Northumberland Self-Guided Walking Tour 2024

You’re welcome to check in from 4pm onwards. 

Accommodation: Nether Grange (D)

Check out the Discovery Point Library at the country house – stocked with maps, walks and local area information. 

For stays of 3 nights, you will have 2 days at your choice.

For stays of 4 nights, you will have 3 days at your choice.

For stays of 7 nights, you will have 6 days at your choice.

Accommodation: Nether Grange (B, L, D)

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before making your way home. (B)

Our easiest routes, allowing plenty of time to savour the coastline and countryside. All our walk notes suggest the best places to stop, great pubs, and tea rooms.

• Dunstanburgh Castle – 3 miles
• Along the beach to Bamburgh Castle – 4 miles
• Exploring Holy Island – 4 miles
• Around Alnmouth – 4 miles

Some longer walks, generally on good paths. Experience the beauty of the Northumberland coast and countryside as you walk through stunning scenery.

• Alnwick & Brizlee Tower – 5 miles
• Beadnell to Bamburgh – 6 miles
• Alnmouth to Warkworth – 6 miles
• Craster to Alnmouth – 7 miles

For those who enjoy striding out. These walks include some longer routes along the coast, as well as some heading inland – to the hills.

• Alnmouth to Alnwick – 8 miles
• Along the Aln Valley – 8 miles
• Alnwick Castle & Hulne Park – 10 miles
• Dunstanburgh Castle to Alnmouth – 10 miles
• Rothbury & Simonside Hills – 11 miles

Nether Grange sits right at the heart of the historic coastal village of Alnmouth. Located right on the North Sea coast there is a sweeping sandy beach and a small tidal harbour. Facilities include a handful of small shops, pubs and cafés.
A wider range of facilities, including shops, supermarkets, banks and chemists can be found in Alnwick, the nearest town. Alnwick is about four miles inland and is connected to Alnmouth by regular buses.

The huge Norman Alnwick Castle is a big attraction and has gained increased interest since being used as
‘Hogwarts Castle’ in the Harry Potter films and as Brancaster Castle in two Downton Abbey Christmas specials. It was also used as a location in the first series of Blackadder. The castle has been home to the Percy family for over 700 years and today is home to Ralph Percy, the 12th Duke of Norhtumberland. Alnwick is just 10 to 15 minutes’ drive from Alnmouth, and can also be reached using the hourly X18 bus.

The Alnwick Garden has been created by the current Duchess of Northumberland. The gardens have the
largest collection of European plants in the UK and the largest Japanese Cherry Orchard in the World. There are water features, sculptures and a small Poison Garden filled exclusively with toxic, intoxicating and narcotic plants (open for guided tours only!). There is also a bamboo labyrinth, large rose garden and a treehouse where you can eat refreshments 18 metres above the ground!

Owned by the Armstrong family since the 1750s, Bamburgh Castle occupies a splendid position above the
sweeping sands of the North Sea coast. Bamburgh is 35 minutes’ drive from Alnmouth, and can also be
reached using the 501 local bus which runs every other hour.

Take a boat trip (weather permitting) from Seahouses to the Farne Islands; one of the best places in Britain to view seals and puffins. Seahouses is around 45 minutes’ drive from Alnmouth, and can also be reached using the 501 bus.

English Christianity was born in 7th century Northumberland and Lindisfarne Priory is its oldest major site, dating from 635AD. It is located on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, cut off by the tides twice a day (make sure that you check the tide times before you visit). The Heritage Centre tells the stories of St Aidan, St Cuthbert and St Bede and displays the 8th century Lindisfarne Gospels in electronic form. Holy Island is set in the heart of the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve – an internationally important area for migratory waterfowl; visit in autumn or winter to see them in large numbers. Lindisfarne is just under an hour’s drive from Alnmouth.

Warkworth Castle, a few miles to the south of Alnmouth, towers over a bend in the River Coquet and the
picturesque town of Warkworth. Warkworth is just 10 minutes’ drive from Alnmouth, and can also be reached using the 518 bus.

Built by Victorian industrial magnate William Armstrong, Cragside House was hugely innovative and was the first house in Britain to be lit by electric light. Now managed by the National Trust, the house and gardens are a fascinating visit. Cragside is around 40 minutes’ drive from Alnmouth.

Seaton Delaval Hall is a fine stately home, designed by John Vambrugh and completed in 1728. Following an extensive fundraising appeal it was purchased by the National Trust. The hall is around 40 minutes’ drive from Alnmouth.

Around 1½ hours drive from Nether Grange, Hadrian’s Wall remains a powerful symbol of the Roman Empire. The most dramatic section is from Once Brewed to Housteads Roman Fort and a walk here enables you to see some of the best-preserved sections at close quarters. Two museums of note are the Roman Army Museum near Walltown where you can gain an insight into the daily lives of Roman soldiers, and Vindolanda Roman Fort with its collection of rare Roman artefacts.

Edinburgh is very accessible for a day trip. Catch the train from nearby Alnmouth station for the scenic 1-hour journey to the Scottish capital. You’ll arrive in the heart of the city centre with numerous museums, shops and galleries, plus the famous castle all within easy walking distance.

Barter Books has been dubbed the British Library of secondhand bookshops and is located in a handsome old Victorian railway station in Alnwick.

The vibrant city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is always bustling with activity and is famed for its shopping and lively nightlife. The new Baltic Arts Centre and the Sage Gallery in nearby Gateshead are well worth a visit. Newcastle is just under an hour’s drive from Alnmouth, and can also be reached by hourly local bus.