Craster

What can I do?

• Visit the harbour, built in memory of Captain Craster and to help export stone from the surrounding quarries. On your way look for rare examples of houses built with local whinstone.
• Take a coastal walk to the dramatic ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle and then spot seabirds from the ramparts. On the way notice the rich and unique ‘whin sill’ grasslands, home to field garlic, forget-me-nots, wild chives and wild thyme.
• Visit the Arnold Memorial Northumberland Wildlife Trust Reserve (an old quarry) and see if you can spot breeding or rare migrating birds.
• Buy some kippers from L. Robson & Son’s smokery and make some Craster Kipper Toasties when you get home.
• Take the Craster and Howick Trail and visit Howick Hall Gardens – rated as one of the top 5 coastal gardens in the country.
• Or if you’re feeling energetic why not try the National Trust’s Craster to Low Newton by the Sea coastal walk (voted one of the nation’s favourite trails).

What do I need to know?

• Craster is a fishing village through and through.
• Craster isn’t on a train line, but there are buses from Newcastle and Alnwick.
• Depending on the time of year Dunstanburgh Castle can close at 4pm. There are also climbing hazards and dark areas of the ruins, and it can be quite windy on the way.
• Craster falls within the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is a great base to explore both inland and along the coast.

Where can I find out more?

• Information about Craster from the Craster Community Trust’s website
• Craster visitor’s guide
• Dunstanburgh Castle Teacher’s Information
• English Heritage’s Hazard Information Sheet for Dunstanburgh Castle
• Craster local history website
• The Northumberland Wildlife Trust
• The National Trust’s Craster to Low Newton by the Sea walk
• Howick Hall Gardens
• All you need to know about Kippers – L. Robson and Son
• Visit the Northumberland Communities website for information about the history of Craster

  Inspire me

  Try our specially designed family activities. Castle, Food Webs and Coast Bingo are all great ways of getting to know Craster. You can download pdf versions of these activities using the links to the right, or visit the Inspire me page to find a these and other activities in both pdf and Microsoft Word versions (for you to customise if you wish).