WILD BEAUTY BENEATH MIGHTY WALLS

Tranquil streets in honeyed stone sit along a fortified coastline of picturesque harbours and sweeping shores teeming with birdlife

LARGE BOULDERS, GREY with barnacles, stand atop the low, flat outcrop of Marden Rocks. A few terns hunting offshore call out, while a dog, dashing down the beach in pursuit of a ball, sends a pair of oystercatchers into the air, their loud alarm calls travelling across the sands. These dapper birds, with smart black and white plumage, and vivid orange bills, are a common sight on the Northumbrian coast. But these are not the only birds on the rocks today: a lone heron is looking for shore crabs, rocklings and blennies amid the wracks and dulses of the rock pools exposed at low tide.

Marden Rocks marks the most northerly point of Alnmouth Beach. While not a massive headland, this intrusion of tough stone, aided by resilient oak groynes, has sheltered the bay, allowing a fine golden sand to form.

The beach is rich with beachcombing booty: razor shells, orange periwinkles and limpets are sorted by the waves. Lumps of sea coal, hard and shiny-black, glitter in the sun, where wave action has broken their dulled surface. It would once have

been eagerly collected and prized for its heat and clean burning.

To the south, the bay sweeps gently inwards, taking a shallow bite of the land. On a clear day, the rocky fingers reaching into the sea at Hauxley are the next bulwark of stone in the far distance; they define the end of the bay.

Wartime defence

In the summer morning mist, Coquet Island, just off the coast of Amble, looks like a ship at anchor, with its lighthouse easily passing for a ship’s bridge. Landward of the beach is well-tended Alnmouth Village Golf Club. It is the oldest nine-hole links course in England, with a hand-painted sign proudly announcing that the club was established in 1869. Part of the course occupies a prime, flat location behind the sand. During wartime, it was considered a place where invading armies might land to assemble before pushing inland, and so, during the Second World War, sea defences were installed up and down the Northumbrian coast.

On Alnmouth Beach, the most noticeable defences are two rows of anti-tank cubes, which were installed in the summer of 1940. Cast in concrete, in moulds made of corrugated iron, many are now entirely buried in the sand, while others stand proud. They are part of the landscape and provide welcome sitting spots for picnickers and dog walkers.

A pillbox looks down from limestone hills onto the beach. This was built on an earlier emplacement constructed by the Duke of Northumberland during the Napoleonic Wars, when similar fears of invasion gripped the region.

Now peaceful, Alnmouth has seen hard times and conflict. It was sacked by the Scots in the 14th century and repeatedly attacked in later centuries by gangs of marauding outlaws, known as the Border Reivers.

Genteel village

Alnmouth was well-known to sailors in the 18th century as an exporter of timber and grain, and also for its shipbuilding, but as the village’s once thriving industry passed into history, it took on a more sedate and relaxed quality. Alnmouth’s change of fortune was hastened by the

expansion of the local railway network in the 1840s-1850s, which proved more efficient than boats at transporting cargo and, in turn, better at bringing in tourists. Today, Alnmouth is a genteel place, with large houses in warm honey and pink-hued stone, reflecting its rise as a holiday destination as well as its decline as a port.

Small alleyways and roads off Northumberland Street still follow a typical medieval style, running at right angles to the main road, which acts as a spine through the village. Every so often, the side streets offer distant glimpses of the bay or the estuary.

At the heart of Alnmouth centre is a mix of homes, guest houses, artisan shops and pubs, such as the Red Lion, the Hope and Anchor, and the Sun Inn. The sturdy stone buildings are mainly 18th and 19th century, but some older 17th century buildings remain, such as the row of cottages on Victoria Place. Many of the granaries and industrial buildings were lost, although one former granary, Hindmarsh Hall, is now the local community centre.

Another building in the centre of Alnmouth has been a general store of some kind for more than 300 years. Now in its latest reinvention, it is a café and delicatessen, named Scott’s of Alnmouth. “This is a beautiful coastal village, with a fantastic beach that attracts a loyal local community, day-trippers and holidaymakers,” says owner, Andrew Scott. “I was born and raised in Northumberland, and Alnmouth was always one of my favourite spots for walking the dogs on the beach.”

For a time, Andrew commuted to London from his home in one of Alnmouth’s pretty pastel-coloured houses. “But I’d always had a love for food and wanted to develop that as a business,” he explains. “So, in 2016, I gave up my corporate career, and my partner, Alyson, and I bought the Alnmouth grocer’s shop. I was convinced that people would want to buy great quality products from independent producers, that they would love home-made deli goodies, and this would be made all the better alongside a decent cup of coffee.” Andrew and Alyson have a diverse mix of customers; many coming back day after day, season after season, which they say is like having a big extended family.

“I’m very particular about what we stock. It has to look good, and it has to taste great. So, if a local product can pass those two tests, we’ll definitely stock it,” says Andrew. “Our coffee is from Pilgrims on Holy Island, our most popular gin is Hepple, our cheese is from Doddington, and our bacon is smoked locally. But not everything is locally produced, as we’re conscious that people also want quality produce from the rest of the world.”

At the head of the street is St John the Baptist Church. It was consecrated in 1876 and is a fine piece of architecture, with a spectacular spire, which takes the tower’s square shape before changing form and tapering into an octagon. Small windows, with gables, known as lucarnes, are inset into the spire; each smaller than the one below. It can be seen from far afield, including along much of the bay.

From the church, a left turn at the war memorial leads to what locals call ‘Lovers’ Walk’: a path beside salt marshes and ancient field systems, from the fine four-arched Duchess’ Bridge to the River Aln Boat Club.

By the estuary

At low tide, the Aln’s muddy estuary is home to curlews, Little egrets, which stay surprisingly white in the silty ooze, and assorted ducks. A small wooden building

“I was glad to escape from London, from Newgate, and from the scenes which both exhibited, to breathe the free air of Northumberland”

Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy

A view from Church Hill across gently waving grasses and the River Aln estuary to Alnmouth, which nestles behind golden sands along the sweeping shoreline.

Ridged concrete blocks protrude from the beach at Alnmouth (above). The pillbox guard post (below).

Northumberland Street winds through the centre of Alnmouth (top). Glowing in the sunlight, a row of typical pale stone terraced houses in the village (above).

Food lover Andrew Scott prides himself in selling quality goods at his eponymous café and delicatessen.

A Little egret, Egretta garzetta, takes to the shallows on its dark spindly legs (above). The Cross at the top of Church Hill stands high above the small fishing boats on the river (right).