Northumberland offers some of the most dramatic coastlines in the UK. Situated on the eastern side of northern England, this fascinating stretch of coastline provides the seascape photographer with miles of outstanding beaches, a huge variety of rock formations not to mention castles aplenty.
The Northumberland coastline is dominated by the castles of Bamburgh, Lindsifarne, and Dunstanburgh but there is much more to Northumberland than just castles. On our specially created three day, two night workshop, we will be visiting the above castles as well as several other locations that will be dictated by the tide times, weather conditions, and the direction of the sun. There are so many stunning locations to visit, from the big, smooth boulder beach of Embleton Bay to the quaint harbour of Beadnell, from the fishing village of Seahouses with its numerous fishing boats and fantastic rock formations to the unique position of being stranded on Holy Island at high tide and photographing the 16th century castle positioned high up on Basalt volcanic rock.
Of course, no visit to Northumberland is complete without standing on the gorgeous beach at Bamburgh at dawn and watching the sunrise side lighting the majestic castle. Little wonder why Northumberland is one of the top destinations for seascape photographers in the UK.
Accommodation for this workshop is two nights bed and breakfast at The Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh, which is a two minute walk from Bamburgh Castle and all of the locations that we will be visiting are located nearby. You will receive dedicated professional 1-2-1 photography tuition from two workshop tutors and all transport between locations will be in my own personally owned eight seat luxury Mercedes V-Class minibus.
All in all, there is something for everyone on this workshop. Places are limited to just six with a ratio of 1:3 with two workshop leaders. I hope you can join Alistair How and Mal Crawford for what will be a fantastic three days on one of the UK’s most beautiful stretches of coastline.
ITINERARY
Day 1 | Friday 22nd October 2024 We will meet at our accommodation, The Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh, at 2pm ready to check in and attend the workshop briefing for our Northumberland photography workshop. From there, we will head to Bamburgh beach to capture one of Northumberland’s most iconic landmarks, Bamburgh Castle, the beautiful sand dunes as well as the incoming tide as sunset falls.
Following sunset, we shall head back to our hotel to relax before dining in the hotel restaurant.
Day 2 | Saturday 23rd October 2024 It is back to Bamburgh beach for sunrise. We will be out on location an hour before sunrise each morning, ensuring that we are ready in position to capture the best locations pre-dawn. Â After our sunrise shoot, we will head back to the hotel for breakfast. Â Post breakfast, we shall spend the day focussed on the coastal locations of Craster, and Embleton Bay before photographing Dunstanburgh Castle at sunset.
Day 3 | Sunday 17th November 2024 Today will be another full day, shooting from pre-dawn through to sunset along the coast and capitalising on the day’s conditions. Starting at Holy Island for sunrise, we have timed this workshop to allow us access to the island as the incoming tide cuts us off for the morning.
Being located on Holy Island during high tide opens up many more photographic opportunities, especially where long exposure images are concerned but it is also very quiet on the island with very few tourists present, which suits us well. Once the tide has receded, we shall leave the island around 10.30am and return to the hotel to check out.
The afternoon will see us head to Cullernose Point, Howick Scar and the Bathing House. These locations work well at low tide and offer many subjects to shoot including cliffs, rocky outlets and the iconic bathing house which was commissioned by the 2nd Earl Grey (Charles Grey), who interestingly was at one time the Prime Minister (1830-1834) but was also known for the tea which was named after him.
Late afternoon, we will head along the coast to our sunset location, Beadnell. This quaint little village has a harbour that faces south-west, making it perfect to photograph at both sunrise and sunset. There are boats in the harbour and lime kilns that are of interest to those who wish to capture detail images. Once the sun has disappeared below the horizon for the day, we will return to the hotel to collect your luggage before heading our separate ways at the end of what will hopefully have been a successful and enjoyable three days.
Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Sunset     5.49pm
High Tide  6.59pm – 4.4m (Bamburgh)
2pm   Clients arrive at the hotel, check in and workshop briefing 3pm   Head out to Bamburgh Beach for sunset 6pm   Back to the hotel 8pm   Evening meal in the hotel restaurant
Wednesday 23rd October 2024 Sunrise     7.54am Sunset      5.46pm
High Tide   7.34am – 4.4m (Bamburgh) Low Tide   1.36pm – 1.9m (Craster) High Tide  8.07pm – 4.2m (Embleton Bay)
6.45am   Bamburgh Castle for sunrise 9.30am   Breakfast at the hotel 11am     Head to Craster and the Black Hole 2.30pm   Embleton Bay/Dunstanburgh Castle for sunset 6pm     Back to the hotel 8pm     Evening meal in the hotel restaurant
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Thursday 24th October 2024 Sunrise            7.56am Sunset             5.44pm
High Tide     8.41am – 4.0m (Holy Island) Low Tide     2.55pm – 2.4m (Embleton Bay) High Tide     9.12pm – 4.0m (Embleton Bay)
6am        Leave for Holy Island for sunrise 6.30am     Cross the Holy Island causeway for sunrise 10am       Head back to the hotel to check out 11am       Check out of the hotel 11.30am     Cullernose Point, Howick and The Bathing House 4pm       Beadnell for sunset 6pm       End of workshop
*Please note that the itinerary is subject to change depending on the weather and other factors
We will be based at the beautiful Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh for two nights. You will have a double room en-suite with no single occupancy charge.
Breakfast is included and there is a lovely restaurant in which we will dine in on both evenings
Northumberland Workshop Oct 2021 Workshop – Michael Rudge (UK) This workshop to Northumberland was my second visit to this part of the country and having Melvin’s experience I was able to get my better photographs than I did when I visited on my own.
Melvin has his own unique style and his enthusiasm never waned despite the weather not playing ball at sunrise or sunset, until the very last day when we were blessed by a magnificent sunrise at Bamburgh Castle. Melvin gave me the confidence and knowledge to switch from always using Aperture Priority to going Full Manual among many other snippets of advice during the workshop. All in All a very enjoyable experience and look forward to Iceland next year with Melvin and maybe something before that.
This was my first Photography Workshop with Melvin. The accommodation used was well placed for all the locations we visited and the itinerary well thought out and flexible if the need arose. Detailed tuition was available when needed, and Melvin took the time one evening to show me his processing workflow with one of my images. This was invaluable, as was the demonstration of a different filter system which I now use. Excellent workshop!
Fantastic experiences! March 2016 Workshop – Suzanne Wafer (UK) I’ve been lucky enough to experience two workshops with Melvin, both times also in the company of Tony Higginson – a 3-day workshop in Northumberland in 2016 and Melvin’s first international workshop, a week in Iceland in March 2017. I cannot say enough good things about this (these!) amazing photographer(s) – not only do they produce amazing work themselves, but they are so keen to share their knowledge, skills and experience with others.
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Details
Locations
Included
Excluded
Transport
Date and Time 2pm Friday 22nd – 6pm Sunday 24th October 2024Â
Duration Three Days, Two Nights
Price £895.00
Workshop Leader Alistair How
Workshop Assistant/Driver Mal Crawford
Workshop Attendees 6
Meeting Place 2pm at The Victoria Hotel, Bamburgh
Exertion Level Easy / Medium – All locations within 10-30 minutes from the car and on rocky beaches/sandy beaches. Wellies are highly recommended for this workshop. A reasonable level of fitness and mobility is required to attend this workshop.
Photography Locations Bamburgh Beadnell Craster Cullernose Point Dunstanburgh Castle Embleton Bay Holy Island Lindisfarne Castle
Included Two nights double room en-suite at The Victoria Hotel, Bamburgh
Breakfast
Dedicated 1-2-1 photography tuition from two tutors
Transport during the workshop in my personally owned luxury eight seater Mercedes V-Class minibus
FREE return transport to Northumberland from Preston if desired
Excluded All meals and drinks other than breakfast
Travel and camera insurance
TRANSPORT DURING THE WORKSHOP Our mode of transport for this workshop is my personally owned brand new eight-seater Mercedes V-Class minibus. This ensures that there is plenty of space for us all including luggage, clothing, and camera equipment.
FREE return transport from Preston to Northumberland if desired
 
