Is This One of Northumberland’s Best Brit Stops?
The best? Well, that’s a big statement, and one we aren’t ready to commit to just yet. But one thing we can say is, when looking for a Brit Stop in Northumberland, The Redesdale Arms really did stand out to us… and here’s why.
The Redesdale Arms is located on the A68, just north of Otterburn. Ok, so what does this actually mean for you fellow travellers?
Well, it puts you about 31 miles from Bamburgh Castle and Beach, and around 45 to 50 miles from Holy Island / Lindisfarne
It's not called the First & Last for nothing
The Redesdale Arms is known as the First and Last because of its location. It sits just 12 miles south of the English / Scottish border and was the first inn in England for travellers coming south from Scotland.
The oldest part of the building is more than 600 years old and began life as a bastle house, a fortified dwelling in an area known as The Debatable Lands.
So, why the name Debatable Lands?
Well, put simply, the English and Scottish couldn’t agree on who actually owned the land… hence the name Debatable Lands.
Makes sense really. If you can’t agree who owns it, just call it debatable and move on. 😂
Back to the Review...
As with all Brit Stops, it’s always better to call ahead, and since it’s silly season, we called about two weeks before.
The lovely lady took our names, registration plate “always cringe reading this out” 😬 and that was it, we were booked in.
We’ve got into the habit of using Google Earth before booking Brit Stops. It gives us a chance to have a little recce of the area before we book, so we at least have some idea what we’re getting ourselves into.
❝One thing that did worry us a little was just how busy the A68 was.❞
And, sure enough, when we arrived, we realised it wasn’t just the A68 that was busy. The pub was heaving too. The outside seating area was full, and the car park we’d been told to use had just enough space for us to get parked.
I think if we’d arrived any earlier, we might not have got parked up. Thankfully, we arrived around 7pm, so people were starting to leave.
Food, Facilities & Everything In Between
After checking in, we did what we always do and ordered a pint of Guinness and glasses of medium white.
We sat in silence watching the sunset over the Rede Valley, with the only noise coming from the occasional slurp.
We watched as the staff carried out dish after dish, and every time another plate went past, Anna came out with the same noise…
“Hmmm… Yummm… that looks nice!”
By the fifth plate, I think we’d decided we couldn’t watch any longer, so we placed our order.
Anna-Caesar Salad
Crisp lettuce, homemade croutons, Parmesan shavings topped with hot chicken, bacon and dressed with a classic Caesar dressing. £14.95
Gaz-BBQ Chicken Burger
Battered chicken breast, bacon, crisp cos lettuce and a sticky BBQ sauce in a soft brioche roll. Hand-cut chips, homemade coleslaw, and mixed salad on the side. £17.95
The facilities were pretty much what you’d expect from a country pub that finished 3rd in the tourism awards. The toilets were clean and passed the sniff test, while the bar had two areas, one for playing pool or darts and the other for eating.
Did we sleep or did the road keep us awake?
After a long day at work and two and a half hours driving, we were looking forward to getting settled for the evening. With our bellies full, we turned in around 21:30. By this time, the car park had emptied and we were the only Brit Stoppers staying the night.
We’d be lying if we said you couldn’t hear the traffic, because you can, but it did quieten down around 11pm and we nodded off to the sound of barn owls in the distance.
As the sun began to break, the road came to life with the occasional lorry. Our alarm clock, though, wasn’t the lorries… it was a huntsman’s dog pissing up the side of the motorhome. 😂
Turns out farmers and grouse shooters gather at the crack of dawn on Saturdays… unless this was a one off, of course.
This isn’t a negative in any way, although we’d rather the dog had chosen somewhere else to piss, but I guess when you need to go, you need to go.
Earwigging whilst peering out of the motorhome window was actually quite nice, listening to stories of bush beating and the countryside banter bouncing back and forth between them.
Although, it must be said… their banter was shocking. 😂
So, would we recommend The Redesdale Arms?
We’d absolutely recommend The Redesdale Arms for your motorhome Brit Stop. The location is perfect, depending on where you’re coming from, putting you around an hour or so away from attractions such as Bamburgh Castle and the Holy Island.
The food was your traditional pub food on steroids, and I suppose our only concern would be the traffic. But we aren’t that picky when it comes to overnight stops. It’s not like we’re staying for the week.
As always, you get what you pay for, and that’s exactly what we got.
So, all in all, we’re very pleased with this one and would definitely recommend it.
Ok, but what can we actually do around here?
Here’s everything you need to know before booking.
Located just 12 miles from the England Scotland Border, this is the original First and Last Inn on the A68.
It's a great stop-off point where you can sit back and admire the wonderful scenery. On a sunny day, sit outside and watch and listen to the wildlife.
When the night draws in, you can gaze at the stars on a clear night as the site is in the middle of the Dark Sky Park.
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