Bamburgh Castle rises above the Northumberland coast on a dark dolerite outcrop, giving it one of the most dramatic settings of any castle in northern England. The site has been fortified since at least the Iron Age, and later became an important royal fortress for the Anglo-Saxon kings of Northumbria.
The castle is worth a deliberate stop for its sea views, long history, and furnished state rooms. Leave time to walk the beach below the walls, where the scale of the fortress is easiest to appreciate.