Posted May 2007
"I had a great time, the weather was mostly kind to me & I did not stray from the route apart from 1 or 2 minor detours. It was a great time of year to do the walk as the countryside was so green & the fields full of lambs. I found the 4rth day the hardest walking from Bamburgh to Wooler, I think my energy levels were low that day & a lot of the early part of the route was across fields rather than on footpaths. Stayed B&B en route with the last 2 days at Clennell Hall. The end of my walk co-incided with the music festival at Clennell which unfortunately was a bit of a washout - it seemed to start raining as soon as I finished! The walk across from Wooler to Alwinton was fantastic - just me & sheep/lambs all day. We ate in the Rose & Thistle on the Thursday & had a good chat with Gareth - I had the InnWay book in my hand so he knew what I was about - he sends his best regards & is wondering when you are going to visit again."

Posted September 2006
Have just completed the Inn Way... to Northumberland. The walk is outstanding with just a couple of paths overgrown with gorse etc. The Rose & Thistle Inn at Alwinton is by far & away the best accommodation I have had in all the long distance walks I have completed. We managed to hit 24 out of the 48 pubs listed and all made us very welcome and along with the very friendly people we met and the landscape we walked through will ensure that this is one walk that will remain a very happy memory. The guide book is superb and was easily followed along with the map on the long day in the Cheviots. Thanks for the guide and I look forward to the Inn Way... to the Peak District.

Posted August 2006
Our party of ten, 60+ year old walkers have just completed The Inn Way to Northumberland over a period of 8 consecutive walking days from the 1st to 9th August 2006. We were fortunate that the hot weather had broken, giving us fresher conditions.  There were one and a half days of rain. Not bad for an English summer. We stayed in B&B accommodation in Alnmouth for the duration and had the support of a minibus. This enabled us to work out our own itinerary, as some of the days were longer than we wanted. Day 1. Travelled up from Lincoln to Rothbury to walk 6 miles to Weldon Bridge as a ‘running in’ session.  Not long into the walk we encountered a 1&Mac218;2 mile stretch along the river Coquet of dense bracken which had not been walked for some time.  Forcing our way through this slowed us down. A scythe would have been useful. Day 2 - Weldon Bridge to Warkworth. This was a wet day, but the rain was not too heavy as to mar the views.  We found the walking easy, but the day slightly challenging.  Drying out was a major concern.  The B&Bs were magnificent for drying us out. Day 3 - Warkworth to High Newton. This was an excellent day with bright sun and a refreshing sea breeze. We did some beach walking which gave us a lift after the previous day. The scenery was wonderful and the sea Mediterranean blue. Day 4 - High Newton to Bamburgh to Lucker. By comparison, a different type of coastline to Day 3, but a bright day without the breezes.  Bamburgh was the original destination but time permitted us to continue on to Lucker.  This helped by reducing the next day’s 16 miles to 14.  Day 5 - Lucker to Wooler. The first fields from the mill were fine, but the half mile stretch near the fort was so overgrown with gorse, bramble nettles and bracken that a machete would have been useful.  No one came through that unscathed, and some first aid was the order of the day! The rest of the route into Wooler was relatively uneventful, but interesting as the change in the scenery from the coast was refreshing. Day 6 - Wooler to Greensidehill. This was the first of two days in the foothills of the Cheviots. The weather was bright and sunny and the ascent exhilarating. We stopped for lunch at the Black Hut where it started to drizzle. On moving on we sheltered in the open barn at Threestoneburn House to put waterproofs on.  These we needed to Greensidehill and the minibus. Day 7 - Greensidehill to Harbottle. Most of the waymarker posts had been knocked down by the vandal sheep!  The notes were helpful here, and we did find most of the fallen posts. Again a brighter day which helped. We decided that we would not like to live at Ewartly Shank. It’s too remote.  On to Alwinton and Harbottle. Pretty places. Day 8 - Harbottle to Rothbury. An indifferent day of weather, but a gentle way to end the walk with the last effort up on Rothbury Terraces, with the final views back, then return to the starting point at the memorial. A good and challenging walk in the spirit of the other Inn Way walks.  Perhaps the peak district next?

Posted July 2005
We enjoyed your Northumberland route just as much as we enjoyed the Yorkshire Dales, Lake District & North York Moors ones! No doubt we will return to the Rose and Thistle at Alwinton as it was the best place we stayed in on The Inn Way and it gave us an introduction to the Cheviots which we hadn’t walked in before.  We also had a really good night in Wooler at the Black Bull which had excellent beer and a really good karaoke night when we were there – extreme self control had to be exercised to ensure that we didn’t drink too much of the ale so that we could walk to Alwinton the day after!! Looking forward to the Peak District Inn Way and speculating that the one after that may be Snowdonia?!!

Posted May 2005
"Another splendid Inn Way (to date - Yorkshire Dales & North York Moors) this must probably rate as the best.
We put in an extra day so to could cut the miles down a bit, but couldn't avoid the 20.5 miler. We decided to get this out of the way and started from Wooler. Highlights of the walk for our gang -"ABCD on Tour" (Alan, Bill, Christine & Denis – total age 240+) - Craster kippers for breakfast, Farne Island bitter, B&B at Budle Hall (what a place), having to seek refuge from the rain (for three of the days) in 32 pubs and even B&B in 3 of em. Memories - lots of mud, swollen rivers and side streams, miles of deserted golden sands, very friendly people, good beer, comfy beds (no Youth Hostels this time). All in all another excellent 'Inn Way'."

Posted April 2004
"Completed the Inn Way to Northumberland in April 2004 (our fifth Inn Way route - having done the Lakes route twice, in either direction, and the Yorkshire routes once). Although we walked the route before the guidebook was available, your help and assistance in planning the route proved invaluable. The overnight stops and 'essential pub stops' you recommended all proved to be top drawer! Having now received the guidebook, it just goes to prove how similar us beer-drinking walkers (or joggers in our case) view the OS maps - the route I plotted almost matched your recommended route (including using the beach for most of the coastal section.





Highlights for me were - Anglers Arms, Weldon Bridge; Northumberland Arms, Felton; Warkworth House Hotel (if you'd like to feel like you're in an episode of Fawlty Towers!); Hermitage Inn, Warkworth (excellent food); Jolly Fisherman, Craster (try the crab soup & sandwiches); Ship Inn, Low Newton (fabulous setting and great beer - we managed to kill 2 hours here!); Olde Ship Hotel, Seahouses (the only good reason for visiting Seahouses); Bamburgh - all 4 pubs are good (if a little pricey); Apple Inn, Lucker (try the pies!); Percy Arms Hotel, Chatton (very friendly village pub - watch the world go by (slowly!) from the beer garden; Tankerville Arms, Wooler (excellent food - very busy at weekends); Rose & Thistle, Alwinton (ignore the basic feel/decor and head for the beer garden). Other highlights: Brinkburn Priory - 180o helicopter views of this magnificent building; Warkworth - wonderful place; Beaches - must be among the very best in the country; Wooler to Alwinton - very varied scenery and terrain - excellent day out (even without the benefit of a pub!); Caistron Nature Reserve - excellent variety of bird-life (though after rain, expect muddy conditions near here); Thropton to Rothbury - a fabulous finale to the Inn Way (correction, make the Railway Hotel beer garden your finale!).

Hope you enjoy the Inn Way to Northumberland as much as we did. "