Seahouses Beach

Seahouses is the main working embarkation point for boat trips to the Farne Islands, a National Trust reserve for puffins, terns and one of England's largest grey seal colonies, reachable from nowhere else on this stretch of coast. Boat trips have sailed from the harbour since 1918, when the Shiel family first started taking passengers out after a morning's fishing — the same family firm, now Billy Shiel's, still sails from the same harbour wall today alongside newer operators like Serenity. The beach itself runs almost two kilometres north from the harbour toward Bamburgh, a long, flat, dune-backed stretch of sand that slopes so gently it leaves a long walk to the water at low tide, with the Farne Islands sitting low on the horizon the whole way. The village keeps its working-harbour character alongside it: Swallow Fish, on a backstreet above the harbour, has smoked fish on the same site since 1843 and has a genuine claim to having invented the kipper.

Who visits

You'll mostly find families, birdwatchers and walkers here, drawn by the long, flat stretch of sand and the Farne Islands boat trips departing from the harbour a few minutes away — though there's no lifeguard cover here if swimming's the plan, the same as on every beach in Northumberland.

Worth knowing

Seahouses is the day-trip base for the whole Bamburgh/Seahouses/Beadnell stretch, and the busiest village on this part of the coast in peak season — Station Yard, the beach's main car park, routinely fills by mid-morning throughout July and August.