Why Northumberland's Harbours Reward the Hungry Traveller

Northumberland's coast is often described as empty, and on a blustery Tuesday in February that is more or less true. But the county's working harbours — Craster, Seahouses and Amble — are where that emptiness pays off. Small boats still go out for crab and lobster, smokehouses still cure herring over oak shavings, and much of what you eat has been landed or smoked within a few miles of your plate. The three harbours sit within about twenty miles of one another, which makes them easy to string together over a long weekend.

What they share is a stubbornly small scale. Most of the businesses here are family-run, often for several generations, and many shut for a chunk of the winter. Turn up expecting a reservation-free lunch in August and you may be disappointed; turn up in May or September and you will find the whole coast at its best.

Craster: Kippers, Smoke and a Castle on the Cliff

Craster exists in the minds of most food lovers for one thing: the kipper. The village smokehouse — a low, tarred building a few steps from the harbour wall — still cures herring the traditional way, splitting and salting the fish before hanging them on rods over smouldering oak sawdust. The result is a pale gold kipper with firm, smoky flesh, quite unlike the dyed orange versions sold in supermarkets.

Buy them from the shop counter, either vacuum-packed or loose. Loose kippers keep for two or three days in the fridge; eat them for breakfast, either grilled briefly or, more delicately, stood in a jug of just-boiled water for five minutes. Butter some toast, brew a strong pot of tea and you have one of the great British breakfasts.

Once you have bought your fish, walk it off along the cliff path to Dunstanburgh Castle — a flat twenty-minute stroll each way, with views back over the harbour. There is smoked mackerel, smoked haddock and potted crab to pick up too, plus a pub and a café near the harbour if you have not brought a picnic.

Seahouses: Crab Sandwiches, Lobster and a Boat Trip

Seahouses is the busiest of the three and the most straightforwardly rewarding for a casual eater. The harbour is packed with boats — some working, some taking visitors out to the Farne Islands — and the quayside fills with small huts and vans selling crab sandwiches, dressed crab and cooked lobster. The classic order is a brown-bread crab sandwich with lemon and black pepper, eaten on a bollard with the wind in your face; expect to pay around £8–10.

For something more ambitious, look for dressed crab or a cooked lobster to take away. Native lobster is in season roughly from April to September, with the best supplies in high summer; velvet crab and brown crab fill the gaps either side. If you are buying cooked shellfish off the quay, ask when it was boiled — it should be that day — and keep it cool until you eat it.

Boat trips to the Farnes run from the harbour in season, with puffins from late April to July and grey seals all year. It is worth building the day around a boat booking and eating afterwards, when the crowds have thinned.

Amble: Lobster, a Little Fishing Quarter and a Proper Market

Amble, at the mouth of the Coquet, is the least visited of the three by day-trippers and the most interesting for a food lover who wants to watch the trade happen. The harbour has been redeveloped into a compact quarter of small independent units — a fishmonger, a smokery, cafés, a bakery — alongside the working quays where trawlers and creel boats land their catch. It is a good place to buy hot-smoked salmon, smoked haddock and potted shrimp, and to ask frankly what came in that morning.

Lobster is the speciality. Half a cooked lobster will set you back roughly £12–18 depending on size and season, and a decent fishmonger will crack and dress it for you if you ask. Amble also hosts a weekend market through the summer months, when the harbour fills with stalls selling local cheese, bread, preserves and shellfish. Arrive before eleven for the best of it.

If you have time, walk up to Warkworth for the castle and a pint, or take the coast path south towards Hauxley.

Practical Notes Before You Go

• Season: Easter to October is the sweet spot. Many harbour cafés, huts and smokehouse shops close or run reduced hours from November to March.
• Tides and weather: The cliff path between Craster and Dunstanburgh is walkable in most conditions, but check tide times if you plan to walk the beaches at Beadnell or Bamburgh.
• Parking: Craster and Seahouses charge for harbour car parks and fill early on sunny weekends; Amble has more space and is often easier.
• Cash: Most places now take cards, but some of the smallest huts and vans still prefer notes.
• Queues: Expect a wait at the best-known crab sandwich spots between noon and 2pm in July and August. Go at 11am or after 3pm instead.
• Cool bags: Essential if you are buying kippers, smoked fish or cooked shellfish and driving any distance.

Eating with the People Who Fish

Buying direct is the quiet pleasure of this stretch of coast. Ask the person behind the counter which boat landed the crab, whether the kippers were smoked this week, how they recommend cooking a lobster you have just bought. You will get a straight answer and often a shortcut to something better than the menu item you had your eye on. It also keeps the money where it belongs — with families who have worked these harbours for generations and who will still be here, smoking herring and hauling creels, long after the summer visitors have gone home.