Friday 27 April 2018

Daffodils at The Castle - A Day Trip to Warkworth, Northumberland

After a successful first visit to Hexham we've become determined to tick a few more places off our Northumberland bucket list this year and, being a daffodil obsessive, it only seemed right to finally see the gorgeous daffodils at the castle and plan a day trip to Warkworth. I've lost count of the amount of people who have said to me "you love daffodils? you must go to Warkworth Castle!"

Can you believe this was our first visit?

Daffodils at The Castle - A Day Trip to Warkworth, Northumberland
Keen to beat the crowds I dragged a reluctant Simon out of bed, waved my weather app in his face a few times, slathered him in sun cream and got him into the car heading north before he'd even had a chance to enjoy a morning coffee. If I was going to see the Warkworth Castle daffodils in all their glory I didn't want to be doing it with throngs of tourists in the way (anyone remembering back to that birthday when I became a daffodil diva?)

Daffodils at Castle - A Day Trip to Warkworth, Northumberland

My enthusiasm paid off and we were one of the first into the carpark at Warkworth Castle. It costs £3.20 to park all day, is a great central spot to leave your car and, if you do decide to go for a potter round the English Heritage site, you get a refund on your parking ticket. No castle jaunts for us this time, we headed straight round the side of the castle for our first glimpse of the daffodils.

Wow! How had we not been here before?

Warkworth Castle Daffodils


Our first glimpse of the golden yellow hill had me squealing with delight and I practically skipped through the grass (despite wearing very inappropriate shoes and the ground being a tad soggy) to go and join the other photographers trying to get that perfect shot of the daffodils with the castle.

Cursing my bad wardrobe choices (seriously, who wears a short skirt to crawl about on wet grass taking photos of flowers?!) I set about photographing, appreciating and generally flouncing around in the daffodils, turning around every now and again just to double check that my husband hadn't walked off in the opposite direction in embarrassment.

Warkworth Castle Northumberland Daffodils


I was in my element!

The entire hill was covered as far as the eye could see in perfect little yellow trumpets and the stunning castle sitting at the top against the blue sky had me thanking my lucky stars yet again that I call the North East my home.

Warkworth Castle Northumberland Daffodil Display
I was pretty jealous of some of the other photographers at the foot of the hill who had had the good sense to wear trainers and jeans and were crawling their way up the hill, sitting amongst the daffodils and taking the most beautiful shots and I secretly thought to myself that maybe I could convince Simon to return next weekend in walking boots (worth a try?)

Warkworth Northumberland Daffodils
Once I'd tired myself out enjoying the daffodils we realised that we were feeling pretty peckish and it could be a good time to stop for some refreshments. Since arriving in Warkworth my social media had been going crazy with people telling us that we had to go to Bertrams for food and when that many people tell you how great somewhere is it's a good idea to pay attention!

Warkworth Northumberland


Bertrams is the cutest cafe in Warkworth with a stunning courtyard for sunny days, cosy corners and a counter completely covered in cake. With plenty of seating options I changed my mind on where to sit 3 times (I wish I were joking!) Bertrams serve breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea (and it's worth noting that they also run a really lovely looking B&B that we're very tempted to book ourselves into for a few nights!)

When we arrived a lot of customers were tucking into very delicious looking breakfasts but we were there for cake and once I'd finally chosen our table we put in our order of a pot of tea, a cup of coffee and two slices of cake. Simon went for a doorstep sized wedge of Zesty Orange Cake and I ordered the Lemon and Courgette which endless people had recommended to me. Simon turned his nose up at the thought of vegetable in a cake but oh wow was it good! One of the best slices of cake I've ever had.

Bertrams Warkworth Northumberland
Glancing through their menu I think we'll definitely need to return for a Bertrams afternoon tea soon, at only £13.95 per person and the food locally sourced it sounds absolutely delicious!

Once we'd devoured our cakes and resisted the temptation to order more we stepped back out into the sunshine for an explore of Warkworth's pretty streets. Lined with the most beautiful buildings decked out in colourful flowers, we stumbled across art galleries, pubs, bakeries and gift shops, each prettier than the last. You know you've hit the jackpot when even the local village shop is a stunner.

Day Trip to Warkworth Northumberland


It has to be said that Warkworth is also a prime place for dog watching (one of our favourite weekend activities) and we made plenty of new four legged furry friends whilst pottering around. Please tell me I'm not the only person to go up to a stranger's dog, get down on the ground and introduce myself whilst completely ignoring the owner? I just can't help myself!  Many of Warkworth's pubs, inns and cafes are dog friendly so it's a fantastic place to explore with your pet!

We finished our day trip to Warkworth with a quick  stroll over the 14th century Norman Bridge that crosses the River Coquet, so peaceful and a great place to watch the ducks. Whilst I realise we're definitely old before our time, watching wildlife on the river gives us the greatest amount of joy and Warkworth is a fantastic place for a spot of bird watching on the river.

Warkworth Northumberland Day Trip

We loved our first ever visit to Warkworth and it most definitely won't be our last, we cant wait to go back and do some more exploring!

Let me know where we should explore next!
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12 comments

  1. Warkworth is fab, it looks like you picked a good day weather wise too xxx

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    1. We really did, it was stunning! It got me very excited for a long hot Summer (fingers crossed!)

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  2. Well I'm disappointed not to see any photos of you and Simon in the daffs taken by the mystery photographer! haha!

    I'm really hoping to get to alnwick garden on wednesday so will check out the daff situation for you!

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    1. HA!! They weren't as good as I'd hoped, bless him! I'm very curious about the blossom at Alnwick Garden and whether it's worth seeing (not sure if it's too early for that?!)

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  3. Looks like such a beautiful place! I also love that your skirt is matching with the daffodils! xx

    Laura // Middle of Adventure

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    1. I did not get up in the morning and purposely match the daffodils! ( I so did!)

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  4. I moved here to get away from the stress of work - best thing I ever did

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    1. Wow, I would love to live in Warkworth! I bet it's amazing!

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  5. This looks so pretty - and how lovely are the daffodils?

    https://lizziedailyblog.blogspot.com/

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    1. They are beautiful - I can't believe I left it so long to visit them!

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  6. Gorgeous photo - the daffodils are so pretty! Nikki x

    www.thoselittlemoments.net

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    1. Thank you, it was quite a challenge to photograph but I don't think I did too badly!

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