Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland
Of all the castles along the Northumberland coastline, Dunstanburgh is probably one of the most recognisable and most enjoyable to visit due to its location and the picturesque walks that are on offer to its walls from the fishing village of Craster to the south and Embleton and its wonderful beach to the north.
The walk from Craster is my personal favourite as you walk about one and a half miles from the village along the coastline to the Castle which although owned by the National Trust is actually maintained and run by English Heritage. The castle is open every day during the summer season from 10 am to 6 pm with reduced opening hours in the winter. When I visited last September, admission was £3.50.
There is not all that much to see at Dunstanburgh Castle, as it is a ruined castle but it is still worth visiting as there is a lot of information on the site about its history and the coastal views from the Gatehouse towers are worth the entrance fee alone.
In its hey day, Dunstanburgh Castle was one of the biggest castles in the North of England and dates back to the fourteenth century. The main entrance to the castle is from the South as the North Face is perched high on the edge of the cliff from which there is a sheer vertical drop of over one hundred feet into the North Sea.
The original towers of the gatehouse were very tall and were specifically built this way to give anyone arriving from the south an imposing spectacle. Sadly the castle was badly damaged in the War of the Roses and soon fell into ruin and was not repaired. A lot of its stonework and walls were used to build other properties in the area.
If you are visiting Northumberland, then I can recommend a trip to Craster and a walk to Dunstanburgh Castle. For those wanting to walk a little further, Embleton beach is also worth investigating north of the castle.
This entry was posted on Sunday August 3rd, 2008 at 6:17 PM and is filed under Places to Visit, Places to Walk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.
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