Last weekend of Heritage Open Days. Get the crossing times, then go to Holy Island.
Mid September on the coast tends to mean mild days, cool evenings and a North Sea that is still close to its warmest of the year. Sea fret can roll in and sit over Holy Island and Bamburgh while it's bright ten miles inland, and the light starts going noticeably earlier each evening. On Holy Island the tide sets your day, and the wind decides whether the Farne boats sail. Check the Met Office forecast before you set off.
Sunset 7.14pm in Alnwick on Saturday. Full forecast (Met Office)
Archive edition. We wrote this one for the website to cover the week of Friday 18 September 2026, so it lists what was on then and says nothing about the weather that week. The emails proper started on Tuesday 29 September 2026.
Heritage Open Days finish on Sunday 20 September, so this is the last chance of the year to get through doors that are normally locked, for free. Northumberland schools went back on Tuesday 1 September, so this is also the first proper weekend of term when the car parks are calm again.
About 1 mile (1.6km) each way from the car park to the castle; roughly 2.5 miles (4km) if you loop through the village, past the priory and round the harbour
Half a day with small legs, longer if you go into the castle and the priory
Start: Chare Ends car park, Holy Island TD15 2SE (the main car park on your left as you arrive on the island)
It's flat, the island is small enough that nobody gets lost, and there's a lot to look at for the length of the walk: the priory ruins in the village, the harbour, the old upturned boats that now serve as sheds (one of them is a secondhand bookshop, Boatshed Books), and the castle on its rock at the end. In autumn the mudflats start filling with geese flying in to spend the winter on the nature reserve, including light-bellied brent geese from Svalbard. Lindisfarne Castle (National Trust) opens from 10am with closing times that vary, and Lindisfarne Priory (English Heritage) is open daily with hours set by the tides, so check both before you go.
The causeway floods twice a day and the tide decides everything. Check the council's safe crossing times before you set off (our page is here: https://bairnsandbeaches.co.uk/holy-island-crossing-times.html) and never follow the car in front across. Day visitors should park in the main Chare Ends car park, where the public toilets are; the approach to the castle is a steep cobbled ramp with steps, and there's only one toilet at the castle itself.
Fri 18 Sep, 12pm to 4pm; also Sat 19 and Sun 20 Sep, 11am to 4pm
Bankhill Ice House, Berwick-upon-Tweed Free, All ages
A Georgian ice house where Berwick's salmon was packed in ice (some of it shipped in from Norway), later used as an air raid shelter and a garage. Just drop in, no booking. The entrance is up a steep gravel slope, so it's no good for wheelchairs and hard work with a buggy. Details and booking
Ten thousand years of the Alnwick area in an old church, with a mouse hunt for small ones and Museum Detectives for older children. There's a lift to every floor, and a free all-day car park (NE66 1DL) a short walk away. Details and booking
Staff take you backstage, explain who does what in a theatre and let you stand on the main stage. Tours take a maximum of 12 people and needed booking through the box office. Details and booking
Sat 19 Sep, poets 10.30am to 12pm, pipers 2pm to 4.30pm
The Chantry, Morpeth Free, All ages
The Morpeth Poetry Group dress up and perform the town's people and buildings, then the Northumbrian Pipers' Society play in the afternoon. Drop in, no booking, and the building has full wheelchair access and toilets. Details and booking
Daily; trains leave Heatherslaw at 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm
Heatherslaw, near Ford and Etal Return £12.50 adults, £6 children 2 to 16; under 2s and dogs free, All ages
A little narrow gauge line along the River Till to Etal and back. Tickets are sold on the day at the Heatherslaw ticket office only, so turn up early for the popular trains, and the coaches can carry buggies and wheelchairs. Details and booking
Daily, weather permitting; Inner Farne landing trips run to the end of September
Seahouses harbour, Seahouses Seal and seabird cruise from £22; Inner Farne landing trip £32 plus the National Trust landing fee (members land free), All ages
The puffins have gone by September, but the grey seal colony is huge and pupping usually starts in October. The 90-minute seal cruise suits younger children better than the longer landing trip, and nothing sails if the sea's up. Details and booking
A two-hour tour of the Victorian farm buildings next door to Cragside, with Lord Armstrong's hydraulic machinery and a hydraulic silo, and refreshments included. It was fully booked well ahead (booking closed on 9 September), so put it in the diary for next year's Heritage Open Days. Details and booking
Daily; grounds, café and walled garden from about 10am, house from 11.30am
Wallington, near Cambo £22 adults, £11 children 5 to 17, £55 family of two adults and three children (without Gift Aid); under 5s and members free, All ages
Four play areas, including an adventure playground with a zip line and rope bridge, plus woods and a walled garden for when they've burned off the energy. Parking is free. Details and booking
Vindolanda, Bardon Mill, near Hexham Normal admission, All ages
A Roman fort and town just south of Hadrian's Wall, with a museum full of the things the soldiers and their families left behind. The outdoor site is exposed, so bring a coat even if it's bright in Hexham. Details and booking
Thu 1 Oct (day tickets, 10am to 5pm); Fri 2 to Sun 4 Oct, 10am to 8.15pm
The Alnwick Garden, Alnwick Evening-only tickets £10 (entry from 5pm); up to four under 16s free with each paying adult, All ages
Games, rides and performers by day, then water displays, lasers and fireworks on the Grand Cascade in the evenings. Dogs are welcome in the day but not at the evening shows. Details and booking
Sat 3 Oct (10K and gravel duathlon) and Sun 4 Oct (marathon, half marathon and junior races)
Kielder Water and Forest Park, Kielder See the event site for entry fees, All ages; junior races on Sunday
A trail marathon round Kielder Water, with junior races on the Sunday for anyone who fancies a go. Entries are through the event website. Details and booking
Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Belsay See English Heritage for tickets, All ages
English Heritage's Halloween half term event at Belsay, with the hall, castle and gardens as the backdrop. Tickets are through English Heritage. Details and booking
Mon 26 to Fri 30 Oct for Northumberland council schools (back Mon 2 Nov)
Across the county
The council lists half term as Fri 23 Oct to Mon 2 Nov, and the Halloween events all land that week, so anything with timed tickets is worth booking now. Some schools set their own training days, so check yours. Details and booking
Book ahead
Tip. Lindisfarne Priory knocks 20% off a walk-up ticket if you show a bus ticket, and booking online ahead saves 15%. English Heritage members get in free.