Northumberland Coastal Path - 62 miles in a week

Let's walk the Northumberland Coastal Path - 62 miles - between Cresswell and Berwick-on-Tweed in Northumberland.

I did this walk in April 2021 and April 2022 and have no hesitation in doing it again. It's beautiful and not difficult.

Key Points:

How far is it and how long will it take?
The route is 62 miles and runs between Cresswell in the South and Berwick in the North. I suggest we walk from South to North with the sun behind us.

I propose to have a week in Northumberland and walk on 5 of the 7 days (average 12.5 miles a day). This gives us 2 days off to allow us some contingency with weather, and time for sightseeing etc. The specific 'days off' will be agreed during the week, based on weather etc.

How far is it REALLY?
Come on Tony. You said Hadrian's Wall was 84 miles and it turned out to be further and we got tired!
Haha. Don't take it from me - here's the published route
https://www.northumberlandcoastpath.org/
(Note that their section split is a bit different to mine)

Is it hilly?
No. The terrain is extremely flat ! - most of it along the coast

Where will we stay?
We will stay for the duration of the holiday in Alnwick (pronounced Annick). This is a central Northumberland inland location with tourist attractions including Alnwick Castle (as featured in Harry Potter films), Alnwick Gardens, a huge Tree House and an original bookshop/cafe called Barter Books. Plus many cute shops, pubs and restaurants etc

Therefore there is no need to change accommodation during the week, no luggage transfers etc

You will be responsible for booking your own accommodation for the week in Alnwick, obviously we can arrange to share if we wish. Once we have an initial idea of numbers, I will research cottages for larger parties.

How do we get to the walk each day?
Alnwick has great bus links to each of our daily start points so we will bus from Alnwick to each day's start point and back from the end point. I suggest you buy a bus ticket for the week on day 1 - this will cost £29 (unless you have a bus pass of your own of course).
The bus trip to Cresswell on the first day is 2 hours so it will be much faster to get a bus to Warkworth and then a taxi. Details TBA

What if I don't want to walk on a particular day?
Simply miss that day out and go touring instead :)

Can I walk part of each day's route?
Once started each day, there may be options to walk part of the day's route - this depends on availability of buses from where you decide to stop so cannot be guaranteed on every day.

Is the path easy to follow ?
Yes, the trail is well signposted.

What is the walking surface like ?
The route mostly follows the coast on good, flat paths and bridleways but in some places beaches, minor roads, tracks, and permissive paths are used.

Will we stay together ?
I will lead the walk each day but I appreciate we may have different walking speeds. It would be nice to stay together but it's not essential so feel free to do your own thing, the route is very well signposted.

Are there things to see along the way ?
There is spectacular scenery on many parts of the walk with beautiful castles at Warkworth, Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh. We may not have time to visit these on the walking days but can always visit them on the other days. Plus beaches, a lakeside park, a marine village at Amble and many tourist attractions at Seahouses.
Some Walking Friends members attended Edward's great weekend in May 2025 in Berwick-on-Tweed, where the walk finishes.

What do we do for lunch ?
I will try to find a pub or cafe for a decent (1 hour ish) break during each day. You can buy pub food or bring your own. There may be 1 day where we will need to bring our own packed lunch. This will be advised with plenty of notice.

Does the walk go onto the Holy Island?
No, we will cross the start of the causeway from South to North but not go onto the Holy Island (though of course this is an option for one of the non-walking days)

Passport
You can get a Coastal Path passport. You collect stamps during the walk and get a certificate at the end in Berwick Tourist Information Centre. If interested I will buy these in bulk.

How will we get to Alnwick?
Drivers (Suggest car sharing)
Alnwick is about 200 miles from Nottingham area so allow at least 4 hours for the drive (longer if you want a break en route)

Non-drivers
Public Transport to Alnwick will require 3 trains to Alnmouth and a bus and will take about 4 hours

Any questions please comment