Northumberland Coast Path to Amble

Friday 5th September 2025

While I was on the bus at the end of the previous day’s walk I decided I didn’t want to resume the Northumberland Coast Path from Beadnell, where I’d just reached, and instead I would start from the village of Embleton. This was partly because of a road closure that was forcing the bus to take a wide, time-consuming diversion between Beadnell and Embleton, and it was also because I was becoming rather disillusioned with the trail, which didn’t seem to be living up to my expectations. So far on the Northumberland Coast Path, I had seen a lot of long sandy beaches, which don’t interest me, whereas a rock-filled, craggy shoreline appeals to me much more. My map showed me that the Northumberland coast after Embleton would be more to my liking, so with gorgeous blue skies overhead I caught a bus to Embleton and set off along the road past what seemed to be the scourge of the coast, golf courses, and soon I reached Embleton Bay. While walking between the beach and the golf course I approached the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, and after going around I found a popular path made up of those heading to the castle. The views back along the rocky shoreline to the ruins were spectacular even though there were many people also in the shot.

Eventually I reached the village of Craster where I weaved around the buildings and continued along an excellent footpath beside a stunning coastline that was much more to my taste with rocky foreshores and craggy cliffs. This went on for several miles and in the bright sunshine I was enjoying every step and turn of the path while the stunning views prompted me to take many pictures. Unfortunately, the delights came to an end in Boulmer where sand returned and I had to find my way around a caravan park, followed by another golf course and with the deterioration in the scenery the weather also worsened with increased cloud cover and a stronger wind. Eventually I entered Alnmouth and with fatigue adding to my woes on this day I came to the mouth of the River Aln where I drearily headed inland to walk beside the road across the river and along a cycle path until I was finally able to return to the coast, but with the sea hidden behind the undulation of the grassy dunes the walking still lacked interest. It wasn’t long before those things that had often interrupted me on this holiday once again appeared with a caravan park followed by a golf course until I finally turned inland to reach the village of Warkworth.

After passing the castle I walked between the road and the River Coquet into the town of Amble where I finally decided that I had had enough of the Northumberland Coast Path and so, after getting some fish & chips, I caught a bus back to Alnwick. Despite the brief section of stunning coastline between Embleton and Boulmer, which rivals the Berwickshire Coastal Path, I had had enough of the Northumberland Coast Path. Sandy beaches and dunes do not appeal to me and since almost all of the rest of the trail from Amble to Cresswell involves going around the sandy Druridge Bay I elected to not bother. The following day was overcast and I spent it in Alnwick before walking slowly beside the river to the railway station at Alnmouth. The purpose of this holiday had been to simply provide me with a relaxing break where I could shed all of the stresses that I had acquired over the summer at work, and, although it often wore me out physically, it did succeed in leaving me thoroughly refreshed and relaxed.

Northumberland Coast Path to Beadnell

Thursday 4th September 2025

The day before this walk I had started the Northumberland Coast Path, starting from Berwick-upon-Tweed, and heading south I had reached Holy Island also known as Lindisfarne. I had planned on skipping the next stage by catching a bus to the village of Seahouses because the trail heads inland from Lindisfarne to avoid a nature reserve, but by this point in my holiday I was keen on a change of scene from the coastal walking and with the bus to Seahouses not being until 10.30 I decided to keep to the trail. First, I needed to return from my overnight accommodation to the village of Fenwick where I rejoined the Northumberland Coast Path as it climbs into the hills. After the rain of the day before it was great to be walking in sunshine again, though it would soon cloud over, and on Fawcet Hill I had views, over a herd of cows, back to the coast and the low-lying island of Lindisfarne. There I came to a junction of paths where my maps, both Harvey and Ordnance Survey, indicated that the coastal path keeps climbing to reach St Cuthbert’s Cave, but the signpost directed me in the other direction into Virgin Hill Wood. This was a shortcut that I had already considered on taking and now appears to be the official route so I was more than happy to take it instead of climbing up to the pass between Greensheen Hill and Cockenheugh and then after passing behind the latter heading back towards the coast.

My route took me along a track into the conifer plantation and past Swinhoe Lake to rejoin the old route at Swinhoe Farm whereupon I crossed many fields to descend into the village of Belford. I took advantage of my being in Belford to buy some food to keep up my strength and after passing through the lovely, little village I took a footpath past the edge of a golf course that brought me to the busy A1 road. Rather than taking the footpath opposite I turned onto the B1342 road around a small industrial estate to reach the railway line. The day before I had not enjoyed using the pedestrian level crossing at Fenham Hill so I didn’t want to repeat the experience at Belford Burn crossing, however, this left me stuck on the road, which after a level crossing meant walking along the road into the oncoming traffic for over a mile until I reached a junction where I could take to the safety of a quiet country lane, signposted Spindlestone. This brought me into a lovely, little, tree-covered valley where a walk through the gorgeous woodland brought me back onto the Northumberland Coast Path and the coast itself, for the first time this day. I was at the southern tip of Budle Bay and followed the shoreline path where I had views across the bay while the buildings on Lindisfarne were a distant blip on the horizon. 

A caravan park and a golf course provided me with distractions inland until I reached the club house where my way now proceeded along a road with views down the coast to Bamburgh Castle, sitting dramatically on a rocky plug. It was an impressive sight and perfected by the golden beach before it, but the area was too popular with tourists for me, so I just followed the road through the village and on the other side a path took me tediously through many fields as I frustratingly veered away from the coast again. The new England Coast Path stays beside the coast at this point while the older Northumberland Coast Path keeps away, which made me think that perhaps the latter has now been superseded by the former, whose route is much better, with the issue possibly being that the Northumberland Coast Path sticks to pre-existing rights of way while the England Coast Path uses new access rights to the coast. At Shoreston Hall I turned left to return to the coast following the route on my map, but the official route actually stays inland until it reaches the outskirts of Seahouses. 

Instead, I was able to enjoy walking beside the beach that brought me into the large village of Seahouses and around a golf course on the other side, which necessitated my having to walk beside the road until I could walk through the dunes that brought me into the village of Beadnell where I waited for a bus to bring me to Alnwick. Although there were some enjoyable moments on this walk, helped by the weather, it was beginning to frustrate me that the trail wasn’t keeping to the coast and the coastline was not as dramatic as what I had seen earlier in this holiday. With only a few days of my holiday left I at least wouldn’t have to put up with it for much longer.