Our experts reveal why the North East coast gives the South West a run for its money
15 May 2021 • 12:27pm
There’s no avoiding Bamburgh Castle, which seems to fill the sky as it rises some 150ft on its volcanic outcrop
Credit: Yin Sun/Visit Britain
While others look to Devon and Cornwall when dreaming of the seaside, I look to the opposite end of England. As a fully paid-up member of the North East Coastal Appreciation Society, I scratch my head and ask myself: who needs the South West when you can take in beaches that stretch to a vanishing point, magnificently battered castles and market towns and villages that have yet to prostrate themselves for the sake of the tourist shilling? Yes, a dip in the North Sea turns me an interesting shade of orange, but that’s a reasonable trade-off for not having to queue 30 minutes for a pasty.
Northumberland s Kielder Water and Forest Park offers water sports, mountain biking and running
Louise Cahill visited, though, for a half-day of wild food foraging with foraging expert and chef Linus Morton
She learns from this bushcrafter that to eat mushrooms you find you must be certain on identification
Towards the end of the foray, there s sheer joy as Linus spots Porcini, also known as the king of mushrooms