Alnmouth

Unlike nearby Alnwick, the L in Alnmouth is not silent and the village name is pronounced “Aln-mouth”.  It is a popular but peaceful coastal village with superb sandy beaches and two golf courses including the fourth oldest in England.  

 Alnmouth has a long history with a fragment of an Anglo-Saxon cross indicating that there was a chapel on Church Hill as early as the 8th or 9th century. The layout of the village has hardly changed since medieval times, although in the 1700s trade through Alnmouth’s port grew and the Hindmarsh Hall was built as a granary. This is now a community space but originally it was a grain store, constructed from local sandstone. 

Around 200 years ago, the port was lost and Church Hill was cut off when the river changed course, but the coming of the railway in the 1840s provided a new focus for the village as a holiday resort.   

The Aln Estuary, the saltmarsh and dunes are a haven for seabirds and other wildlife, providing rich feeding grounds for birds in summer months. The River Aln flows into the sea in a long sandy bay, with ever-changing views through the seasons.