Useful stuff for planning your trip

A one-stop preparation resource...

We want this to be a library of all kinds of useful resources, so that you'll have loads of ideas for things to do when you arrive. Here's a list of sites which we would recommend, to one degree or another. Each link opens in a new window or a new tab, so this page will always be open, somewhere on your screen...

...but here’s the small print. We’re not responsible for anything written on anyone else’s website (I have enough trouble being responsible for my own words, which often seem to end up fuddled.) So if you find something which offends you on any of these links, please don’t come after us.

Local restaurants, hotels and other places to eat

We're gathering lots of informal culinary reviews from our guests... and here are some of their recommendations. There are lots of ways we could 'arrange' them, but of course the 'best' one for you depends on what you're looking for. If you tell us, then we'll tell you...
So these are arranged simply by proximity to St Cuthbert's House:

The Spice House 01665 720345 (indian restaurant and takeaway)
The Links Hotel, Seahouses 01665 720062
Indian Brasserie 01665 722999
The Olde Ship, Seahouses 01665 720200
Pinnacles Fish & Chip restaurant, Seahouses (no need to book!)
The New Beadnell Towers Hotel, Beadnell 01665 721211
Blacketts, Bamburgh 01668 214714
The Lord Crewe Hotel, Bamburgh 01668 214243 (they have an Italian restaurant)
The Apple Inn, Lucker 01668 213450
The White Swan, Warenford 01668 213453
The Ship, Low Newton 01665 576262
The Sportsman Inn Embleton 01665 576588
The Tree House at Alnwick Garden 01665 511852

Local Information

There are two taxi firms in Seahouses:
Hunters Taxis 01665 720400
Park Taxis 01665 720542
Holy Island safe crossing times
Doctor's Surgery, Seahouses Medical Centre 01665 720917 (an outpost of Belford Medical Practice)
Tourist Information Office, Seahouses, 01665 720884
Ordnance Survey maps you might find useful are Landranger Sheet 75 (Berwick, Holy Island & Wooler), and Landranger 81 Alnwick & Morpeth, Rothbury & Amble...and others depending on how far afield you want to go! They can be purchased locally of course, or we can lend you one for a day out. If you want to walk sections of the 58-mile Northumberland Coast Path, you'll be better with the Explorer range of OS maps. The whole walk is covered by Sheets 325,332,340 and 346 - as well as the Landranger maps listed above. Don't forget your boots...
Seahouses Development Trust, Main Street, Seahouses
Seahouses Methodist Church, Main St Seahouses has services at 10.45am on Sundays. The Minister is Rev Pauline Fellows, 01665 720349.
St Paul's Parish Church, North Sunderland. . The Parish Church is just a few strides form St Cuthbert's House. Family Communion is held every Sunday at 10.30am, and there's lots going on at other times in the week too.The Minister is Rev Jane Wood, 01665 720202
St Aidan's RC Church, . Mass at 11am every Sunday and Holy Days, Saturday Vigil Mass 12 noon. Fr Tony Owens, 01665 720427
St Cuthbert's United Reformed Church meets in the Parish Church at 9.30am each Sunday. This is the small congregation who vacated St Cuthbert's House as we bought it - and they will give you a very warm welcome - especially if you tell them where you're staying! Minister Rev David Herbert, 01668 219594
Erskine United Reformed Church, Nursery Lane Belford (about 8 miles from St Cuthberts House) meets at 10.30am on Sundays. Minister Rev David Herbert, 01668 219594

Links

This visitnortheastengland page has a lovely short video which plays when the page loads (if you have Flash installed), and then if you click on the 'Northumberland' link below the main picture panel, there's another, more detailed 8-minute film about our area. Watch them, and be convinced... We've also managed to get DVD copies of this video, so there's one in your room too.
Visit Northumberland - the official visitor site for Northumberland. It has a very comprehensive things to do page , which we couldn't hope to surpass.
Vist Northumberland also have a nice website about Hadrian's Wall, a marvellous spectacle which makes for a great day out from St Cuthbert's House.
northumberland-coast.co.uk is a very useul collection of information for the visitor.
Boat trips to the Farne Islands with Billy Shiel - although there are also several other companies offering the same trips.
Our friend Martin Kitching runs Northern Experience Wildlife Tours, and provides exclusive natural history excursions and birdwatching tours. He's an enthusiastic, experienced and friendly leader with an intimate knowledge of Northern Britain.
Alnwick Castle (01665 510777) is the medieval family home of the Duke of Northumberland and the film location for Harry Potter's Hogwarts School.
Alnwick Garden (01665 511350) - Now a large visitor attraction, and vision of the Duchess of Northumberland - The Alnwick Garden is gardening on a grand scale, and it's something you have to do...
but if you're really into gardening, you might prefer these little-known but absolutely fantastic 'gardener's gardens': Howick Hall Gardens Howick has been owned by the Grey family (of Earl Grey tea fame - but did you know he was also Prime Minister - its a fascinating story which you can read something about here and here ) since 1319. It has a delightful tearoom, as you might expect. The gardens are about 15 mins drive from St Cuthbert's House. Chipchase Castle Nursery is about an hour's drive from us, through beautiful countryside. Stanton Hall gardens and plant centre is about 7 miles form Morpeth. Bide-A-Wee is a little gem, near Morpeth. Herterton House is in Cambo, near Morpeth.
Barter Books, in Alnwick, is one of the largest second-hand bookshops in the country, and is a based in the old railway station, with waiting (now reading) room, a model railway tootling around above your head, open fires and very cheap coffee! It's a great place to visit and is unsurpassed as a rainy day option!
Bamburgh Castle (01668 214 515) - Perhaps the most iconic photo you'll take, or see...
Chillingham Castle ( 01668 215359)
Cragside House Cragside was the first house in the world to have hydroelectric powered lighting. It has recently reopened after extensive renovation work. This is a 'must see' place. The house is beautiful, and so are the grounds, with a scenic drive and 40 miles of footpaths.
The Chain Bridge Honey Farm The old chain bridge at Horncliffe is well worth a visit., maybe as part of a day out to the fortified town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The honey farm has a great visitor centre which tells the honey & bee story, and you can watch the bees at work.. They have a double-decker bus for a tearoom, and a London bus and lots of other vintage vehicles pootling about.
Our favourite castle is Dunstanburgh (01665 576231) and makes for a lovely walk from either side (you can't get the car within miles of it., but its a lovely coastal walk from either Craster or Embleton links. We can loan you a map, but you don't need one really.)
Our favourite drive is a day out over the tops, which we'll be happy to share with you - but in the middle is a chance to talk a short walk from the road to Ros Castle. Not a lot of people know about it...
Our friends Mark & Mary Fleeson run The Lindisfarne Scriptorium on Holy Island, and we'd thoroughly recommend a visit to see her artwork.
We're sure you'll want to venture across the causeway to Lindisfarne. But please, heed the safe crossing times. It seems unbelievable that people choose to drive their cars into the sea and need to be rescued by the lifeboat, but it happens regularly in the summer.
Whilst you're on the island, you should visit the Lindisfarne Heritage Centre (01289 389004). Be sure to check the Holy Island safe crossing times before you go (or try to come back) They're also on the bookshelf in our Cuthbert Room.
Whilst we're talking of Lindisfarne, you might want to listen to a BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour feature - which is now quite old but is still pertinent - about the Lindisfarne Gospels - something you should definitely explore. It's absolutely amazing. Here's a snapshot to whet your appetite, and here's the British Library's site about the Gospels.
Flodden 1513 is an interesting site dedicated to educating and informing you about what happened at the Battle of Flodden Field, which is just a few miles from here, and its significance. Fascinating.
If you're into fishing, you'll enjoy the House of Hardy Museum in Alnwick (01665 510027).
Heatherslaw Mill and Lady Waterford Hall, Ford (01890 820338) makes for a lovely day out. You should take in nearby Etal too.
Preston Tower (01665 589227) is an intriguing Border Pele Tower, open to the public without a lot of hype and spin...
If you're into wildlife and the natural landscape, you might find the Nature on the Map site useful, as you can search it to find all the special places. Enter Seahouses in the search box and away you'll go...
Our local newspaper is the Northumberland Gazette, and their site has lots of interesting information. They have a good What's on in Northumberland this week section (but it's not so good if you're coming next month... )
Warkworth Castle (01665 711423) is another of those photos you'll recognise.
The Northumbria Community - a Christian Community drawing inspiration from the Celtic Saints.
A while ago we had a lovely email from a lady called Rachel who has a website about her work and her hermitage, called St Cuthbert's House! Her work is lovely, and so we thought we'd encourage you to visit...
We get lots of birdwatchers coming to Northumberland. If you're one of them, you might want to check out theNorthumberland page on the 'fat birder' site.
Our friend has a delightful, small self-catering cottage called 'The Coracle' in Seahouses for rent.
For a self catering holiday cottage near Dunstanburgh Castle, Shepherds Cottage - Self Catering Holiday Cottage, Dunstan Steads, Northumberland Coast sleeps 5 and is available all year round.