Coast and country again, and why not. August 25th
Down to a team of three for various reasons, we are repeating a coast and country walk from Alnmouth in Northumberland.
But as an aside, last week I past the 250000 mark for the number of times the gadgie blog has been read. Minute by influencer and celebrity standards but satisfying for me.
Alnmouth is reached by heading north on the A1 and turning east at Alnwick.
The walk is covered by OS Explorer 332, Alnwick and Amble.
There is a large parking area next to the beach. £3.50 for a day and tickets are sold by a cheery human being.
Having booted up we set off north along the sandy beach, plenty of people around, some in the water, some playing cricket, some playing, some just sitting. After about threequarters of a mile we spotted the footpath up to the England Coastal Path/ St. Oswald's Way probably too. (Not the path through the little gate, just beyond that. We soon reached the Alnmouth Golf Course Club House, Foxton Hall. (mile 1)
From the club house we walked up the road, passing some very modern looking houses, crossed the road and crossed the ladder stile or used the gate.
Looking over the River Aln to Lesbury . A flood plain with some meanders too.
Having admired the view we walked downhill on a path through a field of rye which was ready to be harvested. Across a field with a herd of sheep and we were in Lesbury.
We walked the main street of the village, passing the closed pub (sad sight) and turned left at the roundabout.
This modern bridge replaced the 15th century one next to it. Ugly in my humble opinion and it doesn't fit well in the area.
Once over the Aln we walked uphill, taking the right fork after a while and going through an estate, spotting the narrow lane that took us down to the park where we stopped for a Herbie. No sharing!
After a sandwich and drink we went under the East Coast Main line and walked uphill on a footpath through a field that had been cut. A slight diversion near the top of the hill to admire the view and then back on the field edge footpaths to Wooden Farm.
Beyond the farm we crossed the railway (level crossing), crossed the road and walked along the footpath/cycle path that links Hipsburn with Warkworth.
Crossing the B1338 we walked through the Alnmouth Football, Cricket and Croquet grounds until we reached a footbridge across the Aln and were back in Lesbury.
Having completed a circle from Lesbury we retraced our steps to the Golf Club. We spotted a pair of egrets flying above the river. We decided that instead of going to a pub on the way home we should try the club house, which welcomes visitors.
Two real ales on offer, Northumberland Gold and Tyneside Blonde and tea for the unfortunate driver.
John heads for the golf club bar. For future references for certain gadgies, it does bacon sandwiches for breakfast.
Rehydrated we followed the footpath on the low cliffs back to the car park, passing a WW2 relic.
The walk is an easy going 8 miles with good views and a good hydration stop.
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