Brilliant Biking

Emma Lewis and family head to Northumberland for an exhilarating coastal cycling holiday

- By Emma Lewis

A blur of lacy cow parsley and dark-green hedgerows giving way to a cloudless blue sky above, the verdant scent being carried on the cool north-easterly breeze that whooshes past us as we spin downhill, one behind the other, towards the twinkly blue sea until we're close enough to inhale its saltiness and feel the first grainy sprinkles of sand beneath our tyres... This is what flashes into my mind when I think of our recent family cycling holiday in Northumberland. Oh, and castles. Lots of castles. In short, an artist's dream...

HARRY POTTER HEAVEN

It wasn't far off a dream, right from the beginning, for 11-year-old Imogen and 10-year-old Scarlett either, it turns out. We'd headed up to Alnwick (pronounced 'Annick'), the starting point for our Saddle Skedaddle Northumberland Coast cycling holiday, from the South West, at the start of the summer half-term holiday, tagging an extra day and night onto our trip so that we could visit Alnwick Castle. Since it's the filming location for several Harry Potter scenes, it was a must-see for the girls. As well as a peek at how the Duke of Northumberland and family live (and former occupants used to live), we enjoyed entertainment from a jester, falconry, soap-making and more, plus broomstick training à la Harry Potter, the Dragon Quest experience and an excellent film location tour, all included in our entry ticket price (we're giving no spoilers as to which scenes from HP and other well-known films and TV programmes were shot here though!).