Pot-a-Doodle Do

Sounding like some weird kind of experiment with a cockerel and a ready meal, Pot-a-doodle do also looks a bit whacky. Imagine if you will, a small collection of wooden wigams sitting on the Northumberland coast; it looks like a geographically misplaced scene from a Western. Now, if you’re up for some cowboys and Indians, let’s get rolling, rolling, rolling… 

Each of the 20 wigwams sleeps up to five people and is powered by an electric hookup, providing heat, light and a small fridge. And when the North Sea decides to teach the land whose boss, you’ll be thankful you’re under something sturdier than canvas. The kids will love them. 

The site is family focused, with supervised activities galore in its creative art centre and cross-country Quad biking for a range of ages. Nearby tidal Holy Island holds many attractions, but make sure you check the tide times in advance to save yourself and your car from a dip in the sea. Lindisfarne Castle, built by the monastic demolition expert Henry VIII, who pillaged stone from the now skeletal local priory, sits atop a volcanic mound at the island’s end and looks imperiously out to sea. You, too, can venture seaward for some ornithologist action on the Farne Islands – one of the UK’s top seabird sanctuaries, colonised by thousands of puffins, divebomber terns and guillemots. It’s probably a good idea to wear a hat for protection. (Preferably not of the cowboy variety).