Northumberland: foodie round-up from my latest visit
I’ve often holidayed in Northumberland over the years. I love its big, beautiful coastline, huge beaches, famous castles, charming towns, wildlife and, of course, its food.
Recently back from a week’s stay, in this post I share some of the food I enjoyed during our latest visit, plus a few thoughts on why I love this wonderful part of Britain and will keep returning to it.
SEAHOUSES
I first went to Northumberland just over 10 years ago, renting a small house in the ever popular Seahouses
The town is famous for its boat trips out to the Farne Islands. You’ll get to see seals and a wonderful array of seabirds, as well as Longstone Lighthouse from where Grace Darling and her father famously rescued the survivors of the shipwrecked Forfarshire in 1838.
Seahouses still has its working harbour and there’s lots of fascinating history related to the herring industry. Foodies will also want to know that it’s the home of Swallow Fish, reputedly the oldest smokehouse in the country. It thought that, just maybe, this is where herrings were first turned into kippers.
So, being the first place I ever visited in Northumberland, it was fitting that the first food we ate on our most recent trip was in Seahouses.
FISH & CHIPS
It’s almost impossible for me to go to the British coast without eating fish and chips. If I were to go home without having done so, I’d feel I’d missed out.
Over the years, I think we must have eaten at all of the fish and chip restaurants in Seahouses, and this time it was the turn of Neptune. Having our dog with us, we decided to have takeaway.
As with all good fish and chips, the aroma coming off these was incredibly appetizing. This, combined with just having driven for several hours from our home in the Staffordshire Moorlands, meant that no thought was given to taking a photo for posterity. A bit of a no-no for a food blogger, but I’m afraid we just scoffed everything down straight away: the wonderfully fresh fish in its crispy batter and the lovely, hot chips.
CRASTER
Thankfully, I did manage to rein in my appetite long enough to take a photo of the next meal I want to tell you about, which I ate in Craster.
Craster is another wonderful village we’ve been to several times over the years, known for its attractive working harbour. It’s also the start of a beautiful walk to the remains of 13th century Dunstanburgh Castle.
Out on an isolated promontory, the castle’s broken towers can be seen for miles around, and spectacularly so from the Jolly Fisherman pub where we planned to have lunch.
THE JOLLY FISHERMAN
My previous visit to the Jolly Fisherman was prior to its 2012 refurbishment and we’d gone there after a walk to the castle and back. I remember happily eating very good crab sandwiches in the beer garden, accompanied by a welcome pint of beer.
This time around, it being a chilly day, we sat inside and I ordered the Jolly Fishboard. Served up very promptly and by friendly staff, there was crab meat, fresh salmon rillette, kipper pate, prawns, smoked salmon and sweet cured rollmop herring. All the seafood was superb and there was salad and very good local bread too.
My partner had crab toasts on more of that lovely bread, served with a mug of tasty sweetcorn chowder.
We’d ummed and aahed about whether to order one or two bowls of beef dripping chips between us, changing our minds at least twice. But greed won out and we went for two; just as well as they were knock-out.
While Seahouses may claim to have the oldest smokehouse, Craster is home to surely the most famous.
Craster kippers are renowned all over Britain and, conveniently enough, their smokehouse is just over the road from The Jolly Fisherman.
SMOKEHOUSE
L Robson and Sons still uses the original 1856 smokehouse and the traditional method of oak smoking to produce kippers, smoked salmon, cod and haddock. The family took over the smokehouse and started their business in 1906 and it’s now run by the fourth generation of Robsons.
I bought a lovely piece of smoked cod from the shop and a great, handmade Northumberland cheese: Oak Smoked Cuddy’s Cave.
That night, in our rented holiday house, I combined them with potatoes in a deliciously smoky cod and cheese gratin for dinner.
DODDINGTON CHEESE
The word ‘artisan’ is bandied about a lot these days but often appears to be little more than a cynical marketing tool, with even supermarkets labelling an increasing number of their mass-produced goods ‘artisan-style’.
So, wanting to learn more about just who made that wonderful Oak Smoked Cuddy’s Cave, it gladdened my foodie heart to read about Doddington Cheese.
Set in the Glendale Valley, at the foot of the Cheviot hills, there’s been a herd at Doddington since 1950 and it was the third generation of the family that began making artisan cheese in 1993. They now produce seven handmade cheeses using the fresh, unpasteurised milk from their own cows.
I loved the strong flavour of the 48-hour Oak Smoked Cuddy’s Cave. And it went wonderfully well with the robust smoked cod, potatoes, cream and garlic in my homemade gratin.
The Doddington website describes this cheese as ‘devilishly addictive’. They’re not kidding; we couldn’t resist eating the rest of the hunk, grilled on toast, for breakfast the next morning.
BAMBURGH
Bamburgh is one of those Northumberland destinations you find yourself returning to again and again. We’ve based ourselves there on a couple of holidays.
Perhaps best-known for the impressive Bamburgh Castle, and also home to the Grace Darling Museum.
But we love it best of all for its stunning coastal scenery and beach.
THE LORD CREWE
It was after a rather wild and windy walk on the beach at Bamburgh that we decided to have lunch at the Lord Crewe for the first time.
As we had our dog with us, we were directed to a separate entrance. inside it was very cosy with a wood burning stove which we were glad of after our bracing walk.
The Lord Crewe’s menu, while featuring seafood such as halibut, mussels and haddock, tends towards the meaty. But that was fine by me as I’d eaten a lot of fish and seafood and fancied something beefy.
I’m a big fan of a properly made burger so ordered the impressive-looking 100% beef burger. In a nice change from the now standard onion rings, it came topped with crispy shards of onion. On the side was the ‘dip of the day,’ chilli, and a very generously-filled pot of French fries.
It being near the end of our holiday, we didn’t get another chance to eat at the Lord Crewe, but we enjoyed the food and real ale. The staff were friendly too and no doubt we’ll be returning during future stays.
BUTCHER
By happy coincidence, while we were on holiday, it was National Butchers’ Week which provided the perfect excuse to visit one of my favourite Bamburgh foodie haunts: R Carter and Son.
They’ve been the village butcher here for over 130 years and are the makers of Northumberland’s favourite sausage, the Bamburgh Banger.
Using only free range, rare breed Welsh pedigree pigs from County Durham for all their sausages, bacon and pork, and minimum 21-day aged pasture fed beef, it’s not surprising that Carter’s is so highly regarded.
Besides a few bangers for breakfast the next day, we the makings of a meaty feast that evening: pork and black pudding sausages, pork chops and chops of local lamb.
But if you don’t fancy cooking, then Carter’s makes an enormous range of homemade pies, sausage rolls, Scotch eggs and even ready meals like soups, casseroles and curries.
THE WHITE SWAN AT WARENFORD
On the day before we were to return home, we hadn’t ventured out much. It was so windy that the sea, just over the road from the house we staying in, was occasionally slapping at the windows and the street was speckled with sea foam. It was great to watch from the comfort and warmth of the sofa, but it meant we’d only gone out for a couple of quick walks to exercise the dog.
But, fancying a really good lunch, we finally decided to get in the car and drive to The White Swan at Warenford, near Belford. We’d been to their several years before and had been really impressed.
We’d rang ahead to book, explaining that we had our dog with us. When we arrived, we found a very warm welcome – literally. Places had been set for us right next to the impressive fireplace with its wood burning stove. The friendly staff soon came over with menus and a biscuit or two for the dog.
I should mention that we were very lucky in the date we chose for our holiday. The previous weeks had seen some of the worst winter weather Britain had had in a good while, with parts of Northumberland bearing the worst of it.
There were signs of how severe it had been in the drifts of snow still heaped along the sides of the country lanes and in the deep, standing water on the smaller roads. Understandably then, there weren’t that many out lunching that day. But it’s testament to the resilience of the pub and its staff that they were able to produce a fantastic lunch for us in perhaps difficult circumstances.
In fact, this meal turned out to be the best we’d had over the entire holiday.
HAGGIS
For my starter, I had the haggis in filo pastry with mushroom marmalade and a whisky dressing.
I loved this dish: rich, meaty haggis in crisp, light filo pastry. It came with nicely sweetish sauces and a fresh garnish.
With excellent contrasts of textures and flavours, this was a stunning plate of food.
LEMON SOLE
My main course was pan-seared lemon sole with a crayfish and saffron butter sauce. It looked and smelled incredible.
The beautifully fresh fish was cooked perfectly on the bone and the rich, buttery sauce was so good I couldn’t bear to waste a drop of it. Handily, a range of vegetables plus new potatoes were served on the side, so providing lots more opportunities to soak up that great sauce.
The kitchen hadn’t been stingy with the amount of juicy crayfish they’d included either.
With the first two courses being faultless, it would have been foolish not to order dessert.
DESSERT
I went for a roulade of raspberry, almond and Cointreau with elder flower and gooseberry ice cream.
This was a great finish to the superb lunch: creamy but light, fruity with delicious nutty morsels too, plus tangy ice cream.
Like all the dishes we ate, it was beautifully presented.
I’ll always return to Northumberland
The thing that strikes me, reading back my impressions from our last Northumberland trip, is the recurrence of history and tradition.
Not just in those fabulous castles and museums, but it’s in the food culture too. Whether it’s old smokehouses still in use, maintaining and renewing artisan cheese making, or the same families carrying on their food heritage through skills such as smoking and butchery.
We’ve also seen how Northumberland cafes, pubs and restaurants make great use of local products. Sometimes the output is soundly traditional, sometimes it’s beautiful with a modern edge. But both are based on sound ingredients rather than fads, demonstrating impressive food knowledge at their heart.
Put these together with stunning scenery and a genuine friendliness towards visitors, then it’s not surprising that I plan to continue visiting Northumberland, and enjoy more of its fabulous food, for many years to come.
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