Cullernose Point And The Bathing House

At the craggy cliff of Cullernose Point, a birdwatcher had binoculars pressed to his face. He was concentrating so much, that I didn't ask what he had spotted. I looked too, but couldn't see anything but Kittiwakes. Three days later somebody reported a rare Gyr Falcon perched on a ledge and so maybe he'd been looking at that. Further up the coast the oddly situated Bathing House came into view. A large retaining wall has been built around it so that it doesn't fall into the sea. Charles Grey, who became Prime Minister (1830-34), lived in the nearby Howick Hall. Mr Grey is probably best known for  being named after the Early Grey teabag. He had the Bathing House built to help with 'outdoor learning' for his children. Two rock-cut pools and some steps have been constructed in the foreshore below the house (now Grade II listed structures). Rock-cut channels feed the pool with fresh water. It's rented out to holidaymakers nowadays.

Boulmer

The coast path then went past some delightful bays, A footbridge crossed Howick Burn in a pretty cove at Low Stead Links. The path then ascended to a road end from Longhoughton. Although not marked on the map, the area around the road end is used as a car park. Just a bit further along, massive rocks had been deposited on each side of the coast track to prevent anybody parking further along. I wondered what  archaeologists, millennia into the future, would make of these stones. Maybe the megalithic stones to which we currently assign religious and astronomical significance should be reassessed as cart parking controls.

Boulmer is a one street fishing village. Apart from a few houses, it has a pub, a gallery and all the paraphernalia to tow small boats across the sands and into the sea. On the outskirts, another bird spotter had a telescope on a tripod. Maybe he'd spotted that Rye Falcon.

Club Swingers

The coast path went through a holiday caravan site at Seaton Point. Most of these were the type of the large modern caravans. On the southern side though, a few old rail carriages had been tastefully converted into small holiday homes. The tide was out and so I decided to descend down from the cliff and walk on the beach for a while. There had been a light rain since Boulmer, but now the sun was trying to come out. I climbed back up to the top of the cliffs at Foxton Hall. Most of Almouth appears to be given over to the Club Swingers. Their playground seems to cover a vast area and the England Coast Path followed it into town. I kept a wary eye out for flying projectiles. I watched somebody teeing off and slice the ball in my direction. He was too far away for it to reach me, and the ball landed in half an acre of undergrowth, to be lost forever. I heard his three fellow Club Swingers bellow with laughter.

I dropped down into Almouth. The town is very twee.  A sign outside the Schooner Pub indicated the place was haunted. Apparently there have been over 60 supernatural sightings on its premises. Maybe Derek Acorah would be happy staying there, but I'd prefer a hotel without a proper plumbing system and draught excluded windows.

Decision Time

I had to make a big decision at Alnmouth. On the other side of the estuary I could see a large cross on a hillock and the continuation of the England Coast Path southwards. The cross was only about 200 yards away but would necessitate swimming across the estuary to get to it. The alternative was a 6 mile out-and-back round trip, following a path inland, in order to get to that very same point. Of course, another possibility was to just turn around and walk back to Craster. I knew that if I missed out this section, then there would be other sections on my England Coast Path North East Venture  that I'd also neglect too. The trip inland and around didn't look that exciting on the map though, and it'd make my day's walk around 20 miles long. I sighed, there was nothing for it, I set off on the long 6 mile walk to gain 200 yards southwards.

To be honest, it wasn't that much of a chore. The path crossed the River Aln and went through an area that was being rewilded from farm land. This had attracted quite a lot of bird life. The path did run alongside the busy A1068 for a while, although a hedge shielded most of the noise. I turned away from the road and made my way back to the sea, finally ending up at a lifebuoy on the the top of a sand dune. At least the terminus on this stage of my Venture would be easy to spot when I link it up with the next southward stage. I turned around and started heading back to Alnmouth.

Inglorious Mud

The tide had come back in when I reached the Club Swingers club house.  The beach I'd walked along this morning was now mostly covered. The mean high water on the OS map indicated that the tide came into the base of the cliffs. I therefore decided to walk along the cliffs. This turned out to be one of the muddiest paths I've found on the England Coast Path. Given the shrapnel been projected from the Club Swingers and the discovery of a WWII pillbox, I felt a bit like I was in a warzone. It was a relief when I reached Seaton Point holiday park where there was safer and drier ground.

Beyond Boulmer, the sun had come out, and the bays looked quite inviting now. There were far more people out on the trail compared to this morning. At Cullernose Point I looked for any interesting birds, but it just looked like Kittiwake City. The Roe Deer at Craster didn't make an afternoon appearance either.

It has been a long time since I've done a walk of this length. It had been easy walking though and I didn't feel that tired. Most importantly, I'd confirmed a decision to walk every inch of the path on my England Coast Path North East Venture. I may come to regret that decision.