New seafood centre for Northumberland to land shoals of tourists

by Bruce McMichael

Amble Harbour Village in the north-east of England will be officially unveiled on Saturday 28th March as a new seafood centre. It aims to showcase Amble as the new coastal destination for a diverse range of tourists including foodies,  active holiday makers, birdwatchers, walkers, yachting people and families.

 

Northumberland has strong links with the sea. (Photo: John Coupe)

Centred on the town’s seafood industry, Amble Harbour Village consists of a brand new Seafood Centre and 15 wooden retail ‘pods’ located on the newly regenerated harbour and waterfront. This is part of a wider regeneration project for Amble to create a distinctive local seafood offer and tourist experience.

 

Food tourists will find fresh local catches (Photo: John Coupe)

Sarah Dunne, Amble Harbour Village Co-ordinator, said: ‘We want Amble to be recognised as a vibrant, lively, welcoming town that is proud of its social, industrial and maritime heritage. This involves working with local businesses, including the fishing community, food retail outlets and other waterfront and town centre businesses, to ensure the harbour area and marina is fundamental to the visitor experience of Amble.’

The launch will be nautical-themed family event. The Newcastle University Training vessel ‘The Princess Royal’, the Amble inshore lifeboat, and a locally built Skiff will be on display at the harbour. There will be cooking displays and food and drink from Amble.

The Amble Harbour Village Seafood Centre will be opening their doors and two of their seafood brokers will be sharing their plans for the year ahead, featuring aims to put more local fish on local plates including accommodation providers.

Catch Amble on ITV1 ‘More Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green’ today (Monday 2nd March, 8pm) which was filmed last summer.

Bruce McMichael

Food writing, discovering food stories, meeting producers, chefs and food enthusiasts are all part of desire to inspire, inform my readers and fellow food lovers. I am a freelance writer, journalist and published author focusing on the international world of food and drink, culture and travel. In 2019 I graduated from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy with a Masters in Food Culture, Communication and Marketing. I am now a visiting Professor at the university teaching Food & Drink Writing. Based in London I travel widely, particularly across western Europe. I have chaired many conferences and meetings, spoken at conferences and events and often appear on radio and TV talking most about food, the business of food and being an entrepreneur. In 2017 I won an episode of the ITV (the UK-based national television channel) cooking competition show, 'Gordon Ramsay's Culinary Genius'. I took my children on holiday to Sicily with the prize money. As an experienced farmers' market manager and operator of a small marmalade/ preserves company, I am very familiar with the issues surrounding local food, farming, enterprise and the environment.