England Coast Path — Day 3: Fenham-le-Moor to Seahouses

14th June 2026 — 25.29km (15.71 miles) — 350m (1,148ft) ascent

Looking towards Holy Island from Ross Back Sands, photo by author

Today was an exceptional day on the Coast Path. This section is only open during June and July to protect wildlife around the Ross Sands area, so I couldn’t complete this section when I was previously in Northumberland back in April. I started my walk from the bird hide at the end of the road at Fenham-le-Moor.

The path starts by following the high tide line before passing through a gate and along the edge of a field. Luckily the tide was out otherwise there would have been the possibility that my feet would have got wet! The path then follows the edge of Fenham Flats to Ross Point where there is a gap in the dunes.

The path is signposted through a gate that says “This track is for service use only. It is not a public footpath” but the route quickly takes a left turn off the track and continues through the dunes. Here the sand is almost white, and with the beach at Ross Back Sands being very remote, there were only a few people on the two miles of beach that were open. The north and south ends of the beach are still fenced off to protect wildlife. There are excellent views across Budle Bay towards Bamburgh Castle from here.

From here the path skirts the edge of Budle Bay to Waren Mill. A little inland diversion to avoid a busy road by the mill is then needed. Waren Mill is an impressive building — originally built in the 17th century as a water-powered flour mill; in the early 20th century it was converted into a maltings but closed in the 1980s and is now modern apartments. The path continues around Budle Point and Blackrocks Point, now rising on cliffs up to about 30m high.

Waren Mill from across Budle Bay, photo by author

Waren Mill pales into insignificance compared with Bamburgh Castle, which the Coast Path passes on the seaward side. The castle is on the site of a 5th-century fort that might have been the capital of the kingdom of Bernicia. The core of the existing castle was built by the Normans in the 11th century. The castle was bought and restored by William Armstrong in the 19th century, and the castle still remains in the ownership of the Armstrong family. William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong was a Victorian industrialist known for his innovative technology particularly in hydraulics and armaments

Bamburgh Castle, photo by author

From Bamburgh Castle, the path follows a convoluted route through the dunes with excellent views towards Inner Farne, part of the Farne Islands. It is hard to follow the exact route of the path but occasional marker posts show the way; if in doubt the shoreline could be followed instead. The path finally arrives in the village of Seahouses where I completed my walk with fish and chips followed by a huge serving of ice cream!

Travel options

From Berwick-upon-Tweed, both the X15 and X18 buses stop at Middleton. The X15 runs every couple of hours but does not run on Sundays, while the X18 only has three journeys a day and does run on Sundays. It takes about 30 minutes to reach Middleton. A short walk is needed to reach Fenham-le-Moor.

Seahouses is served by the X18 bus as well as the 0918 bus which has two services each way between Belford and Chathill via Seahouses. These are timed to connect with the two return train services between Newcastle and Chathill.

Day 2: Fenwick to Middleton via Holy Island

Day 4: Seahouses to Alnmouth