Alnwick

Alnwick Town - Voted the Best Place to live in Britain, best for beauty, for community, for affordability and quality of life Country Life Magazine 2002

Alnwick lies in the heart of picturesque Northumberland, just 30 miles North of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is one of the most rural and sparsely populated districts in UK. and is stunningly beautiful. It stretches from the unspoilt wilds of the Northumberland National Park in the West, to the spectacular Heritage Coast on the East. Within this expanse are quaint villages, historic market towns, ancient castles and breathtaking scenery, as well as an abundance of wildlife, flora and fauna. Alnwick has everything to tempt you to visit for a holiday or short break, with rolling unspoilt countryside, long sandy beaches, an array of colourful gardens and some of the warmest people you could hope to meet.

This historic county town of Northumberland and seat of the Duke of Northumberland, was once a bustling, medieval market town that enjoyed economic prosperity with the development of the stagecoach. It became an important staging post, only a days ride from Berwick upon Tweed in the North and Newcastle upon Tyne in the south. Many of the old coaching inns and buildings still remain and today the cobbled streets and narrow alleys which once rang out with the clatter of hooves can be explored on foot in relative quiet. The fine stone buildings, which dominate the town, now house specialist shops offering an interesting array of goods.

In the centre of the town is the recently refurbished pedestrian Market Place. On Thursdays and Saturdays visitors can enjoy the lively atmosphere of a thriving market. The ever popular Farmers Market too is an event in itself and is held on the last Friday of each month. The Market Place remains the heart of this village and is the focal point for much that happens here, including the Alnwick Fair and the International Music Festival.

You may be more familiar with the castle in Alnwick than any other attraction as it was a feature in the TV series Blackadder. The character of Lord was the Duke of Northumberland whose ancestral home is Alnwick Castle. The opening sequence of the first series shows Blackadder galloping gracefully across a meadow before he falls off his horse in front of the Castle. Alnwick Castle has been the backdrop for many other films and TV series including 'Ivanhoe', 'Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves', 'Badger', 'Elizabeth' and most recently 'Harry Potter - The Philosophers Stone'.

Considered to be one of the finest castles in England, and known as the 'Windsor of the North', this has been the home of the real Percy family for nearly 700 hundred years. Set in a stunning landscape and designed by the famous Capability Brown, Alnwick Castle isines up from the banks of the River Aln. The ancestral family home of the Duke of Northumberland, it has been owned by his family since 1309, this beautiful and awe-inspiring castle was a major defence against invading armies in the middle ages.

No trip to Alnwick would be complete without a visit to the incredible and most unusual public gardens of the 21st Century - The Alnwick Garden. Set within a secretive walled garden, its centrepiece, The Grand Cascade, is the largest water feature of its kind in the country. 7,260 gallons of water per minute tumble down the series of 30 weirs with more than 120 separate water jets creating a selection of sensational water displays. Another feature is The Ornamental Garden, a symmetrical structured garden with a strong European influence, stocked to bursting with more than 15,000 plants. With delightful places to sit and catch the sun, with inviting golden amber coloured pathways bordered by lavender and fruit trees, a central pool, surrounded by a huge wooden pergola provides a bubbling source of water that spills into the pebbled rills running throughout The Garden, you may have found a true haven of peace and beauty.