📌 Alnwick, Northumberland
★★★
A network of riverside footpaths link busy Alnmouth to its coastal outpost at Alnmouth. This one-way route first crosses the old hunting grounds for Alnwick Castle – with the castle itself prominent across the river – then passes through farmland and patches of woodland en route to Lesbury. Beyond this quiet village, the river turns tidal and the wildlife changes, before a final short, steep ascent to a trig pillar overlooking the wonderful expanse of Alnmouth Bay.
Market Street, Alnwick 
River Aln at Lion Bridge 
Lion Bridge 
Alnwick Castle across the river 
Footbridge beyond the A1 underpass 
Alnwick bypass (A1) 
A1068 near Alndyke 
Rejoining the River Aln beyond Alndyke 
Footbridge over Cawledge Burn 
Stepping stones near Old Hawkhill (don’t cross) 
East Coast Main Line viaduct near Lesbury 
Lesbury 
Tidal section of river downstream of Lesbury 
Looking back upstream on the approach to Alnmouth 
48-metre trig point overlooking Alnmouth 
Alnmouth Bay ahead 
Alnmouth Bay 
Alnmouth
🌍 Location
📌 Start at Alnwick Bus Station, Market Street (B6341), Alnwick town centre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NU 185133
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.412878,-1.709202
🏁 Finish on B1338, north side of Alnmouth
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NU 245108
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.390711,-1.615080
🚌 Bus to Alnwick (walk start), & from Alnmouth (walk finish)
🚗 Street parking (walk finish) – take the bus to the start (check times in advance)
📝 Key info
▶ 14 km / 9 mi | ▲ 130 m | ⌛ 3.5-4 hr | ⚠️ Linear route
Features: 🏠 Alnwick ★★★ & town sights; 💧 River Aln; 🏖️ Alnmouth Bay ★★★; 🏠 Alnmouth
⬤ Moderate | Mostly straightforward riverside paths & tracks, some roadside pavement sections. Paths around & beyond Lesbury are a bit rougher with one very wet section by the tidal Aln (avoidable by using parallel path further to left, further away from river, then cutting back) & a steep ascent on approach to the trig point overlooking Alnmouth.
Download file for GPS➡️ Eastbound linear walk: start – Alnwick & town sights – Lion Bridge – follow north bank of River Aln to footbridge just beyond A1 underpass – Lough House – Alndyke via A1068 – Lesbury via south bank of River Aln – switch to north bank at Lesbury – 48-metre trig point overlooking Alnmouth – Alnmouth Bay – Alnmouth – finish
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Cows & sheep in the same field as the path at some points; a hare. Many grey herons, mute swans, greylag geese, shelducks, mallards, black-headed gulls, lapwings. Little fish in the River Aln.
Weather: 20°C, breezy with hazy sunshine blocked by thicker cloud sheets at times.
May 2026 (first photo less recent)
