Dunstanburgh Castle with kids, Northumberland

You’re never far from a fascinating castle to discover in the North East of England but at Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland is home to one of the few built to annoy one man’s cousin!

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Sat on the cliffs near Craster, Dunstanburgh Castle was once the largest in England and Wales, around 12 miles down the coast from Bamburgh Castle, which you can see along the headland on a clear day.

The latter was owned by the then king, Edward II, whose cousin Edmund, Duke of Lancaster built his own fortress as a deliberate taunt – with a story like that, who could resist visiting? Plus there’s plenty more to tempt you to visit Dunstanburgh Castle with kids, along with the history.

For starters, rather than driving up to a castle car park and wandering inside, this particular English Heritage site comes with a gorgeous cliff walk from Craster, where we parked.

It’s just over a mile to stroll, wandering across sheep-nibbled turf – the sheep themselves are quite often roaming nearby, completely untroubled by these strange humans ambling past.

You can also spot cows in the fields at times too: all dogs must be kept on a lead, and the usual common sense rules of behaviour apply if the animals are in the field with the path

And if you’re lucky, you can even spot dolphins in the waves off the coast. While I didn’t spy anything frolicking in the deep blue waves, the views are wonderful, especially on a sunny summer’s day like the one we had for our visit.

With the ruins of the castle looming in the distance, it’s one of the easiest ways to persuade kids to go for a walk too, as they gradually draw closer and closer until you get to the imposing remains of the gate.

Unlike many of Northumberland’s other castles, there’s not as much chance to explore inside – Alnwick Castle and nearby Bamburgh Castle both have far more to see in terms of rooms, while even Warkworth Castle has its keep.

But it doesn’t mean a visit to Dunstanburgh Castle with kids is a wasted trip: far from it.

You can climb up one of the towers for some fantastic views back along the cliff path and over to Embleton Beach, as well as out to see.

Look out as well for the point where the portcullis would have dropped into the hall. It’s definitely somewhere to use your imagination though.

Keep an eye out for the signs dotted around to tell you what you’re looking at as well: there’s John of Gaunt’s gatehouse, for example, named for one of the sons of Edward III, who extended the castle which was first constructed in 1313.

As with so many other fortresses, there were earlier occupants on the site too, including Iron Age and Roman artefacts found during excavations.

As well as the initial fortress and towers, the castle perimeter stretches off behind the gatehouse too, with more remains of rooms and walls to spot within it.

And even though it’s ruined, you get a real sense of how huge this castle once was – and just how imposing it must have been.

Also, I suspected, just how annoyed Edward II must have been at his cousin building this dramatic defensive outpost practically under his own royal nose. (So annoyed, in fact, that he ended up executing the rebellious Duke less than 10 years after work on the castle began and seizing it for his own).

There’s plenty of space for kids to burn off their energy running around the grassy court, or sitting down for a picnic in the sun (or shade of the walls, if you find yourself at Dunstanburgh in peak summer).

But do save some time to walk the perimeter of the walls as well to get the full sense of the castle’s one-time size.

It’s the best part of a mile to get around and took me 20 minutes to walk, even including time to stop to look at the views, eye up more towers enduring the fierce winds and waves which lash the coast here in winter, and spot some of the seabirds nesting on the cliffs.

Under a blue sky, with the grass in the nearby fields turning gold and the sea a deep sapphire blue, I defy you not to love this spot – and if you’re like me, take countless photos as it’s all just so gorgeous.

In the distance, you can see the curving beach of Embleton Bay, which looks far more tropical in summer than you might expect from the north east coast. It’s another 20 to 30 minute walk from Dunstanburgh to Embleton Bay, but well worth the stroll through the grass.

One of my favourite beaches during our trip (and Northumberland isn’t short of wonderful beaches, including beaches with castles nearby, so there’s lots of competition!), the beach has enough surf for some body boarding, sand that’s ideal for sandcastles and lovely dunes stretching behind it.

My daughter entertained herself scampering through the breakers and peering into little pools between the carpet of seaweed, while I soaked up a few more views back to the castle (and enjoyed a bit of time to relax before joining in with some sand fortress building of our own).

History + beach + sun is a recipe for an unbeatable family day out…

For ideas of more things to do in Northumberland with kids, check out my top picks

Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland: Need to know

Tickets cost from £6.50 for adults, £3.50 for children aged 5-17 and there are family tickets available. English Heritage members are free, and it’s also free to National Trust members.

The castle is open year-round, but only at weekends and school holidays during the winter months. Booking in advance is not essential but advised during the summer and holiday-time: the walk is less fun if you arrive to be told you can’t go in!

There is no access for vehicles, the only way to reach the castle is along the grassy cliff path – from the car park in Craster, keep the sea on your right hand side, follow the signs, and it’s hard to get lost.

Craster has the closest car park – postcode: NE66 3TP – and it’s well worth taking cash. You can pay online using the PayByPhone app but once you get to the car park itself, there’s very limited data, so you might struggle to get enough signal to actually do it.

EDIT: The ticket machine nearest the Tourist Information Centre accepts contactless card payments as the signal issues are a known problem

Instead, as we were driving near to the car park, we paid using the app before we pulled in and crossed our fingers that we would be able to find a spot. We’d arrived fairly early and on a sunny August day, the car park was still very full, so it’s a risk at busy times.

You can also walk from Embleton to Dunstanburgh Castle, especially if you’re planning to combine your visit with some time on the beach.

There are very limited facilities on site as well. Happily there are now composting toilets to use (otherwise the closest are the free public toilets in the car park at Craster), and a small gift shop with some snacks and drinks, but it’s best to bring your own picnic to enjoy in the grounds (or plan to get back to Craster in time for lunch, maybe for one of the village’s famous kippers).

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