Out in the County

Alnwick sits a few miles inland from one of England's emptiest coasts and below the edge of the Cheviot hills, which makes it a natural base rather than a single destination. Within an hour's drive lie more castles than any other English county holds, beaches that run for miles without a building, islands reached by tide table and boat, and walking country from riverside parkland to open moor. This section maps what the days out of town look like.

The pattern of a stay here is a fixed bed and moving days: breakfast in town, a morning drive, an afternoon on a beach or a castle wall, dinner back where the boots were left. The density is unusual even by English standards, a consequence of border history and protected coast.

The castle circuit

Northumberland's castles are the county's signature, and Alnwick sits at the centre of a circuit of them: Bamburgh on its coastal rock, Dunstanburgh ruined on its headland, Warkworth above the Coquet, Chillingham and Lindisfarne further north. The castle guide orders them by day and character.

The coast and the islands

Beaches here are long, sandy and largely empty even in summer, backed by dunes rather than promenades. Offshore, the Farne Islands take boat trips from Seahouses for seabirds and seals, and Holy Island waits behind its tidal causeway. The coast guide covers the villages, the tides and the boats.

The walking country

Walks begin inside the town at Hulne Park, the walled demesne behind the castle, and extend to Iron Age hillforts in the Cheviots, the Northumberland Coast Path and St Oswald's Way, which links Holy Island to Hadrian's Wall. The walks guide sorts them by effort and starting point.

How many days does the county need?

A weekend covers the highlights: one castle day, one coast day. A week lets the county unfold properly, with a Farne Islands boat trip fitted to the weather and a Cheviot walk fitted to the legs. The distances are short, which is the point: nowhere in this section is more than forty minutes from the market place, so the day trip returns to the same table for dinner.

Getting around

A car helps for the county days, though Alnmouth station, four miles away, puts Newcastle within half an hour and Edinburgh within the hour for city day trips. The town itself needs no car at all, as the in-town guide makes plain, and where to sleep between the days out is covered in Staying in Alnwick.