Dunstanburgh Castle

A large castle ruins sitting on an outcrop from the mainland overlooking the sea. It dominates the Northumberland Coastline at this point. It is atmospheric, and isolated on its dolerite promontory. On the south side there is a gentle slope towards the castle. The northerly approach is much steeper and the northern perimeter juts into Embleton Bay forms a 150-foot cliff.

It was once one of the largest fortifications in Northern England.

The present castle encloses the entire 4.5 hectare headland. The southern approach is protected by a long enceinte wall punctuated by two rectangular towers,  two turrets and a large twin-towered gatehouse at the western corner, this was the principal residential block of the castle. At the rear of the gatehouse was an enclosed courtyard by walls and a tower to form an inner ward, with access on the east side. From the gatehouse, the wall carries northward along the hilltop to a rectangular turreted watch tower. There are signs of medieval rig-and-furrow on the slopes near to the castle - possible evidence of subsistence farming for the castle inhabitants.

The gatehouse- keep is of 14th century design and each tower was 4 storeys high and capped by four turrets. The first floor was divided into three rooms with the central one controlling the portcullis mechanism. The second floor was one large room which is believed to have been a hall and chambers.

It can be reached from north or south allowing differing views of it and can be dramatically lit at dawn or dusk throughout the year. As well as being photogenic from the coastline nearby, once up close and on top of it's crag you can get fine cliff top panoramas.

Location: Dunstanburgh Castle, Craster, Alnwick Northumberland Grid Reference: NU258220 Ceremonial County: Northumberland Map Link: Multimap Aerial photo: Google Aerial Photo Getting there: 8 miles NE of Alnwick. Parking at Craster or Embleton. Access: 1.5 mile flat coastal walk from Craster or Embleton. Website: National Trust   English Heritage Other Useful Websites: Wiki   Castle Xplorer Email: Address: Craster, Alnwick, Northumberland Postcode: NE66 3TT Telephone: 01665 576231 Opening Times: 21 Mar-30 Sep 10am-5pm; 1 Oct-31 Oct 10am-4pm Daily. 1 Nov-30 Nov 10am-4pm Thur-Mon Charges: Adult £3.50; Child £1.80; concessions £2.80. Free to English Heritage members. Nearby Locations: Other Location Pages: Notes:   CIN Page Ref: dunstanburgh_castle Classification: castle Date Updated: 08/2008

This page is a Quick Guide, the idea of Quick Guides is to allow very basic information and linking forward information to be added to the system rather than having to wait until a full location guide has been developed. It should therefore be considered a development stage rather than a finished objective. Once more information is known the objective is to create either a Location or Featured Location page which has two grids and far more information.

Please let us know any other information that we can add to the Further information and Planning Grids or page and any errors that you discover. Before making a long trip to any location it is always wise to double check the current information, websites like magazines may be correct at the time the information is written, but things change and it is of course impossible to double check all entries on a regular basis. If you have any good photographs that you feel would improve the illustration of this page then please let us have copies. In referring to this page it is helpful if you quote the CIN Page Ref at the bottom of the Planning Grid above. To print the planning grid select it then right click and print the selected area.

Please submit information on locations you discover so that this system continues to grow.