Last year was the first time in a long time that we didn’t make it up to Northumberland. Lots of driving up and down the country (mainly to Scotland) meant that we just couldn’t squeeze it in. I did, however, book a week up there in 2026 as soon as I realised that my terrible planning was going to result in a Northumberland-less year. We’ve been so many times we know where to base ourselves for what we enjoy: hills, beaches and countryside. Rothbury is an excellent base for all of the above, and we’d found a cottage a few years ago that we’d wanted to return to for a while. Excuse found! 2026 rolled around in no time (where does the time go) and before we knew it we were kicking off our week away with a walk at Cragside.
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Cragside: an alternative route
Despite visiting in summer, the first day was windy enough to make any big hills look distinctly unappealing. Luckily, there’s plenty of gorgeous lower level walks in Northumberland, so we had several choices for a shorter, easier walk. We chose Cragside as it was super close-by – just a seven minute drive away. And, having visited before, we knew we’d have a great time. Plus, I’m always down to use my National Trust membership to save on entry fees. What should’ve been an entry fee of £29.50 per person was free. *Laughs smugly*. Between Cragside and trips to Belsay Hall and Corbridge Roman Town later in the week, our National Trust and English Heritage memberships saved us well over £100. There won’t be blogs about either of these places as I gave myself a day off lugging my camera around – but they are both excellent and well worth a visit.
We arrived just after Cragside opened and had our pick of spaces in the huge car park. Aiming to park near the start/end of the walk, I of course parked as far away as physically possible. From the car park, the National Trust has several signposted walking trails to choose from of varying lengths and difficulties. We opted instead to follow a 4km route from our Pocket Mountains guide, combining elements of several different walks. It was a lovely varied circuit although hillier than I expected it to be! Top tip: there are several picnic benches dotted around this walk should you want a sit down or a snack at any point.
Flowers and flumes
Last time we visited was in the depths of winter, so it was quite a contrast to visit in summer. On that occasion we did the Gun Walk, but this time we ventured a little further to explore the lakes of Nelly’s Moss. Our route took us past several key components of the hydroelectric scheme that made Cragside the first house in the world to use hydroelectric power. Starting with a surprisingly stiff climb, the mainly wooded trail winds its way between several lakes used to power the hydraulics, before following the flume which carries water down off the moor. I had never realised flume was a word outside the context of ‘log flume’ – you learn something new everyday.
There was a banner fluttering on the wall when we arrived announcing ‘it’s rhododendron time at Cragside’. By the time we’d been walking for twenty minutes, this felt like a massive understatement. The trails were absolutely bursting with rhododendrons in a variety of beautiful colours. We were walking for about two hours altogether, and I think there was always a rhododendron in sight. It’s worth timing your visit to see them if you like flowers! It definitely looked like summer, even if it only felt like it half of the time. I can’t remember the last time I had my coat on and off so many times during a single walk! Battling a chilly wind one second, then into a more densely wooded section where it was muggy and warm. On, off, on, off. I was glad I’d gone with a lightweight jacket I could carry.
Busy but quiet
Given the size of the car park (and how full it was when we returned), it was surprisingly quiet. The sheer number of paths criss-crossing the estate dilutes walkers enough that visitors are spread out across the many trails. And if you want to start your walk further out on the estate, you can drive to one of the many smaller car parks on the carriage drive. This six mile route is open to cars so you can enjoy the estate without needing to tackle the inclines. Although, most of the cars we saw when we crossed it were going a bit too fast to properly enjoy the views, if you ask me.
After we finished the walk, we had one last quick jaunt to see ‘the view’ of the house. Three out of four sides were covered in scaffolding, but fortunately the iconic photo opportunity from the Iron Bridge was mainly scaffolding free. Cragside is one of my favourite houses architecturally: it’s so unique that it’s immediately recognisable. It’s worth noting that this part of the site is a little busier than the wider walking trails. There are a number of paths which wind their way through the gardens and down to the power house, but lunch time was calling and there was a sausage sandwich back at base with my name on it.
Dog Friendly rating: Cragside
Dog friendly rating: 5/5. This is an excellent dog friendly day out. Dogs are welcome on the estate walks and in the gardens. There were poo bins dotted around, so we weren’t lugging bags around for the whole walk which is always nice! Most of the walk was on woodland trails and we didn’t come across any livestock (although you might be lucky enough to spot a red squirrel). Every walk we’ve done at Cragside has been stile free and also very quiet away from the main house. Since our last visit, a number of large banners have been put up asking that dogs are kept on leads at all times: and every single dog walker we saw was respecting this rule (for a change). For us, as visitors with a reactive dog, this made it one of the most stress-free walks we’ve had in a long time.
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