Best Places to Visit in Northumberland
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in Northumberland are Cocklawburn Beach, Holy Island Causeway, Kielder Forest, Norham Castle, Harbottle Lake, Leehouse Linn, Longhoughton Beach and Cullnernose Point.
Northumberland runs a wild coast and empty hill country up to the Scottish border, and its best places take in castle, forest and shore. The tidal causeway to Holy Island carries the road across the sands to Lindisfarne, covered by the sea at every high tide, while inland the great border ruin of Norham Castle rises above the Tweed, painted by Turner.
Kielder Forest, the largest in England, spreads its conifers and dark skies around the biggest man-made lake in the country. The coast offers the fossil ledges of Cocklawburn near Berwick, the whinstone columns of Cullernose Point south of Craster, and the quiet sands of Longhoughton.
Up in the Cheviot fringe, Harbottle Lake sits on its moor below the Drake Stone, and the obscure Leehouse Linn drops in forestry near Elsdon. Some are grand set pieces, others quiet corners.
Here are eight places to visit across Northumberland.
Cocklawburn Beach
Photo: Chris Morgan via Geograph.org.uk
Cocklawburn Beach The limestone ledges here were laid down under a warm tropical sea, and they still hold the fossils to prove it: corals and the stems of sea lilies weathering out of the rock. Old restored limekilns stand beside the road, remnants of the stone's later working life.
This is a quiet, undeveloped beach of sand and rock south of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, backed by dunes, with a minor coast road running along behind and only informal parking. Wide views open along the coast in both directions, making it a fine place to combine a breezy walk with a little fossil hunting among the ledges.
Holy Island Causeway
Photo: Kim Fyson via Geograph.org.uk
The causeway to Holy Island carries the road across the sands from the mainland to Lindisfarne in Northumberland, and is covered by the sea around every high tide. Safe crossing times are set out in tide tables at each end, and drivers who leave it too late are regularly caught out and stranded.
A refuge box on stilts stands out on the crossing for anyone trapped by the rising water. Alongside runs the older Pilgrims' Way, a route across the sands marked by posts for those on foot.
Kielder Forest
Photo: Chris via Geograph.org.uk
Kielder Forest is the largest forest in England, a vast plantation of conifers spread across the hills of Northumberland near the Scottish border. At its heart lies Kielder Water, a huge reservoir, the largest man-made lake in the country, ringed by a long lakeside path and threaded with mountain-bike trails.
The dark, empty skies here are among the best in England for stargazing, watched from the Kielder Observatory. Art and sculpture are dotted through the forest along the trails.
Norham Castle
Photo: DS Pugh via Geograph.org.uk
Norham Castle is a large ruined border castle on a mound above the River Tweed at the village of Norham in Northumberland, commanding an old crossing of the river. Its great tower, or keep, still rises high above the earthworks.
Founded in 1121 by the Bishop of Durham and much rebuilt over the following century, it was one of the most fought-over castles on the Anglo-Scottish border, taken by James IV of Scotland in 1513 just before the Battle of Flodden. It is a free English Heritage site, and the painter Turner made it the subject of some of his best-known works, among them the glowing late Norham Castle, Sunrise.
Harbottle Lake
Photo: Andrew Curtis via Geograph.org.uk
Harbottle Lake is a small natural lough set in moorland within the Harbottle Crags reserve, above the village of Harbottle in the Coquet valley of Northumberland. Shallow and boggy, fringed with rushes and sedge, it draws ducks and other water birds to the quiet hills.
A path from Harbottle passes the great boulder called the Drake Stone, a viewpoint over the valley, on the way to the lough. Open heather moor and forestry surround the water.
Leehouse Linn
Photo: Andrew Curtis via Geograph.org.uk
Leehouse Linn is a small waterfall on a burn in forestry near Elsdon in Northumberland, on the edge of the national park. It is an obscure, unsignposted spot: from a forest road you follow the watercourse and keep to the right-hand branch at a fork for a couple of hundred metres to reach the fall in a small clearing.
Another fall, Smiddy Linn, lies further up the same burn. There are no facilities, and the woodland tracks around it can turn to mud.
Longhoughton Beach
Photo: DS Pugh via Geograph.org.uk
Longhoughton Beach, also called Longhoughton Steel, is a quiet bay of sand, shingle and rock on the north Northumberland coast near Alnwick. Much of it is sand at low water, with rocky ledges, the local word Steel meaning a rocky reef, and it is a good place for rock-pooling and sea fishing.
The Northumberland Coast Path runs along the back of the beach. A small car park by the shore off Crowlea Road serves it, and the village of Boulmer, with its pub, lies a short way south.
There are no facilities on the beach itself.
Cullnernose Point
Photo: Ian Capper via Geograph.org.uk
Cullernose Point is a rugged headland on the Northumberland coast, about a mile south of Craster. Its sea cliffs are made of hard dark whinstone, standing in tall columns where the rock has split into regular pillars.
Kittiwakes and fulmars nest on the ledges through the summer. The coast path runs right over the point, close above the sea.
FAQs
How do you cross safely to Holy Island?
The causeway to Lindisfarne is covered by the sea around every high tide, so you must cross within the safe times set out in the tide tables posted at each end. Drivers who leave it too late are regularly stranded, and a refuge box on stilts stands out on the crossing for anyone caught by the rising water.
Which place in Northumberland is best for dark skies and a long walk?
Kielder Forest is the best for dark skies and a long walk, the largest forest in England. It spreads conifers and some of the darkest skies in the country around Kielder Water, the largest man-made lake, ringed by a lakeside path and mountain-bike trails, with the Kielder Observatory for stargazing and sculpture along the trails.
Where can you go rock-pooling on the Northumberland coast?
Cocklawburn near Berwick and Longhoughton Steel near Alnwick are the best for rock-pooling. Cocklawburn has exposed fossil-bearing limestone ledges and old limekilns, and Longhoughton Steel has rocky reefs good for rock-pooling and sea fishing. Both are quiet, undeveloped beaches with informal parking and wide coastal views.
Conclusion
Northumberland spreads a wild coast and empty hills up to the border. The tidal causeway carries the road to Holy Island across the sands, covered by every high tide, while inland the great ruin of Norham Castle rises above the Tweed.
Kielder Forest spreads its conifers and dark skies around the largest man-made lake in the country. The coast offers the fossil ledges of Cocklawburn near Berwick, the whinstone columns of Cullernose Point south of Craster and the quiet sands of Longhoughton, while up in the Cheviot fringe Harbottle Lake sits below the Drake Stone and the obscure Leehouse Linn drops in forestry near Elsdon.
From tidal causeway to whinstone headland, these are the places to seek out across Northumberland.
