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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Seahouses
Base here 2 nights for the Farne Islands boat trips and Bamburgh Castle; the village itself is a harbour and a high street, not a resort.
Seahouses is a working harbour village of about 1,700 people on the Northumberland coast, and the main departure point for boat trips to the Farne Islands. Bamburgh Castle is 3.5 miles north, Beadnell 2 miles south, and the beaches between them are long and mostly empty. Two nights covers the boats, the castle and a coast walk; a third night only if you want to slow down.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (many boats and cafés shut)
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £55–85 excl. bed · Mid £85–140 excl. bed · High £140+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 999 · Police non-urgent 101 · NHS non-urgent 111
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or tea in a café | £3–4.50 |
| Fish and chips | £12–18 |
| Pint of beer in a pub | £4.50–6 |
| Crab sandwich | £8–12 |
| Bamburgh Castle entry | £18.75 adult, £9.40 child |
| Farne Islands boat trip | £25–40 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £8–15 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- NCL · Newcastle International
- About 1 h 15 min by car; bus X18 from Newcastle takes 2 h+ with a change at Alnwick.
- EDI · Edinburgh
- About 2 h by car via the A1; useful if you are coming down from Scotland.
Typical fares
- Bus X18 Seahouses → Alnwick
- about £2–4 single, about 45 min
- Bus X18 Seahouses → Berwick-upon-Tweed
- about £2–4 single, about 1 h
- Taxi Seahouses → Bamburgh
- about £10–15
Get around
The village is walkable in 15 minutes end to end. Bus X18 runs hourly from Newcastle as far as Alnwick, with about four services a day continuing up the coast through Craster, Beadnell, Seahouses, Bamburgh and on to Berwick-upon-Tweed; Borders Bus 418 fills gaps three times a day. Chathill station has one evening train from Newcastle and no morning service, so it is no use for arrivals. A car makes Bamburgh, Beadnell and the inland villages much easier.
See and do
Known for
- Farne Islands boat trips
- Bamburgh Castle
- Long sandy beaches and the coast path
- Fresh crab and kippers
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Bamburgh Castle and village | Bus X18/418, or 3.5 miles by car or bike | About 20 min by car, 30–40 min by bus |
| Farne Islands | Boat from Seahouses harbour with Billy Shiel, Golden Gate or Serenity | 2–3 h including the crossing |
| Lindisfarne (Holy Island) | Car or bus to Beal, then across the causeway | About 1 h |
| Alnwick Castle and Alnwick | Bus X18 south, or car on the A1 | About 45 min |
| Berwick-upon-Tweed | Bus X18 north, or car on the A1 | About 1 h |
Sleep
- Seahouses harbour and Main Street
- Walk to the boat pontoons, pubs and chip shops; parking is tight in summer.
- North side (Seafield Road, St Aidan's)
- Hotels and the caravan park, 5–10 min walk to the harbour.
- Bamburgh
- 3.5 miles north under the castle; quieter, needs a car or the bus.
- Beadnell
- 2 miles south; beach village with a hotel and a campsite.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Thank you | Thank you |
| Where is the harbour? | Where is the harbour? |
| Two tickets, please | Two tickets, please |
| Is the boat running today? | Is the boat running today? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- Boat trips to the Farne Islands run roughly Apr–Oct and are weather-dependent; book ahead in July and August and expect cancellations in a swell.
- Some beaches are almost covered at high tide: check tide times before walking the coast path.
- Parking near Seahouses harbour and Bamburgh Castle fills by mid-morning in summer.
- Mobile coverage is 4G only; 5G has not reached this coast.
A quiet, low-crime village; the real risks are the sea and the tides. Check boat-trip weather calls, keep back from the surf on the beaches, and never cross the Lindisfarne causeway when the signs say it is closed.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Seahouses yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Farne Islands boat trips
- Bamburgh Castle
- Long sandy beaches and the coast path
- Fresh crab and kippers
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Visit Northumberland: www.visitnorthumberland.com/
- Bamburgh Castle: www.bamburghcastle.com/
- RNLI Grace Darling Museum: rnli.org/find-my-nearest/museums/grace-darling-museum
- Wikivoyage: Seahouses, revision 5044661 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5044661
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Seahouses
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Seahouses; the nearest consulates and embassies are in Edinburgh and London.
Tipping: 10–12.5% in restaurants if no service charge is added; not expected in pubs.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/seahouses). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.