Romantic Northumberland

10 reasons why our Northumberland cottages should be your choice for a Valentine’s weekend break

1. In the summer months some 37,000 pairs of amorous puffins come to nest on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for you.

2. The dreamy landscapes and bewitching castles of Northumberland are second to none. Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall and Alnwick Castle provided the perfect backdrop to the romantic movie Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

3. Both Bamburgh and Alnwick Castles play host to numerous weddings every year. Most famously Lady Melissa Percy married Thomas van Straubenzee, Prince Harry and the Duke of Cambridge’s friend, here in the summer of 2013.

4. The ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle are a romantic poet’s dream and also make an ideal location for proposing.

Dunstanburgh Castle at Sunrise

5. You can horse ride along the windswept beaches of Bamburgh and Holy Island with Kimmerston Stables or Slate Hall Riding Centre.

6. Dine on Lindisfarne Oysters for the ultimate aphrodisiac. Buy them from Swallowfish in Seahouses or from the Lindisfarne Oyster Farm itself and cook them back at your cottage. Or be served them in style at the Mizen Head Seafood Restaurant in Bamburgh.

7. Take a steam train ride through the County over the famous Berwick bridge. Check out Pathfinder Railtours .

Berwick upon Tweed bridge

8. Snuggle down in the dunes of Beadnell, Bamburgh or Embleton beaches and soak up the atmosphere.

9. Wander hand in hand through the Cheviot Hills, which inspired some of the romantic works of Sir Walter Scott.

10. Visit the Pin Well of Wooler and make a wish. Traditionally the people of Wooler would throw a bent pin into this natural spring on fair days in the hope their wish would come true. Young women would in particular walk around it three times, throw in their pins and wish for a husband.