Seahouses pub gets a unique revamp to increase sea views

The revamp at the Bamburgh Castle Inn has been designed to to let more customers experience the view across the harbour and towards the Farne Islands, Holy Island and Bamburgh Castle.

The addition of a raised, glass-glazed terrace has more than doubled the inn’s outdoor seating capacity. The new decked area stands on Corten steel posts and projects outwards towards the harbour, giving elevated views.

A previously unused access road has been turned into a light-filled glass atrium room, housing a second bar for the popular inn, plus inviting seating area complete with a log burning stove, rustic timber panelling and nautical themed décor.

Sean Donkin, managing director of The Inn Collection Group, said: “The Bamburgh Castle Inn really does have one of the best seaside locations in the UK.

"When people come to Seahouses, that’s what they want to experience – it’s about sitting outside and having that view of the harbour and sea beyond.

“Individuality is the beating heart of each of our pubs and it’s all about embracing that and enhancing it for greater customer experience.

"Adding the terrace is all about giving as many people as we can the experience of drinking in the views the inn has in spades.”

Looking after the local trade has been key to the development. The addition of the second bar has created an informal area away from the main dining area that has the ambience of a traditional pub where customers can enjoy a relaxed drink standing at the bar without a busy throughfare of footfall.

To accommodate the high levels of customers the inn experiences at peak times, the bar in the main dining area has been extended from 7.5 metres to 25 metres to reduce waiting times and maximise customer service opportunities.

The development has also seen as adjacent building Coble Cottage purchased by The Inn Collection Group in 2020 repurposed to include 14 en-suite rooms, swelling The Bamburgh Castle Inn’s room capacity by 30 per cent and increasing the site’s total number of bedrooms to 60.

Infrastructure has also been carefully considered within the refurbishment. The kitchen can accommodate the increased cover capacity and cater for the increase in meal numbers.

Sean added: “Quadrupling the service size of the inn goes hand in hand with what goes on behind the scenes. Factoring in the infrastructure to provide high levels of customer service and quality was a massive part of the project and one we are proud to have got absolutely right.

“As a group, continual evolution over time is vital to us, to keep up with modern requirements from local customers and visitors – whether that’s bedroom facilities, the public dining and bar areas or our outside spaces.

“We are absolutely delighted with the end results. It’s good news for everyone – creating a new and vibrant addition for Seahouses and the surrounding area.

Project designer and architect Barry Nicholson, director at BXB Interiors and Architecture, said: “It’s been a pretty unique project. To have fully uninterrupted views across Seahouses harbour from the elevated terrace which projects out over the port in itself is like nothing else you will see in the region.”