Budle Bay Campsite and another visit to Alnwick Castle
We spent the last weekend of the Easter holidays up on the Northumberland coast. We headed straight for Bamburgh Beach for a bit of surfing, although the waves were only about a foot high — perfect for the kids to paddle and play in. Even though the North Sea was baltic, they had a great time on the boards and hunting for little treasures in the sand. After being tossed from her board a few times, Esme called it a day and we made our way back to the van to get changed.
We booked Budle Bay Campsite, a little gem where we will definitely be returning, a few days before arriving. Budle Bay Campsite sits about 2 miles north of the Bamburgh, close to Waren Mill village. It a quiet, family-run site beside a small river, offering a relaxed atmosphere in the dark skies area. The campsite welcomes touring caravans, motorhomes, campervans, trailer tents and tents on both grassy pitches and hard standing, all with the option for electric hookup. They also provide huts and a bunkhouse for alternative options. We paid £38.94 for the four of us in our VW for a hardstanding pitch with electric hookup (the electric was an extra £7.50) for the night. We found this reasonable and will pay it again to stay at this site.
What’s great about heading away just for one or two nights is the lighter packing — more room and less to set up! We wandered straight to the onsite cafe, Budle Bites, and were met with a warm, friendly welcome. The kids shot straight to the small fenced park by the site entrance and were happily busy within minutes. We ordered a few pizzas for them and burgers for us; the food didn’t disappoint, and we decided to try the breakfasts there the following morning.
https://budlebaycampsite.com/budlebites/
We noticed that all of the packaging from Budle Bites was recyclable. The campsite prides itself on being a green site in every sense; power and hot water come from renewable sources, much of which is generated on site. There are also separate recycling bins, and several areas of the site have been left to grow wild to support the local wildlife.
Even though the kids had full tummies and were pretty exhausted, we'd promised them s'mores. With campfire restrictions in place, they settled for toasting their marshmallows on the jet boil instead. It wasn’t quite the same scene, but the taste turned out just as good!
After the sugar high we headed over to the facilities for showers. There are two blocks of toilets on site, and the main block also includes a separate shower and washroom. The shower room is warm and supplied with plenty of hot, powerful water operated by a push button. The cubicles don’t have a stool or seat, so unless you can hang your belongings, they’ll stay drier if left in one of the changing rooms directly opposite the showers. Overall the facilities are in good condition and we experienced no problems or waits for showers and toilets. They aren’t as luxurious as some places, and have a somewhat DIY feel, but they’re clean and perfectly comfortable.
With the sun setting, we played a few games—something Esme always expects whenever we’re staying in the van—and then opted for an early night. The site grew dark and a scatter of stars appeared overhead; the campsite’s recommendation to bring torches made sense. It was quiet and peaceful all around, and we ended up having a great nights sleep.
The next morning, after a delicious breakfast from Budle Bites — a veggie sausage sandwich alongside a full English breakfast complete with black pudding — we packed up and set off with plenty of time to reach Alnwick Castle for its 10am opening. We waved goodbye to some fellow VW campers with the promise of returning to the site soon.
We last visited Alnwick Castle at the end of August last year, which meant our annual pass was still valid. We wrote quite a detailed post about our visit which can be found at:
https://www.hyemfromhyem.com/blog/ord-house-camping-berwick
Last time, we missed out on the Broomstick lessons, so we headed straight to the Artisans' Courtyard to book into the 11am session. While the grounds were quiet, we wandered through the inner and outer baileys and up to the Gun Terrace, which offered excellent views across the surrounding landscape.
When the time came for the flying lesson, Esme decided she’d rather sit out and watch, so Steve had great fun learning how to ride a broomstick. It proved to be thoroughly entertaining for all of us, and in the end they both passed with flying colours.
After a quick bite to eat we revisited the state rooms and then made our way back to the Artisans Courtyard for a session of medieval soap making. We all enjoyed mixing dried flowers and herbs, learning about their traditional uses and folding them into soap flakes. The activities are all included in the price of the ticket, which feels like a complete bonus — particularly if you are returning for a second visit.
