1 - North Northumberland Coastal Plain : Description

Physical and functional links to other National Character Areas

The sedimentary rocks that underlie this area are part of a band that stretches from the Tyne Valley to the Solway Firth. The Whin Sill, which outcrops around Holy Island and Craster and forms the Farne Islands, extends through central Northumberland, along the escarpment of Hadrian’s Wall, south to Teesdale.

This National Character Area (NCA) is a narrow coastal strip, bounded by the ridge of the Northumberland Sandstone Hills to the west, which stretches from the Scottish border south to the River Coquet. Views inland are of the Northumberland Sandstone Hills with the Cheviot Hills beyond, and Scotland to the north. The sweeping sandy beaches, dunes and rocky headlands continue north into Scotland and south into the South East Northumberland Coastal Plain. The designated areas of the Northumbria Coast Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar site and North Northumberland Heritage Coast extend south into the South East Northumberland Coastal Plain.

The coast falls within the St Abbs Head to Tyne sub-cell, which is within the St Abbs Head to Flamborough sediment cell; sediment is transferred along the coast from north to south. The coastline lies within the Northumberland and North Tyneside Shoreline Management Plan which covers the area from the Scottish border to the Tyne.

Three major rivers meander across the North Northumberland Coastal The windswept sand dunes are internationally important semi-natural habitats and contribute to a sense of place. Plain to the sea: the Tweed drains the Scottish Borders, joined by the Till which drains the Cheviots, and flows into the sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed; the Aln drains from Alnham in the Cheviot Fringe NCA, past Alnwick in the Northumberland Sandstone Hills NCA to the sea at Alnmouth; and the Coquet drains the Cheviots, flowing through the Cheviot Fringe and Northumberland Sandstone Hills NCAs before meandering along the southern boundary of this NCA to the sea at Amble in the South East Northumberland Coastal Plain.

The northern end of this NCA overlies the Fell Sandstone aquifer which extends under the Northumberland Sandstone Hills and the Cheviot Fringe.

There are close links with the adjacent Northumberland Sandstone Hills NCA as many of the large holdings with arable and grazing in the coastal plain also have in-bye and moorland grazing in the hills.

The coastal plain links Newcastle and more southern parts of Northumberland with Scotland as both the A1 and East Coast Main Line run through its length.

The North Northumberland Coastal Plain today

The North Northumberland Coastal Plain is a narrow coastal strip that stretches from the Anglo-Scottish border south to the mouth of the River Coquet. Generally tranquil, the landscape combines open, windswept farmland and dramatic coastal scenery, dissected by the meandering rivers Tweed, Aln and Coquet, and punctuated by Whin Sill outcrops. It is framed on the western edge by the rounded forms of the Northumberland Sandstone Hills with views across to the Cheviots, which contrasts with the huge skies and striking seascape views to the east.

The coastal landscape is exceptionally varied. Spectacular and inaccessible high rocky sandstone cliffs characterise the coast to the north of the Tweed Estuary. To the south are lower-lying limestone cliffs, the sandy beaches of Cocklawburn and Cheswick, and the extensive intertidal mudflats, salt marsh and sand dunes of Lindisfarne. These contrast with the alternating series of rocky headlands, sandy coves and wave-cut platforms between Bamburgh and Seaton Point. Further south, sandy beaches backed by sand dunes extend along Alnmouth Bay to the Coquet Estuary. The high quality of coastline has led to its designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and also recognition as Heritage Coast for its landscape, recreational and heritage interest.

Whin Sill, a hard dolerite which is especially resistant to weathering, is a nationally important geological feature, forming striking cliffs at Castle Point, Cullernose Point and Bamburgh. Offshore it forms the rocky Farne Islands which provide a remote refuge for thousands of breeding seabirds.

The inland farmed landscape is generally open and gently undulating. Fertile soils support broad expanses of intensively managed arable farmland dominated by cereal cropping, with some grazing for beef cattle and sheep.

Farms are typically large with a rectilinear field pattern defined by closecropped, often fragmented hedgerows with post-and-wire fences, and in some places grey sandstone walls.

Woodland cover is generally sparse with larger areas of broadleaved woodland confined to river valleys and the estate woodlands around Howick, but shelterbelts and woodland blocks adjacent to farmsteads and settlements are important local features in the open landscape.

The coast is of national and international nature conservation importance for its geology, coastal sand dune complexes, maritime cliffs and slopes, offshore islands and intertidal habitats (including mudflats, coastal salt marsh and eelgrass beds) which support internationally significant populations of birds and grey seals, nationally important invertebrate assemblages and scarce plants. The whole length of coastline is therefore covered by Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Area of Conservation (SAC), SPA and Ramsar designations. Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands are also designated as National Nature Reserves (NNRs).

Inland, Newham Fen NNR is designated as an SAC and SSSI for its fen, mire and carr woodland habitats. Whin Sill outcrops both on the coast and inland, supporting a unique Whin grassland community. The River Tweed is of international nature conservation importance for its sand and mudflats and salt marsh, and species such as sea and river lamprey, Atlantic salmon and otter are found in this and the River Coquet. The Coquet Valley contains nationally important native woodland and the mixed farming of the coastal plain supports a nationally important assemblage of farmland birds.

The dramatic coastal scenery is punctuated by the outstanding landmarks of Lindisfarne, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles, and by Second World War defences, which reflect the importance of ecclesiastical influences and the strategic defence of the Anglo-Scottish border and coast. The Holy Island of Lindisfarne has inspired religious and cultural works for more than 13 centuries, including JMW Turner’s paintings of Lindisfarne Priory and the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, and today its religious heritage and scenic qualities attract visitors from all over the world.

The major towns and villages in the area are located on the coast, the largest of which is Berwick-upon-Tweed, a walled and extensively fortified town located at the river’s mouth. Inland the coastal plain is characterised by small nucleated settlements of medieval origin, often located on higher ground or at river crossing points, and widely dispersed farm hamlets located within large, planned 19th-century estates.

Houses are frequently single storey, often huddled together into terraces and compact squares, clustered around large fortified houses or arranged around a central green. The architecture is generally simple and the use of grey sandstone and rubble characterises many of the farm hamlets and villages, with red pantiled or grey slate roofs. Only local mansions and churches show any embellishment where the use of the local Fell Sandstone is common. Whinstone has been used extensively to construct buildings in Bamburgh, Craster and Embleton where it gives a distinctive character to the cottages built from it.

The area has a long history of mineral extraction including whinstone and sandstone quarrying and small-scale coal mining; it is scattered with disused quarries which provide access to important geological sections as well as being of biological interest, and several large stone quarries are still active. Limestone was cut and burned to produce lime for improving pasture locally and for export from the local harbours; large lime kilns such as those at Lindisfarne and Bamburgh are prominent historic buildings.

Important north-south routes – the A1 and the East Coast Main Line railway – run the length of the area, roughly parallel to the coast, linking Newcastle and more southern parts of Northumberland with Scotland.

This stretch of the Northumberland coast draws large numbers of visitors every year, attracted by the open, tranquil, windswept scenery, renowned wildlife, historic sites, long-distance walking and cycling routes, and the recreational opportunities afforded by the rivers and coast such as angling, wildlife watching, diving and watersports. Tourism is a mainstay of the local economy.

The landscape through time

The North Northumberland Coastal Plain is underlain by sedimentary rocks formed during the Carboniferous Period. They consist of repetitive successions of limestones, shales and sandstones predominantly belonging to the Lower, Middle and Upper Limestone groups, with very small areas of the underlying Scremerston Coal group occurring locally.

At the end of the Carboniferous Period igneous activity intruded molten material into cracks which cooled to form the hard dolerite of the distinctive Whin Sill, which is particularly resistant to erosion. Outcrops of Whin Sill and related dolerite occur both inland and on the coast, forming striking cliffs and the rocky Farne Islands.

Along the coast the resistant dolerite and sandstone headlands alternate with sandy bays where the ‘softer’ rocks have eroded.

A thick layer of glacial till was deposited during the last ice age, creating the flat, fertile plain which characterises the present-day landscape, interspersed with localised deposits of sand and gravel and infrequent peat bogs. Wind-blown sand forms dune systems on Lindisfarne and along Alnmouth Bay, and the prevailing southerly inshore currents have created coastal mud banks and sand pits.

Evidence of humans hunting and fishing in this area exists from as far back as the late Mesolithic Period. During the Bronze Age there was a shift from hunter-gathering to settled farming communities, and burial mounds from this period are features of today’s landscape.

As the climate deteriorated into the Iron Age, increased competition for the resources of the fertile coastal plain led to the building of more fortified settlements such as Howick and Craster.

The area was extensively settled in the Romano-British period and the Devil’s Causeway, one of the key military routes, ran up through Northumberland to Berwick-upon-Tweed; the remains of Roman camps are still evident.

A monastery was founded on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne by St Aiden in 635 ad, and Lindisfarne Priory, the home of St Cuthbert, was the centre from which the 7th-century conversion of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom to Christianity occurred.

By the early medieval period the area had been largely cleared of native woodland, forming a landscape of small, scattered settlements with complex field systems (including strip fields and substantial blocks of common land), a pattern which continued almost unchanged until the 17th century. Today native woodland is still largely confined to the river valleys.

The River Tweed formed a natural frontier between the kingdoms of England and Scotland and the landscape of the adjacent coastal plain bears the legacy of medieval cross-border warfare with fortified buildings and coastal castles strategically located on prominent Whin Sill outcrops and headlands at Lindisfarne, Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh and Warkworth (just south of this NCA in the South East Northumberland Coastal Plain). Berwick-upon-Tweed was extensively fortified and formed a cornerstone of Tudor defences.

From the late 16th century onwards the large estates of Northumberland had a major influence on the landscape, driving large-scale re-organisation of the countryside in the 18th and 19th centuries. Large, planned farmsteads with regular fields enclosed by hedgerows and sandstone rubble walls replaced the previous pattern of nucleated settlement and farmland, linked to an intensification of production with emphasis on rotational cropping and fattening cattle and sheep for market. There was widespread drainage of land for agriculture resulting in a dramatic reduction in grazing marshes, wetlands, natural streams and open water, and an increase in cultivated land. These farmsteads are exceptionally large by national standards, comparable in their scale and adoption of horse and steam-powered machinery with the farmsteads of the Lothians and neighbouring parts of lowland Scotland which were also transformed by large estates. Provision of winter feed for livestock allowed the build-up of large herds which entailed the further enlargement and rebuilding of farmsteads and construction of the long, low overwintering sheds that distinguish Northumberland farmsteads. By the 1840s the medieval landscape had been replaced by an efficient, managed pattern of broad, open fields and large farm hamlets with workers’ housing which is still apparent on the coastal plain today. Remnants of 18th-century and earlier cultivation and settlement, and some earlier steadings, are found throughout the area.

On the coast, villages and small towns began to rely on the trading of agricultural goods, particularly corn and lime, to supplement their fishing trade. Vast quantities of grain from the improved arable farms of Northumberland were exported from Alnmouth during the 16th and 17th centuries and lime was an important export from Beadnell in the 18th century. The coastal railway line opened new markets and supplies of materials such as Welsh slate in the 1840s, and stimulated the development of ports and seaside resorts. Associated with this period of growth in trade and industry was a distinctive architecture with agricultural warehouses, merchant houses and large lime kilns which survive today. The development of the railway also heralded the start of tourism in the area.

The increased wealth of the major landowners led to the construction of stately houses with landscaped grounds of which Adderstone Hall near Belford and Howick Hall are prominent examples. Bamburgh Castle was rebuilt and modified in the 1890s, and the ruins of Lindisfarne Castle were restored by the architect Sir Edward Lutyens. Extensive tree planting undertaken on the Howick Hall estate altered the previously open landscape of the southern end of the coastal plain.

There is a long history of small-scale quarrying of sandstone for the construction of buildings and from the 20th century onwards whinstone extraction for roadstone became a large-scale commercial activity, with whinstone exported to the continent from Craster. Abandoned quarries dot the landscape and several whinstone quarries still operate, supplying the north of England with roadstone. Coal was mined around Scremerston and in the south near Shilbottle, but these mines are now closed.

Fishing still takes place from a number of the villages such as Craster and Boulmer, but many increasingly cater for the tourist industry. One of the most notable local events was the shipwreck of the Forfarshire on the Outer Farne Isles in 1838, and the subsequent heroic rescue of eight sailors by the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, Grace Darling. This event has entered national folklore and is commemorated in the museum which bears her name at Bamburgh.

The long sandy beaches were seen as possible invasion sites and extensive defences were erected during the Second World War. Sea defences were erected following the flooding events of 1953. Throughout the 20th century the number of tourists visiting the area increased considerably and consequently so have the number of caravan and chalet sites, hotels, holiday homes, golf courses and other leisure developments. Vertical structures such as communications masts and wind turbines are an increasingly common and prominent feature of the area. Coastal defences, infrastructure and agricultural practices have affected the natural development of dynamic habitats such as sand dunes and salt marsh locally; managed realignment and agri-environment schemes are being used to counteract this.