Longframlington to Alnwick – 19 February 2022
It’s not very often that we finish in a town, in fact, if you look at this year’s programme there are probably about five locations that you could say were towns, we are finishing in some small and large villages but hardly any towns. It is also not that often that we have finished in Alnwick, we first went there in 2003 and then there was a thirteen-year gap before we went back in 2016. We must have liked it that much we went back again in 2017 and we should have gone there in 2020 but the pandemic put paid to that so this year it’s time for another visit.
We are going to approach Alnwick from the south and go along the A697 road which heads towards Wooler. The 11.5-mile route is off the coach first at Longframlington and heads north towards Snipe House which is where all three routes eventually combine. This route then swings to the east before passing to the west of Alnwick Golf Course and then it goes east again to come into Alnwick from the direction of Hulme Park.
The 12.5-mile route is off the coach a short distance further down the A697 at Framlington Gate. This route heads up the old coaching road to the ruins of the coaching inn at the top of the hill. In the year 1842, an old Ordnance Survey map shows the coaching inn named Moorhouse and it was here that you could transfer to a coach heading towards Rothbury or Alnwick or continue on towards Edinburgh. If by some chance you had started your journey in London and wanted to go to Edinburgh you faced a journey time of just over 42 hours so here at Moorhouse, you were well into over halfway in your journey.
By 1888 a new section of the road had been constructed to the north of the coaching inn which effectively cut off the original route, on an 1888 map Moorhouse had been named as Old Moor House and a new coaching inn called New Moor House was constructed at the foot of the hill. Coincidently, a new railway linking Alnwick and Coldstream via Wooler had been constructed and was opened for business in 1887 and it was the railway more than anything else that saw the end of the coaching inns. It wasn’t until the advent of the motor car that saw a revival of the coaching inns as people began to stop off again for rest and refreshment. The Alnwick to Coldstream railway lasted for less time than the coaching route as this came to an end in 1965.
Fortunately, for those taking part in the 12.5-mile route, there is no need to wait for a coach or a train as they are continuing on foot through Edlingham where there is a castle, a church and a disused railway viaduct. After leaving Edlingham this route goes east to Snipe House and then north before heading to the east of Alnwick Golf Club and into Alnwick.
The third route is getting off on the B6341, which was the old coaching route into Alnwick. This 9.5-mile route also goes into Edlingham before turning east and heading towards Snipe House and following the same direction as the 12.5-mile route into Alnwick.
So a choice of routes across a quite scenic part of Northumberland and a finish in a town, what could be better during a cold mid-February. If you fancy coming out and joining us for a walk you can get in touch with us using the Contact Page of our website and you can also download the walk descriptions below and the GPX routes here.
The image for this post was taken in January 2017 on our last trip to Alnwick and was taken on part of the old coaching route leading down the hill to New Moor House.
