Bamburgh Castle

This ancient castle looks majestic on top of its craggy base. For centuries, whoever held Bamburgh was lord of Northumbria and even the Romans didn't attempt to take it. There has been a castle there for thousands of years, added to by successive architects. It was rebuilt in the 1890s by the engineering entrepeneur Lord Armstrong and turned into a comfortable home. From the battery, there is a fabulous view out to sea and the Farne Islands; people were doing an organised cetacean watch, looking for porpoises, dolphins and whales.