Holy Island, Alnwick Castle & The Kingdom of Northumbria from Edinburgh

Alnwich Castle, Northumbria, and Holy Island Lindisfarne

Alistair, our tour guide / driver was so knowledgeable and easily conveyed details and facts to us. Alnwich Castle was amazing and Holy Island spiritual.

Engaging and Informative Tour with Shug

We recently joined a tour to Holy Island and Alnwick Castle. Our guide, Shug, was passionate, humorous, and extremely knowledgeable. His detailed explanations greatly enriched our experience. We left the tour with new insights and fond memories. Highly recommended!

Wonderful day despite the rain

Alnwick did not disappoint! We were taking our granddaughter on her high school graduation trip. She is a big Harry Potter fan, seeing the castle was a highlight of our trip. Karris was our guide and she made the trip fun and memorable with her tales of history and Scottish yarn.

Fantastic!

This was a great tour. Andrew T was a wonderful and knowledgeable guide. I'd highly recommend this tour. It's a great experience

Visit to Alnwick Castle...

Visit to Alnwick Castle and Bamburgh Castle. There was a large stone edifice that we passed on the way into and out of Alnwick Castle. The guide should have mentioned it. It would have been nice to drive to the entrance to Hoky Island just to see it. My understanding from the trip description was that we would either stop by or hear about the battle field where the British defeated the Scott’s that halted the Scot’s invasion of England. This section was eliminated.

Great views and perfect places to take pictures

We got some really great pictures at each of these places. The stop at Alnwick castle was the highlight of the tour! Alistair was a great guide/driver. He gave us some interesting Scottish history facts and played some music between each of the little history lessons.

Hairy Coos, Hogwarts Castle and Holy Island

Blister was a really informative guide and added a great deal to this tour. The Scottish borders are a beautiful ride through pastures. The castle, Harry coos and Holy Island were beautiful. Highly recommend. Timberbush is amazing tour company.

Cancel due to Covid- requesting a refund

My husband woke up sick; we tested and he is positive for Covid. We called to let them know and to ask for a refund which was refused. We couldn’t cancel 24 hours ahead because he wasn’t sick then!!! Did you want him to make everyone else on the trip sick? To whom can we appeal that decision?

Magical!!!

Had an amazing experience on this tour. Our guide Mr.T. Andrews was so witty and full of knowledge. Not a moment was dull or boring. The tour started on time from the said venue. Everything was well organised and adequate time was alloted to see the places. Nobody felt rushed! Thank you Mr. T Andrews for keeping us merry and clarifying my questions too.

A Day I Won’t Forget

This was an amazing day. We saw so many different things, and they were all wonderful. The Holy Island is really special. I suggest touring the ruins there and eating in the tiny village rather than climbing the hill. Our guide was super nice, and made a real effort to inform and entertain us.

Even bad weather couldn’t lessen the trip

Paul B is a knowledgeable guide. Neither Lindisfarne nor Alnwick failed to impress. Even the poor weather lent to the feeling of solitude that the monks on Lindisfarne must have felt prior to the Viking raid.

Perfect day trip ☀️

We had the best tour with Alistair as our tour guide. He changed the route for us to make sure we had the best condition on Holy island and also provided a couple of small “detours” and provided us Scottish history served with a good portion of humor - highly recommend!

great day.

Excellent value for money. Informative and friendly guides/drivers. About an extra 20 minutes at Holy Island would have been appreciated as there were people on board who may have found the necessary brisk walk to the castle a little overwhelming and would have perhaps liked to select a slower pace.

I saw Holy Island and Alnwick Castle with Santa!!

Took a tour to Holy Island, Alnwick Castle, and Northumbria in Apr 24. My tour guide was Santa Clause himself…Mr. Paul Santa! It as a large van with a small group and Paul made sure to learn everyone’s name by the time the bus departed Old Town! He was decked out in a Scottish garb with a kilt and tartan. Wonderful, delightful personality, exceptional knowledge of Scotland, the UK, history, cities, castles, and more! The trip was about 9 hours but Paul ensured we had comfort and photo stops along the way. He had a great play list on his phone where he played songs having to do with the people or places associated with our travel! Alnwick Castle was the highlight for me. Paul made sure we had 2.5 hours at the castle…several Harry Potter scenes were filmed here as well. I would HIGHLY recommend this tour and especially our guide Paul! He does many other tours for Timberbush Tours as well! I’d give him 10-stars if I could! Thanks Paul, very memorable trip!

Unexpected joy

On timing Resting intervals, and very consideret leader yet with a vivid sense of humor ! I think his name was Max

For the Harry Potter and Vikings fans

If you’re a fan of Viking history then Holy Island is for you! We stayed for about 45 minutes in Lindisfarne. Our bus parked on Green Lane in the “Holy Island Coach Park” in case you want to google the distance to the Lindisfarne Castle or Priory. Because you only have 45 minutes at this stop you have to choose between the castle or the priory. We choose for the walk to the castle and lime kilns. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter then Alnwick castle is for you! Family friendly castle. Even has “broomstick training” available in the same area where HP learned to fly. We got approx 3 hours at Alnwick castle. We did the combo which includes the castle and the gardens. In my opinion the gardens weren’t worth it unless you’re looking for a place to sit and eat some lunch. We also felt rushed doing the gardens as the inside and outside of the castle took up most of our time. Note that inside the castle state rooms you aren’t allowed to take any pictures. Lastly, for all you “The Last Kingdom” viking fans we got the chance to pass by Bamburgh Castle (called Bebbanburg in the series). This was an unofficial stop but should be made an official stop! We also made a small stop and got to walk across the English-Scottish border 😄 Our guide (on April 21st) was a great guide and super knowledgeable. Thank you for all the history stories!

Excellent Hosts

We did the tour to Holy Island with Erika as our host. I will say the trio was interesting, but Erik’s humor and jolly outlook made it an especially memorable trip. Sometimes it is embarrassing being in a big bus, but he made it less so. Thanks for a great day packed with history and laughs!

Fantastic tour and perfect for families

What a fabulous day! We are a family of four and did the Holy Island, Alnwick castle tour and we had a ball. So much history. Our driver was Shug, he was a fountain on knowledge and was funny with our two boys. The coach was comfortable and we got so close to Lindisfarne you could touch it. My two boys loved the ‘broomstick lesson at Alnwick Castle

Excellent tour guides and locations visited!

Jada and Cliff were incredibly helpful throughout our tour, both knowledgable and showed passion to discussing the history behind the locations. Fantastic value for the money and experience especially from our tour guides!

Great tour guides and value for money

Our tour guide Jada was amazing, as well as Cliff! Very informative and funny along the way ! Lovely personalities and great value for money !

A perfect end to a Scottish vacation

The time allotted to explore Alnwick Castle was phenomenal. The visit Holy Island was an exceptional opportunity and it was a surprisingly beautiful place.

A worthwhile experience

It was a small van group of about 14. Eric, our driver, was an exceptionally experienced driver, incredibly knowledgeable, and truly likes people. The sites were great. Personally I would have liked a little more time on the Holy Island, but I understand that schedules must be kept. Could not have asked for a better experience.

Terrible weather

Great tour, horrible weather!! Our guide Paul Santa was super knowledgable, and lots of fun. He drove very safe through brutal conditions.

Well worth a visit. So many places to explore.

Love that coast and try to get that way at least three times a year, Alnwick Castle is a must see and Lilidorie is a wonderful experience. All that coast is beautiful.

Fabulous, fun tour. Rose was very entertaining.

We had a fantastic tour. The scenery is stunning. The bus comfortable. The guide Rose had so many stories and knowledge to share making it equally fun and educational. I was concerned my 10 year old might find it a little boring but she loved it and felt very included. The Harry Potter activities at Alnwick are lots of fun even for grown ups! Holy Island is so beautiful and lots of little places to visit. Overall a fantastic experience that we would highly recommend and definitely do again. Would give 10 stars if possible.

A must visit

Has to be on your bucket list. Strolled round the castle and lanes in the village which are a photographers dream.

Alnwick Castle and Holy Island Tour

The meeting place was easy to find and the driver and guide were incredible! The driver was able to get around with no problems and the guide was a professional bard. She was able to give alot of information on the history of Scotland and the places we were going. I had a really great time visiting Alnwick Castle and Holy Island.

Great day trip

I've wanted to go to Holy Island for several years and even though I went during Storm Babet, I wasn't disappointed. We couldn't go to the castle but the ruins and cemetery were equally as interesting to me. The shop to buy mead was also open and so I was able to get some souvenirs. I learned a lot of history driving through Northumbria. It was also pretty cool to go to Alnwick Castle and see what a castle is like where the family has lived for 700 years.

Great Day Trip

I did the Holy Island, etc. tour with Connor as the driver/guide. Tropical Storm Babette had just blown into the UK so there was lot of wind and rain to contend with. :) But Connor did an excellent job! His music playlist was great (I loved that he played a lot of Dire Straits) and he definitely knew the history of the region. The Holy Island was fantastic and on a nice day, an hour there would not be long enough. I loved the Priory and the views of the castle. Alnwick Castle and its village were very interesting. The castle is quite majestic and its State Rooms are full of history. The gardens are also lovely, although by that point we were in a total downpour so I didn't spend as much time in them as I would have liked. I would highly recommend this tour, rain or shine.

Way too little time...

On the overall it was a good trip, but the amount of time we had to visit everything was way too little. 1h at Holy Island (more likely 45min) is really nothing. I barely had time to see the priory - which was my main interest - and the castle because if you also want to walk towards it you have to rush everything, which is not really the point of a day tour I guess. Then, when we arrived at Alnwick castle, we have been informed that if you want to see the castle AND the gardens it will require a special ticket; and also, again, if you just visit the castle the amount of time is alright (2h30/3h), but if you also want to see the gardens, then, again, you have to hurry up a lot. The little village (20/30min) to take a break was a good idea though. Our bus driver was amazing! :-) Timberbush Tours have the greatest storytellers! I recommend this tour if you don't mind seeing things without taking your time, because it's still a very beautiful tour. But if you want to take your time, then I would recommend you to go with another company or by yourself.

Excellent trip

Had a wonderful experience on our trip to Holy Island. Our guide Adrian was knowledgeable, informative and entertaining and an absolute gentleman to boot.

Not a good choice

The meeting place was on the street, so we got rained on while waiting for the bus. Ta as he bus was not comfortable, the seats were very tight, it was difficult to even fasten the seat belt, very inappropriate for such a long trip. The castles and villages were interesting, but due to the bad weather, many parts were closed to visitors, which isn't fair if you pay for the normal ticket. The time on Holly Island was very busy and at Alnwick Castle we spent a long time without having anything to do.

Great tour with Paul B, would recommend

I went solo, but there were many families, couples, and friends going together. I had a great time. The weather was absolutely dreadful when I went, but the tour still took place and the guide (Paul B) kept us safe and entertained every step along the way. The Holy Island is very unique and I’m really glad I got to visit it. The time allotment for the Holy Island might be a tad tight for those with families, so to do everything you want, I would recommend you plan what you want to do beforehand. I didn’t really have a plan going into it, but I was able to walk to the castle, see the Priory, and buy some mead from the shop there. However, I also decided to stroll and explore the village, and while doing so, I got a bit lost and was almost late to get back to the bus/coach. I feel as though more planning in my part would’ve prevented that. Alnwick castle was also amazing to see, especially as a Harry Potter fan. The tour as a whole was loaded with history and it was incredible to see it all. Paul B was amazing. Funny, informative, and just overall great at his job. We didn’t have time to stop by Flodden Field, assumingely due to weather (the itinerary directly states that seeing Flodden Field is dependant on time, so this wasn’t a surprise), but Paul B still made sure to tell us the story about it. However, we did get to see highland cows on the way back, so we stopped to see them and take pictures. Overall, would definitely recommend.

Great time…despite the weather!!

The tour was great! Connor did an amazing job of getting us there safely with some great stories and humor! Connor’s Scottish music play list was awesome!!

Tour covered everything promised with an exceptional guide. Scenic, historic and fascinating part of the UK.

Alnwick castle was gorgeous. The tour guide, Santa, filled in Scottish history, told fascinating fables with great sound effects. Santa was extremely enthusiastic about the history and Scotland. Holy Island was scenic and interesting. Enjoyed tasting the mead.

Northumbria tour was awesome!

Neil was awesome and had Ron's of great info for all the things we passed by and places we visited. A great trip from start to finish!

Great tour. Great guide and driver. Alnwick castle was the most interesting because of all the movies/TV that were filmed there.

Fraser, our guide was very knowledgeable and accommodating. He slowed down his speech so we could clearly understand his narration. He was very clear on departure times. He stopped at a couple of "bonus" stops because we had some extra time.

Magical Experience

Absolutely loved this trip! My husband and I went together and it was our favorite day of the trip. We loved going in and around the castle, it was worth the whole tour. And as a Harry Potter fan, it's a must see. I'd say you definitely need to pay to go in the castle to get the full experience. We also loved our tour guide, Rose. She was spectacular and we felt very fortunate to have her guide us. She shared so much history with us and nicely tied it into how it relates to Harry Potter. And having grown up in the areas we were visiting she was very knowledgeable on where to go and when, so we knew we were in capable hands.

Worth the trip

Paul B was a great guide! I enjoyed his informative commentary. He even made a couple extra stops for us to stretch our legs.

An enjoyable day out!

Paul B was a wonderful guide on this tour. Very informative and funny. Lots of good stories and music along the ride. The sights were wonderful.

Great day trip!

We had an awesome time on this day trip! The itinerary is spaced out nicely with driving and stops - nothing seemed too long. The gardens at Alnwick were past their prime for the season but that was to be expected visiting in October. Our driver, Rose, was an excellent story teller and made the trip so much fun! She was able to make it truly feel personalized for everyone on the trip.

Magical Experience

What an Amazing tour guide and experience! Paul Santa told us stories, made us laugh and we learned the beautiful history of Alnwick.. highly recommend, the tour is around 9 hours, but enough breaks and stunning views. Thank you!! You helped us built great memories❤️

Disappointing and rushed

Holy Island: We didn’t get to do this part of the tour because of the tides. Understandably this was outside of the control of the company, who did a good job of notifying us of this change ahead of time. Unfortunately they had failed to adequately explain the changes to their staff, which delayed our departure. The alternate stop was Bamburgh castle, where we were told our entrance would be half price because of the itinerary change. But when we arrived there was no such offer and we ended up having to pay full price for an hour visit to a site that needed a minimum of 2 hours to cover. Alnwick Castle: When we arrived, we were told the castle and gardens were not to be missed and advised to purchase the combo tickets, which we did. Then we were told we only had two hours to visit, but the reality is you can barely see one or the other (castle or gardens) in that time frame, and certainly not both. The castle itself is simply amazing with tons of activities beyond the usual museum type displays, and the gardens are spectacular. You could easily spend an entire day here. We would have rather skipped Bamburgh and had more time at this stop. The Kingdom of Northumbria: We aren’t sure how this factors into the tour, or why it’s in the title? There were no other stops made, which there wouldn’t have been time for anyway, and other than a brief mention at the border there wasn’t much information given about it. Our guide was kind and professional and a good driver but appeared flustered from the start due to the change in itinerary. Usually with a tour like this there are stories and bits of history given about various sites along the way but our guide, who seemed very knowledgeable, didn’t share a lot. The driving distance for this tour is quite far for a day trip – we spent more time total in the bus than visiting the sites. Overall, I wish we had skipped this tour. I had really wanted to see Holy Island so when that part was cancelled we should have just asked for a refund and taken a regular bus or train down on our own to visit Alnwick. This option would have been far more enjoyable and affordable.

From Edinburgh to Northumbria

This tour was fantastic. Our guide, Paul (Santa), was so much fun and a great storyteller. Beautiful scenery and amazing architecture to enjoy.

Visiting Lindisfarne is history

Really enjoyed our visit to Lindisfarne. It is full of history from the Priory to Gurtrude Jeykle's garden and the castle. The castle is apparently owned privately but you can visit it. The views are outstanding. Crossing back and forwards it is ideal to wait until the tide has gone out completely. We did hear along the grapevine that a bridge is to be built across making access much easier, not sure when though. Very dog friendly.

Historical site visit.

Excellent tour leader knowledge of the history connected with the tours itinerary, was able to present points of interest and keep us entertained throughout the tour journey without overwhelming us. Nice relaxed tour offered by the tour company, not to long not too short, comfortable transport.

Disappointed

Let me just say right away that our guide and driver for this tour were fine. This tour should not be called "Holly Island" tour. See attached picture, it gives an idea of how "close" you get to the Holly Island during the tour. Alnwick castle is fine, especially if you are a Harry Potter fan. I was sad that I bought a ticket for inside the castle, nothing really interesting, except a beautiful library but keep in mind, you are not allowed to take any pictures inside. The gardens were gorgeous, I didn't leave myself enough time to see all of them. Weather permitting, that's where I would recommend to start the tour-the gardens.

Wonderful, beautiful scenery

Graham and Gary were excellent guides. Graham had great stories and was a pleasure to listen to. The small seats in the bus were the only small negative of the trip. Everything else was great.

Okay

Tripped while getting on bus ,gashed my ear. Sat on the bus with blood dripping down the side of my face. The bus driver said"be careful". The trip was average,nothing to complain about and nothing to brag about.

perfect tour you must try!

The two Frasier’s were super knowledgeable and made the experience super fun! This is a perfect way to experience places without having to worry about driving/commuting yourself. This is defiantly a tour worth doing!