Daffodils at The Castle - A Day Trip to Warkworth, Northumberland

After a successful first visit to Hexham we've become determined to tick a few more places off our Northumberland bucket list this year and, being a daffodil obsessive, it only seemed right to finally see the gorgeous daffodils at the castle and plan a day trip to Warkworth. I've lost count of the amount of people who have said to me "you love daffodils? you must go to Warkworth Castle!"

Can you believe this was our first visit?

Keen to beat the crowds I dragged a reluctant Simon out of bed, waved my weather app in his face a few times, slathered him in sun cream and got him into the car heading north before he'd even had a chance to enjoy a morning coffee. If I was going to see the Warkworth Castle daffodils in all their glory I didn't want to be doing it with throngs of tourists in the way (anyone remembering back to that birthday when I became a daffodil diva?)

My enthusiasm paid off and we were one of the first into the carpark at Warkworth Castle. It costs £3.20 to park all day, is a great central spot to leave your car and, if you do decide to go for a potter round the English Heritage site, you get a refund on your parking ticket. No castle jaunts for us this time, we headed straight round the side of the castle for our first glimpse of the daffodils.

Wow! How had we not been here before?

Our first glimpse of the golden yellow hill had me squealing with delight and I practically skipped through the grass (despite wearing very inappropriate shoes and the ground being a tad soggy) to go and join the other photographers trying to get that perfect shot of the daffodils with the castle.

Cursing my bad wardrobe choices (seriously, who wears a short skirt to crawl about on wet grass taking photos of flowers?!) I set about photographing, appreciating and generally flouncing around in the daffodils, turning around every now and again just to double check that my husband hadn't walked off in the opposite direction in embarrassment.

I was in my element!

The entire hill was covered as far as the eye could see in perfect little yellow trumpets and the stunning castle sitting at the top against the blue sky had me thanking my lucky stars yet again that I call the North East my home.

I was pretty jealous of some of the other photographers at the foot of the hill who had had the good sense to wear trainers and jeans and were crawling their way up the hill, sitting amongst the daffodils and taking the most beautiful shots and I secretly thought to myself that maybe I could convince Simon to return next weekend in walking boots (worth a try?)

Once I'd tired myself out enjoying the daffodils we realised that we were feeling pretty peckish and it could be a good time to stop for some refreshments. Since arriving in Warkworth my social media had been going crazy with people telling us that we had to go to Bertrams for food and when that many people tell you how great somewhere is it's a good idea to pay attention!

Bertrams is the cutest cafe in Warkworth with a stunning courtyard for sunny days, cosy corners and a counter completely covered in cake. With plenty of seating options I changed my mind on where to sit 3 times (I wish I were joking!) Bertrams serve breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea (and it's worth noting that they also run a really lovely looking B&B that we're very tempted to book ourselves into for a few nights!)

When we arrived a lot of customers were tucking into very delicious looking breakfasts but we were there for cake and once I'd finally chosen our table we put in our order of a pot of tea, a cup of coffee and two slices of cake. Simon went for a doorstep sized wedge of Zesty Orange Cake and I ordered the Lemon and Courgette which endless people had recommended to me. Simon turned his nose up at the thought of vegetable in a cake but oh wow was it good! One of the best slices of cake I've ever had.

Glancing through their menu I think we'll definitely need to return for a Bertrams afternoon tea soon, at only £13.95 per person and the food locally sourced it sounds absolutely delicious!

Once we'd devoured our cakes and resisted the temptation to order more we stepped back out into the sunshine for an explore of Warkworth's pretty streets. Lined with the most beautiful buildings decked out in colourful flowers, we stumbled across art galleries, pubs, bakeries and gift shops, each prettier than the last. You know you've hit the jackpot when even the local village shop is a stunner.

It has to be said that Warkworth is also a prime place for dog watching (one of our favourite weekend activities) and we made plenty of new four legged furry friends whilst pottering around. Please tell me I'm not the only person to go up to a stranger's dog, get down on the ground and introduce myself whilst completely ignoring the owner? I just can't help myself!  Many of Warkworth's pubs, inns and cafes are dog friendly so it's a fantastic place to explore with your pet!

We finished our day trip to Warkworth with a quick  stroll over the 14th century Norman Bridge that crosses the River Coquet, so peaceful and a great place to watch the ducks. Whilst I realise we're definitely old before our time, watching wildlife on the river gives us the greatest amount of joy and Warkworth is a fantastic place for a spot of bird watching on the river.

We loved our first ever visit to Warkworth and it most definitely won't be our last, we cant wait to go back and do some more exploring!

Let me know where we should explore next!

Share:

adventures, north east