Alnmouth Area

Northumberland is "England's finest county", according to Sunday Times food critic, AA Gill (Feb 2010).  Stretching from Newcastle of the River Tyne to the Scottish borders at Berwick and encompassing the Roman Wall, a National Park, Keilder Water, the Cheviot Hills and the Northumberland Heritage Coast, it certainly has a lot going for it.

BELOW: View across the River Aln estuary from the end of Alnmouth's main street.

Yet despite its abundance of riches Northumberland remains largely off the main tourist map and is therefore unspoilt, peaceful and not congested with traffic.  The picturesque stone market town of Alnwick, with its increasingly popular Alnwick Castle Garden and Treehouse, is the closest you will get to a tourist hot spot.  Otherwise, it is not unusual to find yourself the only ones on a beautiful stretch of pristine sandy beach in the middle of July or August.  The sheer size of the place means that it can absorb all the walkers, cyclists, fishermen, sailors and surfers who have discovered its charms and still appear uncluttered.

Just North of Alnwick, Bamburgh Castle was voted runner up to the Lakes in a BBC pole to find Britains favourite view.  In fact Northumberland boasts more castles than any other English county.

Anyone who has travelled on the east coast main line between Newcastle and Edinburgh cannot have failed to notice that for the 50 miles between Berwick and Morpeth the train hugs one of the most spectacular stretches of coastline in the UK.  The main feature of the Northumberland coastal region are the fine sandy beaches reaching back into often huge sand dunes.

There are a few private hotels but most holiday accommodation in Northumberland is in B&Bs or self catering cottages.