Walking Holidays
There are many reasons to choose Maguires Country Parks, not least the stunning location. Our parks are situated in some of the most beautiful countryside in the North East and as such they are a walkers paradise. If you love walking holidays, you can use our parks as a base to explore all that the great outdoors has to offer. In this blog we’ll be giving you some tips for walking near two of our parks: Ord House Country Park in Berwick Upon Tweed and Forget Me Not Country Park in Longhorsley near Morpeth.
Holy Island and Lindisfarne Castle
This walk is less than ten miles from Ord House Country Park and is 4.3 miles in total. Holy Island, off the Northumberland coast, is steeped in history with Lindisfarne Castle and Lindisfarne Priory both very popular with tourists. Away from the village there is an array of wild coastal scenery that can be enjoyed in relative solitude. A word of warning: Holy Island is cut off from the mainland at high tide so careful planning is required before starting this walk, which should take under three hours. The road is closed for around seven hours between tides so do allow enough time to cross back to the mainland to avoid being stranded on the island.
Doddington Moor
Another lovely walk is a circuit of Doddington Moor, which is just over 10 miles away from Ord House Country Park and is 3.8 miles in total. This is a relatively short Northumberland with beautiful views south to the Cheviot Hills. Doddington Moor offers an insight into Britain’s Neolithic past with a well preserved stone circle complete with king stone and many cup and ring markings on stones scattered across the area.
Rothbury
Less than seven miles from Forget Me Not Country Park, The Simonside Hills are the key feature of this easy 4.5 miles walk. Rothbury is a small attractive market town on the River Coquet and this route offers great views of the Coquet Valley and further afield to the hills of the Northumberland National Park. The Simonside Hills lie to the south of Rothbury. Contained within the boundaries of the Northumberland National Park, they provide easy walking with picturesque views.
Dunstanburgh Castle from Craster
Twelve miles from Forget Me Not Country Park, this walk to Dunstanburgh Castle from Craster is another favourite and a lovely introduction to the North Sea Coast. This walk is 4.5 miles long, beginning at the small fishing port of Craster, taking in the Northumberland coast and ending at the dramatic ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. Craster, famous for its kippers, is a small working fishing village north of Alnmouth and Dunstanburgh, dating from 1313 is the largest of the Northumberland Castles and is open to the public. An English Heritage site, the castle is well worth a visit, even for a drink and a bite to eat after your walk!
Look out for the blog next month when we’ll be posting our favourite routes for those of you coming for walking holidays near Newbus Grange Country Park and Swainby Country Park. Credit goes to the ever fantastic walkingbritain.co.uk for the tips!
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Until next time,
Maguires Country Parks.
