ACTIVE TRAVEL
Emma Lewis and family head to Northumberland for an exhilarating coastal cycling holiday
Ablur of lacy cow parsley and dark-green hedgerows giving way to a cloudless blue sky above, the verdant scent being carried on the cool north-easterly breeze that whooshes past us as we spin downhill, one behind the other, towards the twinkly blue sea until we’re close enough to inhale its saltiness and feel the first grainy sprinkles of sand beneath our tyres... This is what flashes into my mind when I think of our recent family cycling holiday in Northumberland. Oh, and castles. Lots of castles. In short, an artist’s dream…
HARRY POTTER HEAVEN
It wasn’t far off a dream, right from the beginning, for 11-year-old Imogen and 10-year-old Scarlett either, it turns out. We’d headed up to Alnwick (pronounced ‘Annick’), the starting point for our Saddle Skedaddle Northumberland Coast cycling holiday, from the South West, at the start of the summer half-term holiday, tagging an extra day and night onto our trip so that we could visit Alnwick Castle. Since it’s the filming location for several Harry Potter scenes, it was a must-see for the girls. As well as a peek at how the Duke of Northumberland and family live (and former occupants used to live), we enjoyed entertainment from a jester, falconry, soap-making and more, plus broomstick training à la Harry Potter, the Dragon Quest experience and an excellent film location tour, all included in our entry ticket price (we’re giving no spoilers as to which scenes from HP and other well-known films and TV programmes were shot here though!).
Those who have the time (and money) might also want to visit the famous Alnwick Gardens; and imaginative Lilidorei next door, which claims to be the ‘biggest play structure in the world’ and looks like a must for smaller kids.
ALL ARRANGED
Independent cycling holiday company Saddle Skedaddle had pre-booked our B&B accommodation and arranged for our big bags to be taken from place to place as we more-or-less followed a chunk of the Sustrans Coast & Castles cycling route, heading from Alnwick to Berwick-upon-Tweed, using the excellent step-by-step instructions and map on Skedaddle’s app. We hadn’t been on a cycling holiday before and, thanks to a very wet spring, the girls had hardly been on their bikes and were a little lukewarm about the idea. This blend of around 25km of cycling a day with plenty of time to hang out on beaches and sightsee along the way sounded a perfect balance, though.
And it was. The glorious weather – not a drop of rain all week – also helped keep morale
