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94 miles, 6 days, 48 pubs…
The latest addition to The Inn Way series, Mark Reid charts a circular route through the historical and fascinating Border Country, taking in the Cheviots, Coquet Valley and Northumberland’s stunning coastline. This 94 mile walk is divided into six ‘day stages’ and passes 48 Northumbrian pubs along the way. Complete with a foreword by Steve Cram.
Mark's Top Tips
- Long Stay parking is limited at Rothbury, so please use public transport. If you arrive by car, then enquire at the Northumberland National Park Information Centre at Rothbury about where to park your car. Hotels, B&B’s etc usually allow you to leave your car with them (if you stay with them at the start and end of your walk) – always ‘phone to check.
- There are bank cash-points along the route at Rothbury, Seahouses and Wooler.
- If accommodation is in short supply at Alwinton, then there are also places to stay at Harbottle (B&B and a Bunk House) a well as Newton (near Alwinton). Contact the Tourist Information Centres for further details.
- When booking B&B, make sure you ask how far they are (walking distance!) from the ‘Overnight Stop’ town or village as many postal addresses include the nearest town, which may be several miles away.
- Please note that there are no facilities along the route of Stage Five (Wooler to Alwinton). Please ensure that you take sufficient food, water and provisions with you for this 20.5 mile walk. The route does, however, pass several isolated farmhouses. This Stage of the walk was designed to follow clear paths and tracks as much as possible to provide a good walking surface for much of the way and was also designed to avoid long and difficult climbs, thus making the walk not too strenuous! As this walk heads through remote countryside it is important to take a compass and OS map with you. In summary, this is a beautiful walk through stunning landscape surrounded by the wonderful Cheviot Hills, with a real mixture of terrain and views along the way (but sadly, no pub!).
- The Percy Arms Hotel (on Stage Four) is open all day and boasts a full-size snooker table!
- All Overnight Stops have a selection of shops, with the exception of Alwinton. There is an Outdoor Shop at Rothbury and there are Doctors’ Surgeries at Rothbury and Wooler.
- Classic pubs along the route include the Anglers Arms at Weldon Bridge and the Northumberland Arms at Felton, both of which are superb examples of old coaching inns. The Ship Inn at Low Newton-by-the-Sea and the Olde Ship Hotel at Seahouses are two of the finest coastal pubs in the country – do not miss them! Other classic Northumbrian pubs include the Hermitage Inn (Warkworth), Red Lion (Alnmouth), Jolly Fisherman (Craster), Rose & Thistle (Alwinton) and the Star Inn (Harbottle). In fact, almost all of the pubs along the route are great!
- Why not spend an extra night at Bamburgh for a ‘rest day’, which will allow you time to explore the coast, visit the Castle or take a boat trip out to the Farne Islands.
- Visit as many of the 48 pubs along the route as possible, fill out the Log Book at the back of the book and claim your FREE Inn Way Certificate.
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