4 Night Self Guided Birdwatching in Northumberland

Check-in at the hotel is available from 16:00. If you are a member you can arrive at the house from 14:00 in 2026. Enjoy a complimentary cream tea at 16:30 and meet other guests.

In the evening there’ll be a talk from a local birding expert with tips on where to go and what to see during your holiday.

Explore superb birding sites right on the doorstep of our country house or travel just a short distance north or south for some equally fabulous bird watching locations. 

Some standout sites to visit during your stay: 

• Alnmouth: The postcard-worthy coastal village treasured for its colourful cottages, superb walking routes, and peaceful beach is just a five-minute stroll from our country house at Nether Grange. Hit the sands and you’re in with a chance of spotting species such as bar-tailed godwit, grey plover, and purple sandpiper. Red-necked divers, grebes, long-tailed duck, and common scoters can usually be found here in the winter months, as well as the characterful eider duck. And because Alnmouth is at the mouth of the River Aln, saltmarsh and saline reedbed habitat attracts redshanks, snipe, wigeons, curlews, and dunlins, too.
   
• Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve: Also known as Holy Island, this is the jewel in the crown of Northumberland when it comes to birding. During winter thousands of wildfowl and waders flock to the area, including almost the entire population of svalbard light-bellied brent geese. Keep an eye out for red-throated divers, great northern Divers, slavonian and red-necked grebes, whooper swan, pink-footed geese, and you’ll not fail to find wigeon (over 20,000 can be found here at any one time). There are wildlife watching hides overlooking the reserve at Fenham-le-Moor, Beal, and at both The Lough and Window on Wild Lindisfarne building on Holy Island. The harbour at Holy Island can also be a good place to watch birds.
   
• Druridge Bay: Six miles of long sandy beaches backed by sand dunes provide a series of ponds, patches of scrub, hedgerows, and fields – the perfect spot for year-round bird watching. The hides around Cresswell Pond are one of the best places to camp out for the day. In winter and early spring, watch out for long-eared owl, hen harrier, divers, grebes, merlin, peregrine, geese, plover, snipe, godwit, and more.
    
• Low Hauxley is the most northernly point of Druridge Bay and not only has some excellent trails and hides, but a nice café, too.
   
• Budle Bay: A fabulous place to watch the birds of the mudflats on an incoming tide. There is a long layby where you can park and some information panels. As the tide comes in, it pushes the birds closer to the shore and this is the best time to see them.
   
• The Farne Islands: This internationally important breeding ground for both seabirds and seals, is usually open from the end of March until the end of November. Boats go out daily from Seahouses. Mid-April to July is probably the most popular time to visit the islands as it’s breeding season for a variety of birds. To spot puffins, it’s best to visit in May, June, or July.  
   
• Coquet Island: Boats depart from Amble harbour and take you around this tiny island, where some 35,000 birds breed. The island is home to puffins from May to July, but its most famous resident is the Roseate tern (this is the only site in Britain where they breed).

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before making your way home.