I stayed at a charming Northumberland cottage with a spectacular castle as a neighbour
This property has an impressive location
I was very late to Northumberland.
My first visit was a few years ago, and since then, I find myself back once or twice a year.
I must’ve been overdue a visit, as, on a recent cinema trip to see the latest Danny Boyle horror film, 28 Years Later, I forgot about being frightened by the blood-thirsty zombies, and was drawn in by the lush countryside on screen, instead.
Some of it was shot in Northumberland, including Holy Isle and St Cuthbert’s Cave.
However, on our latest trip to the area, we were heading to the coastal village of Bamburgh.
Its cinematic fame includes the fact that Game of Thrones has featured its castle. You can see it from outside Wren, our sweet two-bedroom self-catering cottage. It’s one of luxury holiday company Crabtree & Crabtree’s range of 10 Bamburgh Estate properties, which include one that’s situated in the castle’s clock tower.
That basalt and sandstone building is ever present in this destination. It’s practically at the end of our Victorian terraced street. What a neighbour.
It almost looks CGI, in its dramatic incongruity.
You can get a bit blasé about castles, when you live in Edinburgh and see one almost every day, but, still, my jaw dropped every time we left the house.
Of course, a visit to the inhabited castle is practically a prerequisite for a stay here, but we didn’t go this time, simply because we’d been relatively recently, and the vaulted King’s Hall and State Rooms, with their suits of armour, were still fresh in my memory. If you haven’t been, a visit is a bucket list sort of thing.
Instead, since it was so sunny - it always seems to be in Northumberland - we frequented the beautiful beach, which is just a few minutes from the cottage.
Just take the route by the ice-cream shops, restaurants and pubs, and go round the cricket field and you’re among the dunes. We spent hours here, with a bit of paddling and lots of dog-watching and sunbathing.
Wren Cottage also has its own suntrap of a back garden, where we got burnt while playing al-fresco Scrabble.
Sadly, out here, there was no sighting of the cottage’s namesake, since Bamburgh Castle owner Francis Watson-Armstrong called the property after one of his favourite birds and it's the first he saw after viewing the cottage post refurbishment.
Even though we were there on a summery weekend, it seemed a shame to spend too much time outside, and not in the lovely house.
I imagine it’d also make a good winter bolthole, with its heavily stuffed plus sofas, and fireplace with wood-burning stove.
The decor is lovely - quirky and luxurious.
The single bedroom has powder blue walls and striped headboards and crocheted bedspread, and the double is all sage green and dusty pink, with scallop-edged headboard and quilt, and botanical prints. Both have original fireplaces.
In contrast, the kitchen and bathroom are modern and utilitarian.
However, the living room is our favourite spot, since it has a dining table and we each have a three-seater sofa to ourselves. These are the perfect vantage points for binge watching the latest series of Squid Game, while tourists in this honeypot of a village drift by the cottage’s arched windows.
As far as restaurants go, there are plenty to try, but we thought we’d visit the latest addition, at Bamburgh Estate’s Walled Garden cafe.
It opened earlier this year, and consists of the seaside-themed sensory garden, as well as a children's play area, and terrace. The cafe has floor-to-ceiling windows, and there were swallows nesting in its wooden rafters.
The food is hearty, to say the least.
He tried the Porkie Pig - aka Alnwick rum and Korean spiced slow braised pork shoulder, Asian slaw and gochujang ketchup, all heaped into a brioche bun.
It was a hair-on-your-chest sort of dish, as was my steak and eggs, with a pair of runny yolked fried oeufs, plus a portion of Mediterranean roasted potatoes. The 8ox rump steak element was from the local butcher, R Carter & Son, where you can find Scotch pie that’ve been endorsed by Rick Stein.
The cakes, traybakes and cones here look amazing, but there was no chance of being able to manage anything else after that huge main course.
It was back to Wren, for a lie down, but not before a final wave to the castle at the end of our street.
Seven nights at Wren Cottage available through Crabtree & Crabtree costs from £750. To book, visit www.crabtreeandcrabtree.com or call 01573 226 711
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