The northerly half of the Northumberland coast is a fair stride to travel for a day's walking, although once you reach the A1(M) it's little more than two hours away.

If you're planning on making a weekend of it, though, there are plenty of walks and other attractions you can pack in to two leisurely days.

Take the Craster circuit, for instance. This starts at the coastal village famed for its kippers, where the harbour was built in 1906 by the Craster family in memory of Captain Craster, who had perished in the Tibetan expedition two years earlier.

You park in a large car park where whinstone rock used to be quarried and crushed before being taken to the harbour and stored in two huge silos to await being shipped for road building.

The silos have gone and in front of the car park there is a now a Tourist Information Centre and toilets, both useful for a visit before you set off.

It was from this point that we crossed the road and began a straight, northwards walk first on an enclosed path and then on grass through a long field on National Trust land, with a whinstone ridge brightly covered in gorse between us and the sea and more fields inland to the left.

Eventually, past a sleepy cluster of cattle, we passed through a gate and turned away from the sea to climb to the barns of Dunstan Square Farm.

From here our route turned northward again, on a paved track which - judging by the number of other walkers using it - is a very popular part of this and other walks. Along the way we passed on the left a pillbox, a well-preserved relic of the Second World War, its stacked sandbags topped with healthily-growing turf.

There was another, further on and to the right of the track, close to the remains of a lime kiln.

Dunstan Steads Farm was the next landmark on the route, although for some time we had been able to see, to the right, the walk's man attraction: the rugged ruin of Dunstanburgh Castle.

The farm is now mainly a collection of holiday cottages, looking out over the Embleton golf course to the sea. Outside one of them the owner had decided to take advantage of the turn-out of weekend walkers and had placed a pile of promotional leaflets for it on a folding table. They were going well.

It was here that we, too, turned our faces towards the sea for a while before turning to head along the side of the golf course and soon meeting the shore just before Dunstanburgh Castle, perched on a high cliff which was home to hundreds of nesting sea birds.

The tide was out so we were able to see one of the geological oddities of this stretch of coast in all its glory: Greymare rock, a long breakwater of limestone which in a forgotten time bent and buckled under volcanic pressure to create a spectacular fold.

Dunstanburgh Castle is a splendid ruin. The building of it was ordered in 1313 by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. It was constructed, like most others, with defence in mind. Between it and the land was a large moat.

The castle had curtain walls and tall towers and was dominated by a massive gatehouse which survived better than much of the rest of it the attack that left it in ruins during the War of the Roses.

The castle is now owned by the National Trust but administered by English Heritage. It's a terrific place to explore, with staircases leading up tall towers to the very top from where the views across the coast and countryside are magnificent.

On our visit the wind from the North was strong and cold and fairly blasted us back through the gatehouse's arch and on to the grassy coastal path where we rejoined the many Sunday walkers heading to and from Craster.

We arrived back at the village in time for a late-ish lunch at the splendid seafood restaurant on the corner. No, not Craster kippers. We were saving that treat for breakfast at the hotel.

Instead, locally-caught crab in brown-bread sandwiches was a very pleasant alternative, eaten within sight of the harbour and with the smell of the sea wafting in through an open window.

Step by Step

  1. From the main car park in Craster, walk down past Tourist Information Centre and cross road. Go through gate and follow public footpath sign to Dunstan Square, initially through trees and then forking right to go through gate from which National Trust waymark had vanished on our visit. Follow broad, grassy path ahead through long field to kissing gate in fence. Go immediately left from here and walk up to five-barred gate. Through this, keep ahead up field to go through right-hand of two gates by Dunstan Square Farm.
  2. Turn right and go through facing gate to join paved lane. Walk along this to arrive at Dunstan Steads Farm. Walk in front of cottages and then go right down road to gate on to golf course.
  3. Immediately through gate, go right and follow path along edge of golf course to swing east with it eventually and meet coastal path. Go right on this, and take left-hand climbing fork of path around castle hill to arrive at entrance. Visit and enjoy.
  4. Leave castle and walk south along coastal path back to Craster.
Fact File

  • Set-off point: Main car park in Craster, Northumberland.
  • Time for 4-mile walk: two hours plus castle exploring time.
  • Going: easy.
  • Map: not necessary.
  • Toilets: in Craster and at Dunstanburgh Castle (for which there is an admission charge).
  • Refreshments: in Craster.