Earlier this week, a Northumberland village was named as one of Airbnb's trending seaside resorts in the UK.
However, it wasn't the UK's favourite seaside destination of Bamburgh. It wasn't even one of 2022's top staycation destinations and coolest postcodes to move to in the UK, Beadnell.
It was much further south than either of those, and it may have raised a few eyebrows for anyone who hasn't visited recently: Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. Ranked in the top 5% of the most deprived areas in the UK in the 80s, it's no accident that it's now made it onto Airbnb's list, having had a number of investments to reverse the village's decline since then, with tourism now being a key part of its economy.
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When it comes to attractions, the village is probably best-known for the Couple Statue, which stands atop the breakwater protecting the beach. The statue has divided opinion since its installation in 2007, though the village does have a number of things to do that have gone far more under the radar.
Newbiggin Maritime Centre shows off the proud history of the fishing village and houses the Mary Joicey boat, which was saved from a parking lot in Berkshire and what the centre was originally built around. And until October, it has an L.S. Lowry oil painting of the village, on loan from a private collection.
There's also the restored Rocket House, the second oldest in the country, and several independent shops including butchers, bakers and gift shops after investments from Mary Portas and Northumberland County Council in the early 2010s. Walkers and cyclists can also base themselves in the village for the England Coastal Path or to get to nearby Woodhorn Museum.
Having the only south-facing bay in Northumberland means that on a clear day from Newbiggin's promenade, you can see down to Souter Lighthouse in Marsden with binoculars. Move a little to the right and you'll spot Penshaw Monument.
Sheila Harrison, who moved to the village in 1972, has volunteered with Newbiggin Heritage Partnership for the past 15 years. She said: "Newbiggin has an amazing geographic position, a fascinating past, resilient people with a passion to have a better future for their families and village. It was almost 50 years ago that I moved here and I just knew then I would never move because I loved the people.
"Even now, you walk along the prom and everybody speaks to you. They're passionate about the place, they love its history."
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Though it's been branded as a top trending staycation destination, many who come to Newbiggin come from within Northumberland for the day. Kristine, who had travelled from nearby Ashington to play on the beach with her four-year-old daughter, said: "We don't come every week, but it's nice to come here now and then. We like the playground and it's got good free parking- and it's quite close to where I live!"
Karen Hogg discovered the village during the Coronavirus pandemic, having retired on the day the UK was plunged into lockdown. Then, she visited Newbiggin from Blyth because it was quiet but has continued her visits with a friend Heather, and says she'd buy a house there if she won the lottery.
She said: "The people are just so friendly, it's one of the friendliest places you can go to. It's lovely that everybody speaks to you when you're here.
However, as you'd expect from a place that had been named an Airbnb trending destination, some visitors are coming from further away for their staycations. Alan, who was building sandcastles on the beach with his two daughters aged nine and six, had travelled up from Lincoln for the week and said: "I love Northumberland but Newbiggin wasn't somewhere that we'd seen before until we got a last minute booking.
"Since we arrived we've learned it's on the up and we have really liked it. We spent a couple of days here and did a day at the beach at the top which is quieter and today we've come down here - it's nice having the town so close.
"We also have been to Alnwick Garden and down to the Life Centre at Newcastle to keep the kids entertained, so it's a good base too."
Despite being crowned as a so-called trending destination, Newbiggin doesn't seem to have the bustle of Seahouses or Tynemouth. When I visited, the weather was overcast and quite cool, but I was surprised to see just a handful of people on the beach during the first week of the summer holidays.
The beach has had a lot of work since a huge storm in 1992. Coastal erosion meant that defences have been put up, such as the breakwater that The Couple Statue stands on, while the beach is made with sand imported from Skegness that was 'blasted' to where it sits now from an oil tanker.
Wayne Rigg believes that the beach has "a lot of potential" and has set up Newbiggin Surf Company, which is said to be bringing younger people to the town. Wayne has lived in the village since 2011 and says that current residents are living through the town's improvement.
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He said: "The beach at Newbiggin has so much potential but there's often no-one on it. Newbiggin shouldn't be left behind when you have got Amble, Tynemouth, Whitley Bay and Cullercoats - we should be rivalling all those places and there's no reason we can't."
Wayne says that the Newbiggin Surf Company has had a "great reception" since it started earlier this year, and some people have even told him that it's one of the reasons why the beach is getting busy again. He added: "The bay is sheltered and you've got the breakwater so you can't just drift out into the open sea - it's a good place!"
Despite Newbiggin being "on the up," Sheila Harrison is worried that it has become a "victim of its own success." One big change in the area in recent years is house prices, with one house on Seaton Avenue's that sold for 26,000 in 1998 and £55,000 in August 2020 selling for £132,500 in November 2021, an increase of 141% in value.
Another terraced house with a view of the bay's value increased from £180,000 to £332,000 over a three year period from May 2018 to September 2021. The increase in prices and lack of jobs means that young families in the area now find it much harder to get a foothold on the property ladder.
The conversion of properties into Airbnbs could push up house prices even more and Sheila hopes that it does not lead to the town becoming 'saturated' with holiday lets, as has happened on other parts of the Northumberland Coast. She continued: "Airbnbs mean we have a vibrant high street and people spend their money, but basically that's it.
"A lot of visitors are keen to see Newbiggin but quite a lot also use them as a base to see other parts of Northumberland. And I think because Beadnell is saturated they're coming further south because further north you just can't buy properties to be Airbnbs - and that's what's forcing the prices up, as well as people wanting to live here.
"And then of course there's the parking, back lanes aren't used to having these cars. So it has got its problems, but as I say we want people to visit Newbiggin and spend their money."
Have you visited Newbiggin-by-the-Sea? What did you think? Let us know!
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