With a mixture of the traditional seaside holiday town, quaint old fishing village and one of the UK’s greatest wildlife spectacles, it’s no wonder Seahouses is becoming the place for a weekend stay, writes STEVE NEWMAN
One of Northumberland’s best known coastal villages, Seahouses has been making happy memories for a few years now. It’s unique mixture of being a ‘kiss me quick’ style of resort and also having the gentle isolation of a centuries old fishing village draws you back time after time.
Add on the fact it has become the jumping off point to visit the Farne Islands with its quarter of a million sea birds, plus seals and dolphins, and it has a plethora of pubs, restaurants, cafes and lovely little shops then you’re going to have to go some to get it all in.
We drive in from the north with the islands and their lighthouses calling to us from out to sea with the high sand dunes and beaches also letting us know they’re an ideal place for a walk or picnic.
As we enter the village the harbour below with people queuing to board a boat trip mixing with the fishermen unloading their catch seems strangely at odds with the crazy golf course to our right!
A quick trip to the cash machine sees us deciding whether to take lunch at one of the three excellent fish and chip restaurants that surround the roundabout that holds the village’s war memorial or dive into the National Trust gift shop for a bit of retail therapy.
We’re about to do the former when we spot the Farne Gift Shop. Like the Tardis it’s bigger inside than out and used by locals and visitors alike as it’s full of essentials and things you don’t need but simply have to have and it’s a lifesaver for things we’ve forgotten to bring.
After lunch the lure of a delicious ice cream from the Coxons’ parlour next to the National Trust shop is too great to resist so like thousands before us we walk down to the harbour enjoying their smooth flavours.
Halfway down the hill we pop into the Seahouses RNLI Lifeboat Station. It’s fascinating in there with the boards of all the rescues and the lifeboat herself looking sleek and serene waiting to be called out.
There’s a lovely little shop where we buy some souvenirs to keep the furry little puffins we bought in the National Trust shop earlier company as well slipping some coins into the collection box.
The harbour itself is quite busy with people at the kiosks booking day fishing trips and boarding the boats to visit the islands, fishermen unloading their catch and divers in their wetsuits lugging their breathing tanks onto the pier.
