Dunstanburgh Castle — Attraction in Craster

We went up Northumberland yesterday to visit Dunstanburgh Castle which can be found on a remote headland off the coast of Northumberland between Embleton & Craster.

Built in the early 1300’s the curtain walls enclose 9.96 acres, making it the largest castle in Northumberland, it was built on an old Iron Age Fort on land which is thought to have been occupied as far back as prehistoric times.

The most prominent part of the castle (still standing) is the Great Gatehouse, a massive three-storey fortification whose ruinous & withered towers seem to claw at the very sky above them.

Multiple rectangular towers protect the walls, including the Lilburn Tower, which looks out towards Bamburgh Castle, and the Egyncleugh Tower – whose name means "eagle's ravine" in the Northumbrian dialect – overlooks Queen Margaret's Cove below. A harbour was built to the south-east of the castle, of which only a stone quay survives.

The Castle is now owned by The National Trust and maintained by English Heritage. Entry is free to National Trust & English Heritage members but due to social distancing guidelines booking must be made in advance of your visit.

Small gift-shop with drinks etc. but face-covering must be worn when in shop.

Parking is in Craster, (home of the world famous oak-smoked kipper) from where it's a picturesque coastal walk to the castle, affording stunning views of the rugged Northumbrian coastline as the castle looms forebodingly on the horizon. However, the walk is across fields housing cattle and is approximately 1.5 miles from the car park.

It’s easily one of the most imposing medieval structures I’ve seen, which when coupled with the raw untouched beauty of the Northumberland coastline makes it a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Incredibly picturesque, whatever...

Lovely day, nice walk along the coast to get there, unfortunately when googling how long it would take to walk there from the carpark it said 30mins...my husband and I are not slow walkers but it did take longer...as a result we didn't have time to actually reach the castle and go in before we had to turn back before the ticket on the car expired....the machine only takes coins or pay by phone app... I could access the phone app and we could only scrape together enough coins to pay for 2 hours (£5.50) the ticket machine near the café just before the entrance to the main carpark takes contactless card payments 😕a sign at the others to state as much would have been nice...we are not local and are not able to just come back and try again anytime soon. Instead of walking up the hill to the castle just to come straight back down again we found an old log to sit on for 20mins or so and had our packed lunch. Whilst looking out to see we were lucky enough to spot a small pod of dolphins...made our day. To add some context we had an early start (5am) and spent the morning on holy island and had called in here on our way back to Newcastle where we were staying for a couple of days before heading home across the Pennines. Would still recommend..just leave yourself enough time to enjoy it properly.. Google maps estimate walking distances on flat ground and I'm not sure whose average speed,not the terrain you'll actually on,...

Dunstanburgh castle is one of the most Spectacular Ruins in the Country and is situated in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.... the walk upto the Castle starts in the Beautiful little fishing Village of Craster on the Northumberland coast, a Good/Gentle Grassy Track leads you upto the Ruins which are Perched on the Hill overlooking the Stunning Embleton bay.... which has Beautiful Beaches..... its well worth a Visit and can be combined with Lunch in Craster at the Jolly Fisherman ( Highly Recommend Booking) as this is an Extremely popular destination..... in Addition I WILL HIGHLIGHT, THAT YOU MUST BOOK ONLINE FOR YOUR visit to the Castle, You will be given a Choice of Time Slots on the Website and this is on Your Ticket..... PLEASE ENSURE YOU HAVE YOUR PRINTED CONFIRMATION WITH YOU...AND YOUR English Heritage membership card..... As when we went, they're checking the Tickets ( Please Understand that this is in line with the SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES) CURRENTLY BEING OPERATED BY English Heritage..... I would Allow a Good Hour an half to look around the Ruins, there are Superb Landscape views in most Directions and excellent Seabirds on the Cliffs just Below the castle Ruins, this Castle is in a Very Spectacular location and on a fine day, whiling away a few hours would Easily be Done, and Time WELL...