Any trip deep into Northumberland, quite possibly the most underrated county in England, needs to be appropriately fueled. Whether you’re on the picturesque coast, wandering along Hadrian’s Wall or timing the tides to cross to Holy Island, you’ll need to know where to find the best cafes in Northumberland for your caffeine fix and a bite to eat.
Northumberland, England’s border county, is without doubt my favourite here in the country. I’m not just saying that either because I now call the North-East home. You’ll find sweeping golden sand beaches with castles to protect them, the ancient Hadrian’s Wall, market towns and beautiful countryside everywhere you look. You can’t however explore Northumberland without appropriately fueling up with some great coffee, strong tea and sweet treats. There are so many cafes in Northumberland but I’m here to try and find the best and make sure you don’t miss out!
I’m not going to pretend that I’ve been all across Northumberland and frequented each and every cafe in order to bring you my thoughts on the best cafes in Northumberland but, what I hope to achieve, is to give you some inspiration and guidance on where you might want to head for a pot of tea, a flat white or a slice of cake! I’d also say that I’ll almost certainly be adding to this list over time as I spend longer in the county and really get to dip deep in its cafe scene.
Without further ado let’s get into this guide on the best cafes in Northumberland, according to me.
THE 13 BEST CAFES IN NORTHUMBERLAND
MAP
All of the cafes recommended in this post are included within the map below.
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THE LANDING – BEADNELL
First up is The Landing, a wooden clad cafe/bar just a stone’s throw from beautiful Beadnell Bay beach. Given the location it’s no surprise that seafood is the focus here for diners but I found that The Landing is a great place for a chilled coffee (or iced coffee) too during the day. If the weather’s good, to be fair even if it isn’t, there’s a heated teepee to sit under. One thing I love for those of you with a motorhome or campervan, you can stay over at the car park next door just for £20!
PILGRIMS COFFEE – HOLY ISLAND
When I visited the Holy Island of Lindisfarne for the first time in 2023, we arrived pretty early just after the tides retreated and so we definitely needed a coffee to pick us up. I was over the moon to find Pilgrims Coffee in a little walled courtyard serving freshly roasted coffee out of a shipping container. The beautiful stone cottage has recently been refurbished and so the coffee shop has returned indoors. You can even stay over too in the one-bedroom flat upstairs!
NORTHUMBERLAND HQ – VALLUM FARM
One of my favourite cafes in Northumberland and places to hang out, Northumberland HQ is worth a stop to experience specialist coffee roasted on-site and pick up unique local products. Northumberland HQ is home to the team behind ‘Nland 250’ (the iconic road trip route across the county), Northumberland Defender Hire and the excellent ‘This Is Northumberland’ magazine series.
THE COPPER KETTLE – BAMBURGH
Bamburgh’s main street in it’s dreamy village centre has to be one of the most picturesque streets in the whole of the country. There aren’t many places where historic stone cottages house typically ‘English’ tea rooms, butchers and pubs with the iconic Bamburgh Castle towering over them. The Copper Kettle is one such tea room serving up cream teas, light bites and a wide range of speciality teas and coffees. The patio garden around the back is an absolute sun trap when the weather’s nice!
LAVENDER TEA ROOMS – ETAL
The tiny villages of Ford and Etal in the far north of Northumberland are quite possibly the most beautiful in the county. Reminiscent of popular Cotswold’s villages, it’s a surprise that more visitors don’t head here though maybe we should keep it a little secret. A few cottages and the Black Bull pub still have their thatched roofs which warrant a visit in its own right! The Lavender Tea Rooms offer refreshments within an all purpose building that also houses the village shop and post office.
DRIFT CAFE – CRESSWELL
At the southern end of the sweeping Druridge Bay, you’ll find the Drift Cafe just across the dunes. This is the perfect place to refresh during a summer’s day on the beach or to warm up with a coffee after a lovely winter’s walk. The homemade key lime pie is one not to miss nor are the fish and chips which you can eat in a double decker bus! Dogs are welcome outside.
THE EARL GREY TEAHOUSE – HOWICK
It wouldn’t have been quite right to compile a list of the best cafes in Northumberland without referencing the cafe at Howick Hall, the ancestral home of the Earls Grey. Yes, the famous Earl Grey tea is named after the 2nd Earl who called this beautiful building home. To access the cafe, you do have to pay the £11 entrance fee as you cannot access the gardens without it. It’ll therefore work out a relatively expensive pot of Earl Grey (though other teas are available) but you couldn’t not order one could you? The views out to the gardens are beautiful too.
BARTER BOOKS – ALNWICK
One of the best things to do when visiting Alnwick is to visit Barter Books; one of the UK’s largest second-hand bookstores housed within the beautiful old Victorian train station. Once you pull yourself away from the many aisles of books, head to the Station Buffett cafe for Welsh Rarebit, chip butties and all of your usual offerings of tea, coffee and soft drinks. It’s not the biggest of cafes so be prepared to wait for a table.
THE SILL – HADRIAN’S WALL
The Sill is the starting point for most visitors to Hadrian’s Wall with a lot of educational information on the history of the area. It’s free to enter so I’d recommend everyone dropping in for that reason along but also to take in the views from the rooftop, for the little ones to explore the ‘playscape’ and to stock up on local products.
Whether you’re in need of refreshments after a long walk along Hadrian’s Wall or setting yourself up for the day in the morning, the Once Brewed Coffee and Bakehouse caters to all. There’s everything from full English breakfasts and all day breakfast sandwiches to pies, ploughman’s lunches and afternoon teas for two!
BERTRAM’S – WARKWORTH
I know I’ve already referred to a few villages as the most beautiful in Northumberland but I’m going to do it again now; Warkworth with its towering castle and the horseshoe shaped River Coquet looping around the village is one of my favourite places to visit in Northumberland. Bertram’s, at the northern end of the main street, is a lovely cosy place for breakfast, cakes, strong pots of tea and silky smooth coffees.
THE RUNNING FOX – FELTON
The Running Fox has expanded across Northumberland over the last couple of years but the original in Felton has consistently great reviews with exceptional views across the River Coquet. The afternoon tea here is not to be missed with cakes as large as you’ve ever seen plus slabs of pie and fresh scones.
NELSON’S AT THE PARK – SWARLAND
Nelson’s at the Park is in a lovely little setting next to a children’s play area in the village of Swarland. Expect great big mugs of coffee, incredible hot chocolates, huge slabs of cake and even bigger sandwiches. This is a popular cafe for cyclists, it’s dog friendly and, with the play area literally right outside, it’s great for families with little ones who need to burn off a bit of energy!
SCOTTS OF ALNMOUTH – ALNMOUTH
Scotts of Alnmouth is a brilliant little deli in this lovely coastal village at the mouth of the River Aln. It might be a little expensive but there aren’t many places in Northumberland as good as this for coffee (from Pilgrims on Holy Island), pastries (I’m talking cruffins and pasteis de nata), freshly made sandwiches and general deli produce!
That wraps up my list of the best cafes in Northumberland though of course I know for sure many of you will have recommendations of other cafes and thoughts on the ones I’ve included above. I will no doubt add to this list over time as I check off more and more cafes when spending time in this exceptional corner of England.
If you’ve got any questions at all or would like to know anything else, feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you!
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Hi! So great café pictures! Do you remember what recipe you used? I use several of yours and they are always great 😊
Thank you so much, very kind!
I’m pretty sure these are all my Classic Neg recipe (C2 on the X-T5 settings)
Thanks
Jamie