Low Newton to Beadnell - Walking the Coastal Path in Northumberland

Walking the coastal path in Northumberland is one of my favourite ways to spend a sunny afternoon and with miles and miles of coastline to explore I'm keen to get as much ground covered as possible this Summer in my effort to discover more of the North East's most beautiful scenery. We decided to start our adventures with the coastal footpath between Low Newton and Beadnell, a walk which many say is one of the most stunning along the Northumberland coast.

With the small carpark at Low Newton full (no surprise as the Ship Inn in the village has to most popular pub on the Northumberland coastline!) we parked our car a short stroll up the road at a free carpark just off the B1340 as you come into the village, the perfect spot for a quick visit to The Joiners Arms.

Without meaning to, this walk became a coastal pub to pub route for us and starting our walk at The Joiners Arms with drinks in their sunny beer garden was the perfect way to start the day. If you arrive at lunchtime the pub serve up some rather lovely looking dishes and it's a charming little place filled with hidden corners and pretty fairy lights - just make sure you don't forget to leave and start your walk!

The coastal footpath at Low Newton is easily found just before you get to the beach and is clearly signposted (essential for walkers like us who very easily get lost!). A word of warning before you begin, the signpost claims that the walk to Beadnell is 2.5 miles and it really isn't!

Believing the signs, we were wearing fashion trainers rather than walking shoes and I really don't recommend you follow our lead. The walk is around 4 miles and sensible footwear is needed (I'm still cleaning sand off my expensive Addidas trainers!)

The more adventurous can make their way to Beadnell navigating the sand dunes or stroll along the beach but as this was our first time we decided to follow the coastal path which runs behind the dunes and offers walkers a lovely easy route between the villages.

The walk was perfect for us, a few little hills and dips to challenge our legs, a couple of styles to climb (always makes me feel like I'm on a proper adventure if I get to do some climbing!) and some glorious coastal views to admire.

We were a little confused when we realised that the sign at the start of our walk  had been fibbing and that we were committed to a few extra miles but we really couldn't grumble, especially when we realised a number of very happy people walking the opposite way to us were completing a 26 mile hike along the Northumberland coastal path.

Whilst 26 miles does seem like a very long way, I can see why people want to push themselves to go just a little further along the path, with so much to discover along the way the route takes you along some of the most stunning coastline in the North East as well as in and out of some of my favourite villages. Maybe one day we'll do the whole 26 miles for ourselves!

Around 2 hours later (yes we were ambling pretty slowly!) we found ourselves in Beadnell. The coastal path ends at the Caravan Park at the Bay, which was people watching heaven to someone nosy like me. The smell of BBQs filled the air and weaving in between the cute little homes had us suddenly wanting to plan a caravan holiday (yes really!)

If your legs are tired this is the perfect place to end your adventure with some food at Bait, the cutest little takeout food van I've ever seen. However, we decided to press on a little further into the village in search of The Craster Arms, home to perhaps the biggest beer garden in Northumberland and somewhere that serves up huge portions of food, perfect for the hungry adventurer.

I had been craving fish and chips as soon as we'd left Low Newton (there's something about sea air that makes me want to indulge) so ordered the Craster Giant Beer Battered Cod served with chips, mushy peas and house tartare sauce (£13.00) and Simon opted to refuel with The Craster Burger (£11.00).

Look how huge my portion is!  Wow!

The Craster Arms is definitely a great place to stop for some carb loading after your walk and, if you did fancy turning this into a pub to pub walk it's a brilliant sunny spot to enjoy a few beers in the huge garden.

Of course proper explorers would follow the coastal footpath the entire way back to Low Newton but if, like us, you fancy a little cheat you can come off the footpath and amble back up the B1340 which cuts a fair bit off the walk back.

This is probably why we'll never be able to call ourselves proper walkers!

I'd love to know your favourite spots to go walking, we're hoping to get a few more done over the Summer months, this is just the beginning!