Fiddler's Green

This stretch of Northumberland coastline near Belford is where things get properly wild. Fiddler's Green is a nature reserve that rewards walkers willing to leave the car parks behind - it's the kind of place where you'll actually see things rather than just snap photos of them.

The reserve protects a mix of dunes, grassland, and beach that attracts everything from waders to the occasional seal popping its head up offshore. On a decent day you can spend a couple of hours working the paths without seeing another soul, which in itself feels like a find. Spring and autumn are best for birdwatchers - the migration periods bring proper variety. Summer gets busier but the light is long, so evening walks work brilliantly.

Bring binoculars. Seriously. The warblers and terns make themselves obvious if you know what to listen for, and the beach itself is dramatic enough to hold non-birders' attention. It's not a quick tick - allow at least ninety minutes to do it justice.

For a park holiday in the area, this sits well alongside visits to Budle Bay or even further east. Budle Farm Campsite and Budle Bay Campsite are both within five miles, which makes morning walks here very easy to arrange before the sites fill up with families. The wider coastline round here - Bamburgh, Craster - has better-known pulls, but Fiddler's Green is where you go if you want solitude and actual wildlife rather than a postcard.