instead we walked along the beach away from the castle and up into the sand dunes that run parallel. This is where, in our opinion, you get the best of both worlds. On the one hand there are extraordinary views of the castle back over the dunes, on the other miles of seemingly untouched beach and golden sand dunes.
We sat there somewhat in awe. We had heard that this beach was nice but in reality it was really special, ranking right up there for us in terms of UK beaches.
A walk to the end of the beach and then back to the car and a short dive down the coast to Beadnell and breakfast at the Salt Water Cafe
Ross Sands: Lindisfarne National Reserve
After our early start we were tired and so fancied a swim and a lie down on a beach. Luckily with 40miles of coastline and an abundance of beautiful beaches we were in the right place. We made our way to Ross Sands, a small, relatively unknown stretch of beach hidden away a short walk from where you can park your car. We walked across the National Reserve, through some low lying sand dunes before coming out on to a stunning stretch of sand with views miles in either direction. We spent a couple of hours sunbathing, snacking and swimming - It was perfect.
And had we been feeling slightly more energetic Ross Sands is the perfect starting point for some very picturesque coastal hikes.
How to get there: put NE70 7EN into your Sat Nav, parking on the grass verge on the side of the single track road before you get to the little farm. It almost feels like you're in the wrong place but keep faith! Then follow your nose towards the coast, through the little hamlet of holiday cottages, through the reserve and onto the beach.
Holy Island of Lindisfarne
That afternoon we made our way to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, a small tidal island given its name due to the ancient monastery founded by Saint Aiden in 635AD that sits on it’s south coast. Accessible only at low tide, there are two ways to reach the island, by car across the causeway or a 2 hour walk along the sand guided by a series of long sticks protruding from the ground. We were pushed for time and so drove over there.
The island is small and with only one real carpark getting lost isn’t really an option, the only thing you need to be aware of are the tide times as these are obviously crucial to getting on and off the island.
There are several attractions worthy of your time on the island, most of them religious buildings (hence the name), however we were there to see perhaps a lesser known sight on the island, the fishermans sheds. Made from 1908 herring fishing boats, these sheds are the product of local fishermen believing that the old boats should not go to waste. They are made of the upturned boats, sawn in half with doors attached. A simple but really quite genius piece of recycling design. A collection of a dozen or so of them line one of the island beaches, and with the castle and North Sea as backdrop, make for a unique sight.
Once done we drove back to the mainland and after a long, action packed day it was time to hit the pillow.
Day Three | Driving The Borderlands
The Borderlands
We woke to grey skies and drizzle, however this tends to be the reality of this part of England (eve in summer) and so we had factored that into our plans. Today was about the road trip and taking in the most northern tip of England via beautiful country roads. We were to drive the ‘Borderlands’ stretch of the 250 from Berwick-Upon-Tweed on the coast down to the edge of Kiedler forest on the Western edge of the county.
This is a road that, as the name suggests, hugs the border with Scotland, in fact weaving between the two countries across beautifully unpopulated rolling hills and wild moorland. Our aim for the morning was simple: study the map to discover little tracks, rivers and viewpoints that would allow us to get a real feel for this section. So meandering our way down, that is exactly what we did, stopping regularly to take it all in.
Often our favourite parts of a road trip are when you have no plan and take full advantage of the freedom that travelling in a car brings. If we fancied turning left we turned left, right, we turned right.. Stop for a paddle in a river we did, and so on… This really is a beautiful stretch of road, perhaps one of the most remote in England so having the freedom to explore it exactly how you like and at your pace is what we advise. If you don’t need to rush, then don’t.
Driving The Kielder Forest Ride
We slowly meandered our way down to Kielder Forest where we drove a half an hour stretch of beautiful forest track known as the Forest Ride (https://www.forestryengland.uk/kielder-castle/kielder-forest-drive). The ride is a single track 12 mile road that winds through the thick Kielder Forest, giving you a real taste of the dense nature of this vast 250 square mile forest. The track is a deviation from the direct 250 official route but is recommended if you have the time.
Our day finished exploring the perimeters of Kielder Water, the largest man made body of water in Britain, taking in the views and plotting day 4.
Day 4 | Into The Forests
Driving Across The Otterburn Army Ranges
We began the day by driving another famously beautiful stretch of track, this time across the Otterburn Ranges in the National Park.
This track is different as it is only open to the public at specific times due to the fact that it is usually being used by the army for firing practise, therefore isn’t exactly safe all of the time.
We had done our research and were in luck, it was open that morning and so began the track just outside Otterburn. We spent the next couple of hours driving through this enormous, quite eerie forest, stopping every so often to weave in between the trees.
This drive is probably only about half an hour, however with a few stops it took us going on two.
Drive done and a food stop later and it was time for a bit more of a physical activity…
Mountain Biking in Kielder Forest
Home to forest tracks, hills of all shapes and sizes, lakeside trails and much more, Kiedler forest is perfect for mountain biking, with the variety meaning there are options for all levels of bikers. Although comfortable on bikes, we had never actually had a go at ‘proper mountain biking’ and so were excited to give it a go.. Well in fact, i’ll level with you, in truth we were slightly concerned it might fall into the organised fun category and feel overly controlled… Thankfully we were very wrong…
We rented our bikes at The Bike Place at Kielder Water, there are plenty of options including electric bikes for those who don’t fancy the uphills, we went for the basic £20 per head options and they were certainly good enough - that said we agreed it would be fun to try out the top spec options
The next decision was which trail to take on. There are eight route options catering for all abilities and time frames. As mentioned we are pretty used to bikes and had about 3 hours and so opted for the Osprey Trail which was is a Blue Trail, meaning it’s recommend for intermediate cyclists and is 19km long with an option to extend a further 4 to make 23km.
So we had our bikes, helmets and route.. It was time to set off.
First things first it’s worth mentioning that it is almost immediately hot work. This may well sound completely obvious, however as it was not a particularly warm day, we both wore long sleeves - after our first uphill ride we realised that that was a mistake! Anyway that’s boring (although potentially helpful), so lets focus on the fun bits, and there were plenty of them.
The route plunged us straight into the action as we navigated the tall trees of the forest, weaving between them on thin dirt tracks, immediately picking up a good bit of speed. Soon we found ourselves alongside a large river before encountering a climb up into the higher forests which rewarded us with stunning views back down over Kielder Water and the trees below. We’d only been riding for 45 minutes and we had seen a lot, we had forgotten how good bikes are for getting around.
We spent the next hour or so tackling sharp inclines before eventually bolting our way back down the slopes, over streams and through the forest. Our concerns about the experience potentially being a bit boring were blasted out as we zipped through the trees at a pace that genuinely scared us at points, it was adrenaline fuelled outdoor fun, and by the time we got back to the rental shop we were exhausted.
Thrill filled, affordable fun. We highly recommend it.
Day 5 | First Light On Hadrians Wall
We had to be back down south and so only had a couple of hours in the morning to spare and so decided to use them to walk a small section of Hadrian's Wall. The wall is something we had both learnt about at school but never actually got round to seeing live and in the flesh. I think perhaps we had written it off as ‘for old people’ in a bit of an immature hangover from being overly bombarded with textbook information in the classroom.
However due to our proximity we took the apt ‘when in Rome’ approach and made our way to one of it’s most famous section, and home to perhaps the most famous tree in Britain - Sycamore Gap
Again taking our early bird approach we parked up at the Steel Rigg car park at around 7am - I only mention the time as we feel like this really changed the experience for us. It was a beautiful morning and as we began the short mile or so walk along the wall to Sycamore Gap the light turned the landscape a delicious golden hue.
As it was early there was no one else around and we soon found ourselves somewhat transported back in time, imagining the soldiers who had patrolled the wall back in 122AD when it was built. The penny had dropped, we could see why we had to hear about the wall so often growing up, it is an extraordinary human feat. What a statement, 73 miles of solid stone wall stretching out right across the country. And there we were lucky enough to be walking it all alone on a beautiful July morning, it felt quite special to be honest.
We walked parallel to the wall until we reached Sycamore Gap, which as suggests is a dip in the tall landscape, home to a large, solitary Sycamore Tree. We had seen hundreds of photos of the gap previously, although of course none of them were quite able to do it justice.
Once we had spent a bit of time marvelling at the gap, discussing how crazy it was we had never been there before, we turned around and made our way back to the car. It was time to go home. As we made our way back, a steady stream of people began to flow towards us - the tourist flood gates had opened and the wall was now positively busy really driving home the value of waking up early.
In our opinion you can’t put a price on experiencing places like this all alone, all you need to do is drag yourself out of bed an hour or so before others and the adventure has a totally different feel to it.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a UK road trip with a bit of a difference then this may well be for you. The adventure is very versatile and achievable across the three key fronts:
Who: With a wide variety of activity and stop off options, this adventure is suitable for everyone from families through to hardy adventure seekers
Budget: Again this is friendly for budgets of all sizes, with options to save or splash the cash throughout.
Time: The Northumberland 250 is a great loop route and can be completed within 3 days to as long as you like. However if you have less time tackling a section can be a great short adventure.
For more info visit 250 website.