The area

Blyth Beach: huts, pier and the High Light

Honister Way · Blyth, Northumberland

Ask people to name the great Northumberland beaches and they'll reach for Bamburgh or Embleton. Blyth's beach doesn't make those lists, which suits the locals fine — because it's a genuinely lovely stretch of coast that you'll often have nearly to yourself.

The huts — and yes, you can hire one

The row of brightly painted beach huts along the South Beach promenade is Blyth's postcard. They face a long, wide run of sand backed by dunes and marram grass, and on a bright morning, with the colours against the sea, it's as photogenic as anywhere on this coast.

Better still, the huts aren't just for looking at: they can be hired by the day, complete with deck chairs and a kettle for the full seaside experience, with keys collected from the Dave Stephens Centre on the front. Bookings are handled by Blyth Community Enterprise Centre — details and availability at blythcec.co.uk/beach-huts. Book ahead in summer; they go quickly on good weekends.

The pier and the lighthouse

At the harbour end, the East Pier runs well out into the sea with the lighthouse at its tip, and the walk along it is the classic Blyth constitutional — fishing boats and the port on one side, open sea on the other, and the offshore wind turbines lined up on the horizon. Inland, look out for the old High Light standing oddly and charmingly in the middle of a residential street: a lighthouse marooned by a changing shoreline.

The dunes and the tide line

The dunes are good walking in themselves, and the tide line is busy with oystercatchers and other waders most of the year. Winter brings big dramatic seas; summer brings sandcastle weather without the crowds you'd fight further up the coast.

Afterwards

A beach walk in the North East ends one way: fish and chips — and Blyth's are right on the front. Coastline, on Links Road facing the beach, is the local institution (with an ice cream parlour attached), and Breeze Lounge next door does very well-reviewed breakfasts, sandwiches and coffee with a sea view. Both are a couple of minutes' walk from the huts.