A house for sale in one of the north-east's most storied village makes James Fisher's thoughts turn to the north.
The Northumberland coast is wild, gorgeous and full of history — not least thanks to the Vikings who plundered this coast towards the end of the first millennium. Giles Kime wrote about it in glowing terms in Country Life recently:
The Northumberland Coast tends to be quieter these days, but you don’t need to look far to find the remnants of its war-torn past, from Alnwick in the south to Berwick on the Scottish border.
The AONB covers 53 square miles of sparsely populated, glorious coastline from Berwick-upon-Tweed to the Coquet Estuary. There are castles, dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches and mudflats, home to important seabird colonies, as well as seals, plus the Farne Islands and their famous — and prolific — colonies of puffins.
Lindisfarne Castle. ©Val Corbett for the Country Life Picture Library
Among these hotspots is the village of Craster, famed as the home of the famous smoked kipper and the Jolly Fisherman pub.
Craster is also the location of Maggie’s Den, a recently converted cottage that was formerly fishermen’s storage huts.
The three-bedroom home is achingly contemporary, with the ground floor, in which you’ll find the kitchen, dining area and sitting area, being almost totally open-plan, with floor-to-ceiling windows providing views of the harbour, which is across the street.
Within easy reach are Howick Hall, Dunstanburgh Castle and Alnwick Castle, which makes Maggie’s Den well suited as a holiday home with the potential for letting, but it is well served by schools, should it be a family home.
Maggie’s Den is for sale at £645,000 via Finest Properties — see more pictures and details.
The Northumberland Coast AONB: Just bring a pair of good boots and a fondness for untamed natural beauty
Giles Kime continues our series on Britain's Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty with a look at the Northumberland Coast.
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