The Northumberland cottage built by a PM with a year-long waiting list

It sleeps six, has no spa and no concierge.

What it has is possibly the most dramatic position of any holiday rental in England, a history involving a Prime Minister and a pot of tea, and a view from the bedroom windows that sells the place instantly.

The Howick Bathing House is quietly becoming one of the most coveted stays in the country.

The cliff edge nobody was supposed to know about

The Bathing House stands on the clifftop above the rocky cove of Rumbling Kern, a name that captures what happens when North Sea waves surge into the steep-sided chasms in the rock face below and bellow a deep, thunderous noise.

The cove is south of Cullernose Point near Howick, sheltered behind small cliffs that face inland from the sea, and it was once a favoured drop-off point for whisky smugglers working the Northumberland coast.

It is the kind of place you would not find unless you are looking for it.

From the house, the view north takes in the majestic ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle on the horizon. South, on a clear day, you can see Coquet Island.

The surrounding coastline is designated both an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with 100 miles of protected coast running from Berwick in the north to the mouth of the River Coquet in the south.

The Prime Minister who built it for his children

The Bathing House was built in the early 19th century by Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey – Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834, the man after whom Earl Grey tea is named.

His ancestral home, Howick Hall, sits a short distance inland and has been in the Grey family since 1319.

Grey had 15 children with his wife Mary, and having been deeply unhappy at school himself, he educated them all at home at Howick.

Sea bathing was fashionable among the Georgian aristocracy, and Rumbling Kern was the family’s favoured spot on the coastline, so the Earl built them a house there. He then had two rock-cut pools constructed on the foreshore below the building, with a channel carved into the rock to feed the pools with fresh seawater at each tide.

A second pool was given a rock-cut seating area and metal hooks to erect a canopy.

The design of the house was considered. A large upstairs sitting room – now the master bedroom – was positioned specifically so that Lady Grey could sit and watch the children bathing in the pools below while the caretaker, who lived on the ground floor, served tea.

The upper room commands the entire seascape.

Both the Bathing House and the rock-cut steps leading to the pools are Grade II listed structures, protected for their historical and architectural importance.

What the house looks like today

The building is managed by Howick Trustees Ltd, the charitable trust that also owns Howick Hall, and lets exclusively through Howick Holiday Cottages.

It sleeps six across three bedrooms. The master bedroom occupies what was Lady Grey’s upstairs sitting room, with a super-king bed and a view directly out to sea over the rocks.

The second bedroom looks along the coast towards Dunstanburgh Castle.

The third has two single beds and views south towards Coquet Island.

The interior has been sympathetically renovated. Large original sash windows flood the rooms with light.

An open-plan kitchen, dining room and lounge occupy the ground floor, with a large country table, ample seating and a log-burning stove set within an inglenook fireplace.

Oil central heating, Wi-fi and a private grassed terrace garden are included, along with a private drive and parking for two or three cars.

Two well-behaved dogs are welcome at a supplement of £25 per dog per week. Guests receive a free pass to Howick Hall Gardens and its 65 acres of gardens.

Reviewers describe it simply. “A fabulous house to stay in, above all for its magnificent location so near the sea,” wrote one couple in October 2025.

“Inside it’s warm and cosy even in strong winds and rain.”

Why the waiting list keeps growing

The Bathing House is bookable only by approaching Howick Holiday Cottages directly, and it is currently taking bookings for 2028.

On social media, photographs of the building – its white walls against grey sea, the rock pools below, the castle on the horizon – circulate constantly, drawing fresh attention each time.

Facebook groups devoted to Northumberland history and photography return to it repeatedly, each post generating hundreds of responses from people saying they have been trying to book for years.

It is also on one of the finest walking routes in England.

The Northumberland Coast Path passes within metres of the house, and the walk south along the cliff to Craster – home of Robson’s smokehouse and the world-famous kipper – and then on to the ruined towers of Dunstanburgh Castle is considered one of the great short coastal walks in Britain.

The Coast and Castles cycle route passes nearby too.

The result is a rare combination: a genuinely historic building, an irreplaceable setting, and a letting policy that keeps supply fixed at precisely one property.

There is nothing else like it on the Northumberland coast, and an increasing number of people know it.

How to book

Enquiries for the Bathing House are handled by Howick Holiday Cottages at howickholidaycottages.co.uk with a one week stay in April 2027 setting you back more than £2,500.

The site notes that bookings for 2028 are now open.

Occasional cancellations are announced via the Howick Holiday Cottages Instagram account, where rare short-break availability is sometimes released at short notice.