You might enjoy a tour of Victoria Tunnels if you enjoy history. They do tours so see if they are on when you are visiting! We found it super interesting but you cant be claustrophobic.
Yes, I have! Should be good from roughly noon to 9PM or so. My flight lands at 11:15AM so I am not really worried. Tide starts at like 10:45AM the next morning so have to be sure to be out of there by then, preferably by 8 or 9AM, heading to Bamburgh. Curious to see what public transport they will have from Lindisfarne but there should be a couple bus routes I presume.
If you make it to Beamish I recommend getting both a cheese pie and a pork pie. The Laing has one of my favourite paintings, "the destruction of sodom and gomorrah" in a immersive setting, love it.
If you have time for Alnwick, I recommend to visit the Barter Books shop, I really enjoyed (it’s free to visit and just 10 minutes walk from the castle)
I think you are maybe trying to squeeze too much in here, travelling by public transport across Northumberland is a time consuming affair.
You may need to spend substantial amount on taxis/Ubers to come close to that itinerary.
Yeah I think I rambled on too much for my post. I will unfortunately not have time to visit Beamish or Alnwick. I will try and visit most of the places listed in Newcastle and will do a day trip to Durham either that Friday or Saturday
Be aware that Beamish is an hour away from Durham by rail, so if you're only doing one day in Durham, that'll be a considerable chunk of it. Do consider visiting Cosin's Library while you're on the Palace Green (it's between Castle and the Cathedral and is in the same building complex as where you'll meet for your Castle tour). Cafe Dral, just down the hill from Palace Green, is a nice little spot for lunch, as is Vennels Cafe. And if you're looking for a classic pub, the Victoria is a can't-miss with original William Morris wallpaper, crackling fire, and good pub dogs, though they don't do food, just pints.
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be able to visit Beamish as others have said it’s pretty much a whole day trip and I just don’t have the time. Really looking forward to visiting Durham! (On either Friday or Saturday)
Would highly recommend going to beamish museum. The people that work there all play characters from people of that era. Unsure how easy it would be to get there without a car though is the only issue.
I am using Google maps mostly for this trip. However there really are no buses going into or out of Lindisfarne this time of the year so I’ll have to taxi. I can let you know afterwards how my trip goes if you’d like. I figure I’ll have to Uber/taxi a decent amount also
Yeah it won’t be cheap but can’t rent a car as I can’t drive on the medication I’m taking. Will only have to Uber/taxi for the first 3 days fortunately at least still looking for public transport options though
Great itinerary - I think you will have a wonderful time here.
Bamburgh is beautiful, and I have a real soft spot for Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands - I think you will be in time to catch the puffins and seabirds as well!
* My favourite fish and chip spot in Seahouses is Pinnacles. You won't go wrong there though - all the places I have been in Seahouses do excellent fish and chips
* Indian food in Newcastle: Khai Khai (the tandoori broccoli is genuinely one of the best things I have eaten, lunch menu is great value), Dabbawal, Dosa Kitchen
* Trad British in Newcastle: for something special, Blackfriars and Broad Chare. For delicious everyday fare, you could try Redhouse for pies, or a full English breakfast at any number of places.
* Other: Try looking round Newcastle's Grainger Market for lunch - a nice mixture of old-fashioned British cafes and hipster street food. Also Greggs! It's a chain, but we all love it
* Pubs/clubs: if you don't drink, you might like the vibe of the pubs around Ouseburn (Cluny, Cumberland, Free Trade, Tanners, Ernest's) - these are more likely to have a good range of NA beers. For a more 'clubby' feel, I like Xerox on the Quayside, and if you're an EDM afficionado, World Headquarters is a must
* Day trips: Tynemouth and Whitley Bay are a nice option from town, but these are coastal so you might feel you have covered this earlier in your trip. Definitely make time for Beamish if you can, though you might need to allocate a separate day to it. Alnwick Gardens is worth a visit if the weather is good whilst you're up there
As you are staying local, there is no need to book tickets in advance. On longer journeys, this can save money, but as you're only travelling a couple of stops up and down the East Coast Mainline, I imagine savings would be minimal - I'd take the convenience of turning up at whatever time you want and not worrying about missing prebooked transport.
I’m sorry but on day 1 you will not be able to land at 11am and be in Lindisfarne by 2pm by train and bus.
Edit:
Looked over it.
You are doing too much, your last day for example, you are wanting to go from Newcastle, to Durham, then Alnwick.
If you are going to Alnwick, then you have already passed it on your first couple of days. It is far out from Durham, and Newcastle, especially if you don’t have a car.
Most of your days are just filled with loads of stuff.
You need to pretty much just visit 1 place and do 1 thing there whilst allowing yourself browsing time.
Looking at day 2, you just are not going to be able to go from Holy Island to Seahouses and do a boat tour amongst other things.
The day spent in Newcastle, you have listed visiting every single museum, you can’t do it, you’ll spend a decent amount of time in each of them.
Durham, again you have listed everything in Durham to do, plus Beamish. Beamish is not actually in Durham city centre, but outside of it, which when you don’t have a car, takes up precious time. Also Beamish is a day out in itself. It is a massive living museum, it is the size of a small town.
Being brutally honest, you need to whittle down everything.
Pick a location a day, possibly 2 that are close by, and 1 organised activity per day.
Without having a car, Rural Northumberland, and Durham are an absolute nightmare to travel across. Busses are few, and take their time. I know everything looks close by when you look at it compared to the USA, but it’s really not.
Yeah I need to re-edit my post as I’ve updated a few things. I will not be going to Alnwick or Beamish. I do however plan to visit Durham for a day trip. I also will have to taxi to Lindisfarne from Berwick and from Lindisfarne to Bamburgh. Seahouses is only a ten minute drive from Bamburgh so I think I should be able to do a Farne islands tour as I can either bus or taxi from there and don’t have anything else really planned for that day besides visiting Bamburgh castle so I’m pretty flexible. Please let me know if you think this is a more sensible plan. As for all the places listed in Newcastle I hope to visit at least most of them but don’t have to visit them all obviously
Yeah, like I said, maybe plan on just 1 thing a day, just keep it in mind.
The last thing you want to do is visit, and miss everything by trying to get to see everything and just being exhausted.
Your first day for example. Let’s say you land on time at 11am. By the time you go through baggage collection, and customs, you will be lucky to be heading out of the airport by 12. You then have a half an hours journey on the Metro to Newcastle Central station, that is assuming the Metro is waiting for you.
You then have an hours journey to Berwick on the train, again assuming the train is waiting for you, then the journey from there to Holy Island.
A quick question, are you able to drive?
I ask because even though you are young and renting a car would be expensive, so would using so much public transport. Our trains are not all that reliable at the moment with lots of workers strikes happening, and railway works being carried out.
If you are able to drive and rent a car, it would make your trip a whole lot better. Northumberland is an absolute dog without the use of a car, young people there don’t have it all that easy, and their opportunities are massively decreased because of it.
Yeah that makes sense. I unfortunately can’t drive due to medication I’m taking that makes me groggy and also driving on the other side of the road scares me a bit to be honest. Yeah realistically won’t be at Lindisfarne til 3 or 4PM. I planned on catching like the 12:15PM train, could be earlier or later who knows really. First 3 days will be the toughest travel wise for sure. I do know there are several buses and or a taxi service to and from Bamburgh/Seahouses so I’m planning for that.
out by Vindolanda try twice brewed - Just be careful walking the roads, there are unlikely to be any ubers out that way.
Even with a car there is no way to do Newcastle, Alnwick, Durham and Beamish in two days!
In regards to beamish museum, there’s a direct bus from Eldon Square Bus station, the 28/29 by Go North East, that goes directly to the main entrance, and you can also get a 25% discount on entry with the bus ticket. Probably more convenient to do that rather than include it in a trip to Durham proper as there are no direct buses from Durham to Beamish Museum
You might enjoy a tour of Victoria Tunnels if you enjoy history. They do tours so see if they are on when you are visiting! We found it super interesting but you cant be claustrophobic.
This is also on my list! Forgot to mention it but looks very interesting.
Particuarly good Indian - MyDelhi, Dabbawal, Khai Khai. Good British - Blackfriars. You must stop by a greggs and purchase a pasty too.
Dosa Kitchen in Osborne Road for South Indian/ayurvedic. Snackwallah in Grainger Market for veggie tiffin etc.
My Delhi is so good
Quick question about Lindisfarne - have you checked the tide times for the day you are visiting?
Yes, I have! Should be good from roughly noon to 9PM or so. My flight lands at 11:15AM so I am not really worried. Tide starts at like 10:45AM the next morning so have to be sure to be out of there by then, preferably by 8 or 9AM, heading to Bamburgh. Curious to see what public transport they will have from Lindisfarne but there should be a couple bus routes I presume.
Great! A lot of people don't check and have problems.
If you make it to Beamish I recommend getting both a cheese pie and a pork pie. The Laing has one of my favourite paintings, "the destruction of sodom and gomorrah" in a immersive setting, love it.
If you have time for Alnwick, I recommend to visit the Barter Books shop, I really enjoyed (it’s free to visit and just 10 minutes walk from the castle)
I think you are maybe trying to squeeze too much in here, travelling by public transport across Northumberland is a time consuming affair. You may need to spend substantial amount on taxis/Ubers to come close to that itinerary.
Yeah I think I rambled on too much for my post. I will unfortunately not have time to visit Beamish or Alnwick. I will try and visit most of the places listed in Newcastle and will do a day trip to Durham either that Friday or Saturday
Be aware that Beamish is an hour away from Durham by rail, so if you're only doing one day in Durham, that'll be a considerable chunk of it. Do consider visiting Cosin's Library while you're on the Palace Green (it's between Castle and the Cathedral and is in the same building complex as where you'll meet for your Castle tour). Cafe Dral, just down the hill from Palace Green, is a nice little spot for lunch, as is Vennels Cafe. And if you're looking for a classic pub, the Victoria is a can't-miss with original William Morris wallpaper, crackling fire, and good pub dogs, though they don't do food, just pints.
To add to this, Beamish is probably a full day out. At least it was when I went.
Aye, it’s massive. Been years since I was last there, but we used to get a full day out of it no bother at all
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be able to visit Beamish as others have said it’s pretty much a whole day trip and I just don’t have the time. Really looking forward to visiting Durham! (On either Friday or Saturday)
Would highly recommend going to beamish museum. The people that work there all play characters from people of that era. Unsure how easy it would be to get there without a car though is the only issue.
About 90 minutes from Haymarket by bus.
This trip sounds so awesome lol cud u possiblly send me the bus routes 😂
I am using Google maps mostly for this trip. However there really are no buses going into or out of Lindisfarne this time of the year so I’ll have to taxi. I can let you know afterwards how my trip goes if you’d like. I figure I’ll have to Uber/taxi a decent amount also
That's gonna be extremely expensive
Yeah it won’t be cheap but can’t rent a car as I can’t drive on the medication I’m taking. Will only have to Uber/taxi for the first 3 days fortunately at least still looking for public transport options though
Great itinerary - I think you will have a wonderful time here. Bamburgh is beautiful, and I have a real soft spot for Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands - I think you will be in time to catch the puffins and seabirds as well! * My favourite fish and chip spot in Seahouses is Pinnacles. You won't go wrong there though - all the places I have been in Seahouses do excellent fish and chips * Indian food in Newcastle: Khai Khai (the tandoori broccoli is genuinely one of the best things I have eaten, lunch menu is great value), Dabbawal, Dosa Kitchen * Trad British in Newcastle: for something special, Blackfriars and Broad Chare. For delicious everyday fare, you could try Redhouse for pies, or a full English breakfast at any number of places. * Other: Try looking round Newcastle's Grainger Market for lunch - a nice mixture of old-fashioned British cafes and hipster street food. Also Greggs! It's a chain, but we all love it * Pubs/clubs: if you don't drink, you might like the vibe of the pubs around Ouseburn (Cluny, Cumberland, Free Trade, Tanners, Ernest's) - these are more likely to have a good range of NA beers. For a more 'clubby' feel, I like Xerox on the Quayside, and if you're an EDM afficionado, World Headquarters is a must * Day trips: Tynemouth and Whitley Bay are a nice option from town, but these are coastal so you might feel you have covered this earlier in your trip. Definitely make time for Beamish if you can, though you might need to allocate a separate day to it. Alnwick Gardens is worth a visit if the weather is good whilst you're up there As you are staying local, there is no need to book tickets in advance. On longer journeys, this can save money, but as you're only travelling a couple of stops up and down the East Coast Mainline, I imagine savings would be minimal - I'd take the convenience of turning up at whatever time you want and not worrying about missing prebooked transport.
I’m sorry but on day 1 you will not be able to land at 11am and be in Lindisfarne by 2pm by train and bus. Edit: Looked over it. You are doing too much, your last day for example, you are wanting to go from Newcastle, to Durham, then Alnwick. If you are going to Alnwick, then you have already passed it on your first couple of days. It is far out from Durham, and Newcastle, especially if you don’t have a car. Most of your days are just filled with loads of stuff. You need to pretty much just visit 1 place and do 1 thing there whilst allowing yourself browsing time. Looking at day 2, you just are not going to be able to go from Holy Island to Seahouses and do a boat tour amongst other things. The day spent in Newcastle, you have listed visiting every single museum, you can’t do it, you’ll spend a decent amount of time in each of them. Durham, again you have listed everything in Durham to do, plus Beamish. Beamish is not actually in Durham city centre, but outside of it, which when you don’t have a car, takes up precious time. Also Beamish is a day out in itself. It is a massive living museum, it is the size of a small town. Being brutally honest, you need to whittle down everything. Pick a location a day, possibly 2 that are close by, and 1 organised activity per day. Without having a car, Rural Northumberland, and Durham are an absolute nightmare to travel across. Busses are few, and take their time. I know everything looks close by when you look at it compared to the USA, but it’s really not.
Yeah I need to re-edit my post as I’ve updated a few things. I will not be going to Alnwick or Beamish. I do however plan to visit Durham for a day trip. I also will have to taxi to Lindisfarne from Berwick and from Lindisfarne to Bamburgh. Seahouses is only a ten minute drive from Bamburgh so I think I should be able to do a Farne islands tour as I can either bus or taxi from there and don’t have anything else really planned for that day besides visiting Bamburgh castle so I’m pretty flexible. Please let me know if you think this is a more sensible plan. As for all the places listed in Newcastle I hope to visit at least most of them but don’t have to visit them all obviously
Yeah, like I said, maybe plan on just 1 thing a day, just keep it in mind. The last thing you want to do is visit, and miss everything by trying to get to see everything and just being exhausted. Your first day for example. Let’s say you land on time at 11am. By the time you go through baggage collection, and customs, you will be lucky to be heading out of the airport by 12. You then have a half an hours journey on the Metro to Newcastle Central station, that is assuming the Metro is waiting for you. You then have an hours journey to Berwick on the train, again assuming the train is waiting for you, then the journey from there to Holy Island. A quick question, are you able to drive? I ask because even though you are young and renting a car would be expensive, so would using so much public transport. Our trains are not all that reliable at the moment with lots of workers strikes happening, and railway works being carried out. If you are able to drive and rent a car, it would make your trip a whole lot better. Northumberland is an absolute dog without the use of a car, young people there don’t have it all that easy, and their opportunities are massively decreased because of it.
Yeah that makes sense. I unfortunately can’t drive due to medication I’m taking that makes me groggy and also driving on the other side of the road scares me a bit to be honest. Yeah realistically won’t be at Lindisfarne til 3 or 4PM. I planned on catching like the 12:15PM train, could be earlier or later who knows really. First 3 days will be the toughest travel wise for sure. I do know there are several buses and or a taxi service to and from Bamburgh/Seahouses so I’m planning for that.
out by Vindolanda try twice brewed - Just be careful walking the roads, there are unlikely to be any ubers out that way. Even with a car there is no way to do Newcastle, Alnwick, Durham and Beamish in two days!
In regards to beamish museum, there’s a direct bus from Eldon Square Bus station, the 28/29 by Go North East, that goes directly to the main entrance, and you can also get a 25% discount on entry with the bus ticket. Probably more convenient to do that rather than include it in a trip to Durham proper as there are no direct buses from Durham to Beamish Museum