Can you walk to the beach?

We are often asked this, and the short answer is “Yes!” but it does depend how far you are willing to walk.

This picture is from Buston Links – which, at 3.6 miles walking from our front door, is the closest piece of beach we can access on foot. It took me three hours round trip last time I did it – making my down via the quite road through High Buston, and back via the footpath from Wooden Farm and onwards to Town Foot farm in Shilbottle. That did include some time on the beach to paddle and collect shells.

You can also access the iconic St Cuthberts Cross from this stretch of sand. It looks close to the village of Alnmouth itself but – beware – its actually a rather long walk around the river estuary!

We are really spoilt for choice for beautiful beaches. The nearest ‘beach villages’ with car parks and facilities are Alnmouth and Warkworth – both a short drive, or only a slightly longer walk than the one I described above. Cycling is also an option and we have cycle storage here for your own bikes, or you can hire them locally from Adam at The Bike Shop in Alnwick – we recommend the e-bike option for the perfect way to cover a lot of ground, get fresh air and see our beautiful local sights!

Further afield of course we have Druridge Bay in the South and Bamburgh in the North, and many many lesser known top secret beaches in between.  By public transport, there is a Travelsure bus from Shilbottle to Warkworth village which can drop you out at the beach but you must must must check the timetables as they are not very frequent!   There is also an Arriva bus X15 which travels through Shilbottle and into Alnwick where you can pick up the X18 and visit the coasts and castles.