Northumberland Coast Path : Warkworth to Beadnell

Walking Craster to Beadnell

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Northumberland Sheep Photo - Northumberland, England

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Beyond our pit stop at the Ship Inn at Low Newton by the Sea, we wandered on towards our destination for the day, Beadnell by wandering along the wide expanse of Beadnell Bay.We were lucky enough to catch the rather curved bay at low tide in the late afternoon sun, with a threatening storm meaning the light was particularly dramatic. Although sand, beaches and bay feature heavily in the Northumberland Coast Path the nice thing about the changeable weather and the different times of day we hit the beach meant that each experience was distinctive and different. This particular beach is home to the UK's largest colony of Arctic Tern, which perhaps gives you some idea o...Read More

Beyond our pit stop at the Ship Inn at Low Newton by the Sea, we wandered on towards our destination for the day, Beadnell by wandering along the wide expanse of Beadnell Bay.

We were lucky enough to catch the rather curved bay at low tide in the late afternoon sun, with a threatening storm meaning the light was particularly dramatic.

Although sand, beaches and bay feature heavily in the Northumberland Coast Path the nice thing about the changeable weather and the different times of day we hit the beach meant that each experience was distinctive and different.

This particular beach is home to the UK's largest colony of Arctic Tern, which perhaps gives you some idea of the strength and warmth of the wind on the beach.

Beadnell looked inviting as we came closer towards it, with a ruined structure right on the end of the bay. As we hit the town, we had the choice of joining the road, or walking amongst the boats in the harbour, stranded on the low tide. It was really rather strange to get a perspective of these little fishing and pleasure boats stranded away from the sea.

I took care to pick my way around the thick ropes at anchor lying on top of the sand; ridiculous really but I half imagined if I tripped I might pull the boat from its moorings and the owner would arrive at the harbour the next morning to see his boat far off on the horizon. Also, at this perspective the sheer strength and bulk of the harbour wall was truly visible. Who knows how many waves and storms these blocks of stone and (ahem) concrete have repelled.

The ruins at the end of the harbour were ruined old lime kilns dating from the early Industrial Revolution in the mid 1700’s; later its proximity to the harbour meant the kilns were a natural choice for smoking herrings. We lingered at the public benches in front of the kilns watching the fishermen, drinking the last of our water and appreciating that another stage of our Northumberland Coast Path Trail had been completed.
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Alnmouth to Embleton - the Northumberland Coast Path

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Tractor by the Sea Photo - Northumberland, England

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From Alnmouth, the Northumberland Coast Walk took us past some of my favourite and most familiar parts of the region through the little fishing village of Boulmer (where the public toilet graffiti offers you the distinctly dubious opportunity to meet "Susan" on selected afternoons!) and past my favourite town of Craster, which I write about in another journal. This area really is a beautiful bit of Northumberland coast, and we cheered up as the somewhat changeable weather improved as we wandered on. It goes without saying for most places, but as most of Northumberland's attractions are outdoors ones, the weather can play a large part in ensuring a successful and memorable vacation. One i...Read More

From Alnmouth, the Northumberland Coast Walk took us past some of my favourite and most familiar parts of the region through the little fishing village of Boulmer (where the public toilet graffiti offers you the distinctly dubious opportunity to meet "Susan" on selected afternoons!) and past my favourite town of Craster, which I write about in another journal.

This area really is a beautiful bit of Northumberland coast, and we cheered up as the somewhat changeable weather improved as we wandered on. It goes without saying for most places, but as most of Northumberland's attractions are outdoors ones, the weather can play a large part in ensuring a successful and memorable vacation. One interesting part is that the shoreline along this stretch is a steady mix of sand and rocky meaning you get a pleasant amount of variation.

My favourite bit of dramatic shoreline is just beyond Craster at Dunstanburgh Castle, where the place is so windswept the waves often produce great swathes of foam and the coastline always threatens. I love the power of this little stretch of coast, with the remains of the castle appears to suggest that the strength of the waves and the inclement weather won.

The ruins are the remains of a building produced in the early 1300s, and the Castle didn't have a long life as after the war of the roses in the 1460s it was left to slowly decline while it's stone was stolen for other more worthy projects. I love the thought that in World War II, Italian prisoners of war were stationed at Dunstanburgh Castle and tried to produce their own Italian herb gardens in the shelter of the castle wars. Those sun loving Italians must have felt they had come to the end of the world.

Bizarrely just beyond this rocky vista is one of Northumberland's widest and longest bays at Embleton. This is the place to fly your kite or just run in the sand, and it is directly accessible from the car park at Low Newton by the Sea. The fantastic pub, the Ship housed in a former fisherman's cottage (or three) brews its own beer and makes for the perfect end to any day. Just make sure you book in advance for evening dinner.
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The Schooner Hotel

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Hotel | "The Schooner Inn Alnmouth"

The Schooner Inn Alnmouth Photo - The Schooner Hotel, Alnmouth, Northumberland

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To celebrate the near end of our long day's hike, we decided to risk cramp and stopped for a drink in one of Alnmouth's oldest pubs, the Schooner Inn which dates from the 1600s.The pub is one of those (many) buildings described as "Britain's most haunted". As I already live in a house occupied by an occasionally seen but friendly spirit, I'm not terribly excited by such things but as the pub was almost on route it seemed a sensible place to stop. While I wasn't looking for them, it is true that we found some horrible apparitions in the beer garden to the front of the pub. Alas, rather than it be some kind of echo from the past it was some of Britain's "finest" apparently finish...Read More

To celebrate the near end of our long day's hike, we decided to risk cramp and stopped for a drink in one of Alnmouth's oldest pubs, the Schooner Inn which dates from the 1600s.

The pub is one of those (many) buildings described as "Britain's most haunted". As I already live in a house occupied by an occasionally seen but friendly spirit, I'm not terribly excited by such things but as the pub was almost on route it seemed a sensible place to stop.

While I wasn't looking for them, it is true that we found some horrible apparitions in the beer garden to the front of the pub. Alas, rather than it be some kind of echo from the past it was some of Britain's "finest" apparently finishing off from a wild party the evening previously.

I'm certainly no prude and have probably been in similar situations myself, but the language and "joke" songs blaring from their iplayer were deeply inappropriate considering there were other parties in the beer garden. I felt particularly sorry for a quiet party of grandparents with two pre teen kids trying to enjoy their meal in the beer garden.

The inside of the pub was undergoing extensive renovation so to be fair we didn't see the place at its best. There is a large conservatory which to me was too hot to sit in, and the bar area was half stripped of wall paper. From the outside it seemed there was a considerable portion of the huge hotel unused these days, and the end part of the hotel looked almost like it was falling into disrepair.

While I can forgive the decor, service at the bar also didn't impress as the bar staff got our simple order for a lager shandy wrong by starting with beer and topping it with lemonade creating a frothy mess. In the end my beloved ended up with a drink that was 90% beer rather than half and half as there was no offer for them to attempt to make the drink again. To the credit of the Schooner Inn I do have to say the food looked plentiful, and the children's portion meal were large enough even for an adult to have leftovers. The menu includes a full curry menu, although I am not sure how traditional the food might be or whether it is cooked by Asian chefs.

While we might have simply caught the Schooner Inn on a bad day we were distinctly underwhelmed by the clientele, the service and the decor. It's not a place I would return to in a hurry.
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Member Rating 1 out of 5 on June 23, 2012

The Schooner Hotel
8 Northumberland Street
Alnmouth, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 2RS
01665 830216

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Taking a trip to Alnmouth

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Northumberland Coast Path Photo - Northumberland, England

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The Northumberland Coast Path has some annoyed but necessary detours away from the coast because of a number of river estuaries in Northumberland. The most annoying one is just south of Alnmouth. Perhaps it was because we were towards the end of a 15 mile section, but it seemed particularly frustrating that we could almost touch the town about 3 miles before we entered it; blocking our way the muddy estuary with the meandering River Aln snaking through it. Although the crossing between the path and the town is narrow, we were warned that an attempt to cross the muddy estuary on foot could end in disaster, and so were forced to take the 3-4 mile detour around to the first bridge into the ...Read More

The Northumberland Coast Path has some annoyed but necessary detours away from the coast because of a number of river estuaries in Northumberland. The most annoying one is just south of Alnmouth. Perhaps it was because we were towards the end of a 15 mile section, but it seemed particularly frustrating that we could almost touch the town about 3 miles before we entered it; blocking our way the muddy estuary with the meandering River Aln snaking through it.

Although the crossing between the path and the town is narrow, we were warned that an attempt to cross the muddy estuary on foot could end in disaster, and so were forced to take the 3-4 mile detour around to the first bridge into the town.

Still, the walk wasn't as grim as it might be as the path doesn't run directly along the road for too long a distance. The route takes you along a heavily hedge shielded route alongside the road and then through fields with the mud flats and that tantalizing view of Alnmouth clearly in view for much of the trip.

Alnmouth was once Northumberland major port and today is home to a number of grand and important buildings once used for storing goods being imported and exported. We also hiked (staggered) past a deserted muddy hill topped by a cross, which gives some idea of what living on a mud flat must be like. This hill was the site of the town church until a storm in the early 1800s diverted the route of the river to cut the parish church off from the rest of the town and resultantly being abandoned.

The town doesn't have much luck as the French and the Americans have both fought battles over the place. The French actually took it over for a period in the late 1500s and during the American War of Independence, John Paul Jones warship took a pop at the church spire (but missed).

When we finally arrived at Alnmouth it turned out to be a handsome town and fairly lively. There are plenty of places to eat and drink and rest your feet a while.

Alnmouth is around 4 miles from its more famous big brother Alnwick with its famous castle (used for filming Harry Potter amongst others). This is as close the Northumberland Coast Path gets to Alnwick, and if you haven't been to Northumberland before you might want to add a little detour to fit the town in.
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Walking to Warkworth!

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Warkworth Northumberland Photo - Northumberland, England

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After completing our amble to Amble in Northumberland, it seemed only appropriate to walk to Warkworth continuing the route set by the Northumberland Coast Path. The walk between the two towns isn't particularly memorable and largely consists of following a path along the road.As we approached Warkworth the huge square block of stone that is the Castle on top of an outcrop above the town started to loom large. Featured in some scenes of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Warkworth is best known for its castle. Built in around 1150, the castle was strengthened over the next 300 years to defend the area against Scottish invasion, and because the Kings of the age liked to stay there from time to time. ...Read More

After completing our amble to Amble in Northumberland, it seemed only appropriate to walk to Warkworth continuing the route set by the Northumberland Coast Path. The walk between the two towns isn't particularly memorable and largely consists of following a path along the road.

As we approached Warkworth the huge square block of stone that is the Castle on top of an outcrop above the town started to loom large. Featured in some scenes of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Warkworth is best known for its castle. Built in around 1150, the castle was strengthened over the next 300 years to defend the area against Scottish invasion, and because the Kings of the age liked to stay there from time to time.

Obviously, such a place was a status symbol for the owners at the time.

As the Scottish threat receded, Warkworth Castle lost its importance and focus settled upon maintaining nearby Alnwick Castle, and bits and pieces; lead and stone were stripped and sold over the years leaving much of the castle as a fairly intact ruin. This is what you see today and you can visit the inside of the Castle if you wish. The castle is on an imposing bend at the top of the hill with the town centre located on a steep slope leading down to the river.

While the castle alone is good reason enough for visiting Warkworth the town is more than this, as it as a pretty place with its solid stone built town centre and pretty historic bridge and the Coquet River.

We enjoyed wandering along the high street browsing in the shop windows. The town couldn't be described as large in any terms, but my beloved was soon drawn to a nice shop selling women's accessories. Thankfully as this was a hiking trip she couldn't afford to carry the weight of a reasonably priced and nicely finished suede handbag, and so for once her hand stayed in her pocket.

A little further down the street it was my turn to have to be firm as I saw probably one of the most enticing cake shops in the country with huge wedges of lemon cheesecake in the window. However, we were not walking the Northumberland Coastal trail for me to gain weight!

The sight of the cake made me feel hungry and yearn for my sandwiches and we soon spotted a place to catch the bank of the River Coquet for lunch. This was a nice spot with a view of the historic bridge and an Egret doing its fishing bit while standing on one leg.

We only needed to spot a playful otter for our country scene to feel complete.

Just upstream was the historic bridge across the water which allowed the route of the Northumberland Coast Path continue on to its next destination, Alnmouth.

While we had the foresight to take a pre-prepared lunch, Warkworth has a number of pubs and cafes to choose for food if you prefer; likewise sandwiches can be bought at a local bakers in the town.
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