enlarge


Druridge Bay Country park

For many years the long, sweeping sands of Druridge Bay, fringed with sand dunes, have been a popular place to visit. Now the Country Park provides a focal point for one of the most beautiful stretches of Northumberland's coastline.

Most of the Country Park is on land restored from the Coldrife opencast coal mine, active in the 1960's, and a thick clay layer had to be put down to hold the water in the Park's lake. The landscape is home to a wide variety of wildlife, and about 40 species of bird have been known to breed in the Park, with many more passing through. The dunes were not affected by mining in the 60's, and are valuable and legally protected for their wild plants, of which around 300 species are found.

Evidence of human activity on Druridge Bay over thousands of years is preserved within the Park. On Togston Links, Stone Age artifacts have been found, along with Bronze Age burial coffins made of stone. And preserved plant remains in an ancient peat layer show how, thousand of years ago, farmers cleared local forests and grazed cattle on the dunes.

The visitor centre has much local information available and there are self-guided trails around the Park - Woodland Trails, Geology, and Archaeology Trails,  where you can see features that explain the formation of the land and human use across its history - including rock formations, environmental changes, early settlement, mining, reclamation and land use changes.

There is also information on how the anti-tank ditches have been partly used for recycling, on the dangers to shipping - dangerous rocks extend a good way out into the sea off the headland, the use of the look-out pole before modern navigation instruments, and information on coastal erosion and over-fishing in the area.

Cyclists can use all the paths and roads in the Park.

Druridge Bay Country Park
Tel: (01670) 760968

Information Northumberland County Council

Back