…although the crab soup at the Jolly Fisherman is properly nice. Loads of crab lurking in a rich, creamy broth.

Boat trip to Farne Islands is an interesting few hours/day out depending on the trip you book.
I remember a trip to Shetland where a local told me not to miss a certain place for the Puffins and other seabirds and seals etc. Was not a patch on the Farnes.

Farne’s is a good call, about £8 a head? I’d never seen a puffin till then, by the time we got back int Seahouses I was sick of seeing bloody puffins!

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/jul/30/top-10-budget-seafood-restaurants-cafes-northumberland-coast

I was at The Jolly Fisherman 3 weeks ago and had a crab sandwich there was loads of crab meat in it.

The Lady of the North is a must see: http://www.northumberlandia.com
a stunning human landform sculpture of a reclining lady. Made of 1.5 million tonnes of rock, clay and soil, she is 100 feet high and a quarter of a mile long.
Definitely worth a visit

I saw this today – might be helpful?

Guardian article

I am back home in Northumberland this week and it is cold, wet and not looking like it is going to get any better. The trails are getting to be as muddy as winter, unsightly DH trails have been breeding like rabbits and the nice red climb to the top of Simonside seems like it has been used for NATO tank practice when they have been felling trees. I had a rubbish pie in Rothbury, the road to Thropton was blocked so had to do a detour to get anywhere and nearly all the hens have been eaten by foxes so I can’t have an egg for breakfast.

A normal week then GEDA?

I was out on Wedbesday around Thrunton and Carriage Drive, there’s the odd peat bog that’s damp but overall it isn’t bad and far from winter conditions. The 2 days of rain we’ve had hasn’t had much of an effect.

Might do a week up here in early October. Looking for a small self-catering place, any recommendations? Ideally somewhere pretty isolated and on the coast.

How about this:

http://www.northumbria-byways.com/viewitem.aspx?id=93

On the coast for sure although there will be walkers passing by.

Might do a week up here in early October.

Ahem …… taking a bike??

just back from the folks, beaches were heaving
[url=https://flic.kr/p/wPfJ3R]Overcrowded Northumberland[/url] by Mike Smith, on Flickr

Jolly Fisherman is definitely out with the locals
Build your own burger and serve yourself beer in the bottles is becoming popular/novelty 🙂

Yeah it’s very different but it would have closed if they left it the same.

That beach is crowded for Northumberland.