Bamburgh

There cannot be many more impressive sights than that of Bamburgh Castle with its magnificent red stand stone as it towers over the sea and the little village below

Bamburgh was founded in 547 by King Ida and the village has a fine Norman Church dedicated to St. Aidan who died in the village in 654. The village was given by King Ida's grandson to his wife Bebba and became known as Bebbanburgh, from which the modern name derives.

In 1838 the paddle steamer 'Forfarshire' was wrecked on the Farne Islands across from Bamburgh and Grace Darling with her father rescued 9 men in a small rowing boat. Grace Darling is buried in St. Aidens churchyard and a museum in the village commemorates her.

Bamburgh boats reputedly one of the finest beaches in Northumberland with its vast expanse of sands at low tide and Budle Bay, a few miles up the coast is a renowned omithological paradise with many unusual and interesting species of waders