It's dangerous to revisit treasured holiday destinations from your childhood. Inevitably peaceful seaside villages will have become sprawling towns, idyllic campsites hemmed in by main roads and once pristine beaches swathed in litter.

But my husband and his brother were determined to retrace smaller steps to the shores of Northumberland in search of the magical summers of their youth in the '70s. Their mother had more realistic expectations of our pilgrimage to Holy Island – but she was the one to undergo
a revelation.

Blessedly, remarkably, the "boys" found exactly what they were looking for. Breathtaking beaches backed by still giant dunes and softly swaying grasses; pretty coastal hamlets with traditional, unpretentious pubs; rockpools and razorbills, castles and cream teas – it was all exactly as they remembered.

Well, not exactly. This stretch of Heritage Coast from Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north to Alnwick and Alnmouth in the south may not have fallen prey to mass development or "boutique chic", but it's not stuck in a timewarp.

Our base for the week was a case in point – a stylish holiday home with cool and contemporary furnishings, available. Thankfully, nary a '70s relic in sight. Just off the A4 on the approach to the Holy Island causeway, it is one of a handful of properties in Bee Hill owned and maintained locally.

We were initially concerned about traffic noise, but needn't have worried; sheltered by a neighbouring wood and with a large garden overlooking green fields, this was a quiet and very handy spot for exploring old haunts.

We felt the pull of Holy Island on our doorstep almost as soon as we arrived.

Accessible by car only at low tide (times for the week handily provided in a chart at the cottage), the approach to the island is a bit of an adventure in itself, along a narrow strip of tarmac across the still damp seabed. The so-called birthplace of Christianity in the UK, this was where St Aidan founded Lindisfarne Priory in AD635, but it was his successor, St Cuthbert, who made it famous – the holy man spread his message far across the North East and attracted a huge following.

The light here is dazzling, the view out to sea from the long strips of deserted beach is so vast and wide that your head starts to ache, and the on-shore breeze that whips through the grand remains of the Priory – it was dissolved in 1537 – is bracing to say the least.

When you've had enough of the elements, explore the accompanying museum run by English Heritage, which gives an insight into the history of Lindisfarne – at times blissfully serene, at others breathtakingly bloody.

There's a small village on the island and a handful of pubs, shops and cafés to meander around, as well as the National Trust-owned Lindisfarne Castle, an Elizabethan fortress turned Edwardian pleasure palace. Heed the warnings and keep an eye on the time though – the sea comes in swift and strong and when it does the village becomes a ghost town.

Of course, a little divine intervention with the weather is necessary on a British seaside holiday and we were gifted sunny blue skies – although the wind was uplifting to more than the spirits. On our one rainy day we walked the ramparts of the fortified town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, about a 15-minute drive from Bee Hill – and the best place to stock up on barbecue supplies.

It's not the twee tourist destination I was expecting. There's plenty of history in evidence in this long fought-over Border town, but don't expect a state-of-the-art visitor centre to guide you through it – this is a working place that you take as you find. Elsewhere, there's plenty to keep you (and your kids) occupied should the heavens put a stop to picnics, walks, and buckets and spades. Bamburgh Castle, on a majestic outcrop lording over a picturesque village and a golden sandy beach, appears as a too-good-to-be-true English scene.

With a toddler in tow we opted simply to walk around its craggy base and sample some carrot cake in a village teashop, but older children can enjoy tales of knights' derring-do and the aviation museum attached to the castle.

Further south along the Heritage Coast Route and you'll come to Seahouses – dismissed by my nostalgic companions as "really tacky".

By today's standards the small harbour resort is anything but. You'll find a couple of tame amusement arcades, some souvenir shops, a great ice cream parlour and a handful of fish and chip takeaways – hardly Blackpool.

It's quaint and cheery and a great place from which to explore the nearby Farne Islands by boat.

This collection of rocky islands is home to more than 100,000 nesting seabirds - including puffins, terns, guillemots, cormorants, kittwakes and eider ducks – as well as Atlantic grey seals.

Most trips from the harbour stop at the National Trust-owned Inner Farne island, where we dodged the guano to enjoy a picnic looking back towards the coastline. Expect to be considered a rare species if you don't come equipped with a giant zoom lens camera or a stellar pair of binoculars. There's a small church on the island and a tiny dwelling where St Cuthbert ended his days as a recluse, but it's the thousands of screeching, dive-bombing birds who claim sanctuary
here now.

Further south again you'll come to the smart market town of Alnwick. Here the castle – which doubles as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films – draws thousands of visitors from all over the world, but it's the neighbouring Alnwick Garden that is the real star attraction.

With an interactive water garden, a bamboo labyrinth, a giant treehouse and mini tractors to drive around this is a fantastic place for kids (bring spare clothes as they will get wet). But it also has plenty to charm adults; we happily spent a day here wandering around the rose garden and savouring a leisurely lunch on the terrace café, overlooking the impressive cascading waterfall.

It's the most-visited paid-for attraction in the region and no wonder. You wouldn't have found such an offering here back in the good old days, that's
for sure.

Within the still stunning, still largely empty landscape there are other signs of a quiet holiday revolution. Leaflets in our cottage told of farm stays and wigwam holidays, guided nature trails and country food stores.

Perhaps the best example of how things can change for the better, with their beauty intact, came as my in-laws bit the bullet and returned to the scene of their summer heydays, Newton-by-the-Sea.

Then it was nothing more than an 18th century inn on a short curve of sheltered sandy beach.

Today it's still nothing much more than an 18th century inn on a short curve of sheltered sandy beach – except the village is car-free and The Ship Inn now offers its own home-brewed real ales and a modern menu of locally caught seafood.

You can still stay here in self-catering cottages attached to the pub and watch the small boats pootling about in the bay, fly kites and mess about in rockpools as the sun shines.

Just make sure you turn your mobile off for the full Northumberland experience.


Northumberland – Fact file

Emily Shelley was a guest of Premier Cottages (www.premiercottages.co.uk), an independent association of four and five-star holiday cottages across Great Britain and Ireland. She stayed at the The Stables at Bee Hill, which sleeps six in three bedrooms.

Prices for Bee Hill Properties in 2008 start from £360 per week (low season) rising to £2,200 (high season).

For reservations, visit www.beehill.co.uk or call 01289 303 425.

For information on what to see and do in the area, including times and entrance fees for attractions, visit www.visitnorthumberland.com