Craster

With its small harbour originally built to export whin sill stone from the local quarry, Craster has a reputation for producing some of the most delicious oak-smoked kippers (herring) in the country. The commercial fortunes of Craster have long depended on fishing. After the white fish trade declined, lobster and crab provided an alternative harvest. Today kippers and tourism are the mainstay of Craster's economy.

Around a mile and a half to the north along the Northumberland Coast Path lies Dunstanburgh Castle; a romantic ruin today but first built as a defensive symbol of power and prestige in the 14th century by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, the wealthiest nobleman in England. It is likely that Thomas only saw the castle once, on his way to the Siege of Berwick in 1319, before his capture and execution in 1322.  The castle declined in the 15th and 16th centuries, and over time artists including JMW Turner were drawn to capture the dramatic ruins against the backdrop of the sea.