Dog-friendly beaches in Bamburgh

Three miles of pale sand under the castle, wide enough at low water to lose a dog in the distance, and rarely crowded even in August. There is no seasonal dog ban here at any time of year, which is the reason people bring dogs to this coast rather than to Yorkshire or Northumberland's own southern resorts. Park on Links Road or at the castle and walk in over the dunes.

A huge tidal basin of mud and sand west of Bamburgh, part of the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve and one of the best wildfowl roosts in England. No seasonal dog ban applies, but this is a bird place rather than a ball-throwing place, and a dog off the lead here will clear the bay in seconds. Views from the roadside pull-in are as good as walking it, and the tide comes in fast across the flats.