Seahouses

Dramatic castle on an outcrop of dolerite, the same formation underlying the Farne islands and Hadrian's Wall on Whin Sill. This natural bastion has been fortified at least since the Iron Age, with the first written record in 547 AD. The core of the present castle was the work of the Normans in 1095: it withstood a 9-month siege during the Wars of the Roses in 1464. In the 18th century it was converted into a residence, but decay outpaced renovation until it was overhauled from 1894 by the industrialist William Armstrong (1810-1900). It's still owned by his family and has been used as a location for several films. You visit the Great Kitchen, King’s Hall, Captain’s Lodging and Keep and Armoury. They charge £5 to park but you can walk from free sites.

Grace Darling (1815-42) lived in the lighthouse on Longstone island, where her father was the keeper. In the early hours of 7 Sep 1838, she spotted the steamer Forfarshire wrecked on Big Harcar rock. The sea was too rough for the mainland lifeboat to get out, so she and her father rowed for a mile and took off five survivors. She tended two of them at the lighthouse while the others rowed back and rescued four more. The lifeboat now arrived and found only bodies, but was unable to return ashore, so everyone had to shelter in the lighthouse for three days till the storm died down. Nine others survived in one of Forfarshire's boats and were picked up by a passing vessel. Grace was lionised as a national heroine, and awards and donations poured in, but she died of TB aged 26.

St Aidan (590-652) was from Connacht and joined the monks of Iona. He came to Northumbria as a missionary in an era when Christianity was being rolled back by Anglo-Saxon paganism. He founded the monastery of Lindisfarne and many churches throughout Northumberland, with Bamburgh the seat of his diocese. He died here and is buried on Lindisfarne. His wooden church was replaced in stone in the 12th century; originally monastic, it survived the Dissolution by being the parish church. Grace Darling lies west end of the churchyard: the memorial is a replica, with the weathered original moved inside.