Best Beaches on the Northumberland Coast
If you’re looking for beaches on your doorstep in England that will leave you wanting more, then Northumberland is the place for you. Our top 4 beaches along the coast are.
Alnmouth
Alnmouth has to be our top beach when it comes to Northumberland. We try to pick where we stay based on this beach as it is our favourite. The beach is long and expansive especially if you get there when the tide is out. You could spend hours on this beach. As you walk down from the car park to the right is the estuary which runs up the side of Alnmouth, to the left the beach actually continues all the way to Boulmer and beyond (we tend to stop when we get to the gate type sea barriers). The beach is dog friendly and there are normally many dogs running around and playing in the water.
In summer, this beaches carpark is chargeable, generally any other time of the year there isn’t anyone manning it as its not that busy. We buy a weekly ticket so that it doesn’t cost us as much money as we will literally visit everyday from the day, we get there to the day we leave.
Low Newton
Low Newton has to be a close second for us. As soon as you get to the top of the hill that leads down to the beach you just relax. Once you get down to the beach you can walk to the left towards the rocks to sit a little bit sheltered for a picnic or something, or you go straight up, and the beach goes round to the right all the way to Dunstanburgh Castle. This is what we tend to do as once you get round the corner the beach doesn’t seem as windy and the water is great for paddling in. It’s a great place to stay as well if you want to be on the coast for a reasonable amount of money.
The car park for the beach is at the top of the hill so unless you have a blue badge you will have to walk down and then back up again. The car park is also a pay and display like Alnmouth. As you’re driving up, you’ll notice a lot of cars parked on the side of the road this is because the car park is really quite small so if you want a space in it timing is key. All but once we have managed to get in the car park so generally you should be ok, especially if the car is small like Phoebe’s Mini and you can squeeze into a corner.
Sugar Sands
In all the years Phoebe and her family spent going to Northumberland on holiday, its only really in the last 7-8 that we found this beach. There are technically two beaches connected and they both give great views of the ocean and wildlife, occasionally seals will pop up on the rocks at the beach.
Based in Longhoughton it is actually down a farm road. When you google to find this beach, it says to go to Boulmer and walk but this is incorrect, Crowlea Road on the right as you come into Longhoughton is the road to follow to get to the beach. Once you are on the single track it’s a couple minutes till you get to a farm. There is an honesty box for you to donate to the upkeep of the beach, then go through the farm gate and follow the road down to the beach.
Bamburgh
Bamburgh beach is probably the most known in Northumberland due to the castle being right at the top of the beach. It is a long expensive beach that continues well past the castle. We tend to go the opposite way to the castle as that’s where more people tend to be located. If you go to the left towards the mini lighthouse there are rock pools and when the tides high there is a great spot for wild swimming that’s not as vast as the sea itself.
Parking at Bamburgh can be difficult at times due to how popular the beach is. It is free to park and there are various spots to do so along the stretch from the castle to the lighthouse.
