The thriving Northumberland seaside town that escaped the tourist crowds

Telegraph

4 days ago

Long, windswept stretches of silvery sand are one of Northumberland's signatures, but even by local standards, this one is a stunner.
With low, wild dunes at the back of the beach and a view out to sea of a lighthouse-topped island, it's as picture-perfect as you'd expect from a county whose coastline is mostly a National Landscape (the new name for our Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
The thing is, this particular shoreline falls outside the AONB designation. I'm at the top of Druridge Bay, which runs for seven sparsely visited miles from Cresswell to Hauxley, which is just south of Amble, a seaside town beside the river Coquet.
The National Landscape runs northwards from the river's other bank up towards Bamburgh (recently crowned – by Which? – Britain's best seaside town for the fourth year running) and beyond.
But while the likes of Bamburgh and Seahouses are touristy hotspots, Amble and its surrounds remain considerably more relaxed.
'There wasn't much to recommend Amble back in 2003, when work began to establish the Northumberland Coast Path,' admits Iain Robson of the Northumberland Coast National Landscape Partnership.
'It's very much a working town, but when its herring fishery collapsed and the mines closed down, Amble lost its identity and went into decline.'
The coast path – which turns 20 next year – was a catalyst of change. Starting in Cresswell and taking in Druridge Bay (one of Northumberland's best beaches) en route to Amble, it connected this area to the National Landscape, drawing hikers and cyclists to pass through and pause.
But it wasn't until the arrival of an enterprising restaurateur that Amble's renaissance really fired up.
'The waterfront was almost deserted when we opened the Old Boathouse, 13 years ago,' says owner Martin Charlton when I pop in for a seafood lunch, 'but since then it's become a destination.'
Charlton continues: 'Between this and the Fish Shack, our neighbouring venture, we now employ 75 staff. Things are tougher in winter, but the recent good weather saw a brilliant start to the 2025 season. Both here on the waterfront and up the high street, Amble is really buzzing.'
He's not wrong. Barely a table is unoccupied, and the shops in wooden pods outside are also busy. I take a post-lunch stroll to the high street and find that its handsome sandstone shopfronts harbour a butcher, a bakery, a fabric shop, a pharmacy, a hardware store and a couple of dress shops, plus a smattering of cafés and restaurants.
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It's not fancy, but nor is it generic: there are neither chain stores nor empty units, and the colourful bunting above adds cheer to a place that feels anything but downtrodden.
I buy some bits and pieces and drop them off back at Fisherman's Row, the cute and cosy, thoughtfully equipped three-bedroom cottage where I'm staying for the week.
Packed with maritime appeal via lots of seagull and sailboat imagery, it's barely a seashell's toss from the waterfront, so perfect for accessing Amble's offerings.
One such attraction is Coquet Island which, complete with its white-painted lighthouse, I'd seen earlier from the beach. Boat trips (£20pp; puffincruisesamble.com) from Amble's harbour take barely 15 minutes to get there and, although it's not possible to land, a circumnavigation is packed with insight. As we approach, there's so much animal activity that it's almost overwhelming.
The first things we encounter are puffins (some 20,000 of them breed on Coquet) bobbing about on the swell, with more dashing overhead with beakfuls of sand eels for their chicks. Inquisitive seals swim as close as they dare before snorting loudly and diving away.
And on the island's far side, we pause to admire the acrobatic antics of terns. Of the four species we spot, the roseate tern – sleeker, more elegant, purer white – is notable for breeding nowhere else in Britain.
Back onshore, I stick with the wildlife theme and stride south along the coast path.
The tide is falling as I go, bringing Coquet Island into surprisingly close proximity; the breeze even carries the haunting sound of the seals howling like dogs.
Within an hour, I find myself at Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre (free admission), one of six Druridge Bay nature reserves repurposed from former open-cast mines.
'When we took over Hauxley in 1985, it was nothing but a hole in the ground,' says Alex Lister of Northumberland Wildlife Trust as he shows me around.
'The last of the mines on Druridge Bay closed in 2010 and we've since transformed the landscape into a nearly eight-mile patchwork of habitats: open water, wetlands, reed beds, woodland, scrub and meadows. Hauxley in particular is now a fantastic place for wildlife. It's not uncommon to see 60 bird species in a single day.'
We follow the reserve's circular footpath, pausing to meet the habitat managers – a herd of friendly goats – and again to admire a patch of orchids and to look for otters' footprints.
We conclude at the visitor centre and its excellent Lookout Café, whose home-baked scones are local legends.
'They're made from scratch every day,' says Alex, 'and together with our events programme of walks, talks and a knit-and-natter, the café has become a community hub. It's all part of our commitment to engage people with nature.'
Later, back in Amble, I take an evening stroll on the town's pier, looking upriver to where shafts of sunlight break through clouds to bathe Warkworth Castle's ruins in a luminescent glow. The creaky calls of terns resonate across the water, but the spectacle doesn't end there.
Where the river empties into the sea, a dorsal fin arcs clear of the water, followed by five more. A small crowd quickly gathers to watch the dolphin family frolic and splash.
In Amble – and indeed all along this coastline – nature never feels far away.
How to do it
A seven-night, self-catering stay at Fisherman's Row costs from £494 (sleeps five) with Sykes Cottages.
bus. More information at visitnorthumberland.com; .