Craster harbour

The inscription on the memorial at the harbour at Craster reads

Hodie Felix Craster ( happy day Craster?)

Craster Memorial Harbour

Constructed in memory of John Charles Pulleine Craster

46th Punjabis

Who fell in action during the Tibetan expedition

June 1904

He took a deep interest in the provision of a harbour

at Craster and his brothers and sister chose this way

of perpetuating his memory

AD 1906

Additional historic notes are here:

The 46th Punjabis were later redesignated as the 10th (Training batallion) within the 16th Punjab Regiment. After partition it was merged within the Pakistani army as the Punjab Regiment. This entry shows that they were still a separate unit throughout the 1st world war.

For a general overview of the Tibetan invasion see Wikipedia


Just north of Craster are the magnificent ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle.

Craster to Howick and back along the coast

Our walk started at the car park just outside Craster.This is the site of an old dolerite quarry. From here it took us across fields with evidence of ancient field systems ( look for the terraces under the grass).

A little further on you pass Hips Heugh ridge on your left and then shortly we entered Howick Hall Gardens via a one way gate. After a brief stop beside a small lake we exited the gardens , again through a one way gate, onto the beach.

We then followed the coastal path northwards past the Bathing House, round the cliffs and into Craster.

All in all it took us about 3 hours, but we were a long time at Howick Hall and we dawdled along the cliff tops.

These are pictures we took

This ridge is called Hips Heugh...it lies just before the entrance to Howick Hall.A heugh is the name given to places where the Whin Sill makes a ridge.

After we had walked through Howick Hall gardens we came out at the coast on a small rather stony beach. Here we turned left ( or north) and started to climb up the cliff path
















This is the view back to the small coastal bay where we came out after the gardens















These are one of the small bays along the coastal path heading north towards Craster.















The Bathing house ....
















Craster harbour















With its memorial plaque

The Bathing house - Craster - and the 2nd Earl Grey

One of the joys of working with our clients across Northumberland is looking through the history and background on many of the houses. The Bathing house near Craster has a history going back into the 19th century when it was built by the 2nd Earl Grey.With this in mind we were very interested when the opportunity arose to purchase a signature of the Earl from this period.
It's from the front of an envelope sent from Alnwick to Queensferry back in August 1816.You can see the picture below.

We hope to find out a little more about the Earl and what it was like to live in Northumberland back in the 19th century. So will keep you posted!