Each Friday between the 1st July and 5th August, Iain Robson will lead a walk along a section of the path in the company of a coastal expert, maybe a botanist, geologist, ranger or birdwatcher. You can choose to do one section or them all, it’s up to you. Each walk will be led by Iain from the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership who originally developed the route with colleagues from Northumberland County Council. The concept of a continuous path was realised through a European Union Interreg project called ‘The North Sea Trail’ which provided funding to implement the trail on the ground.
The Northumberland section was one of 27 coastal paths in seven different countries around the North Sea. The 62 mile walking trail from Cresswell to Berwick-upon-Tweed was officially opened on a glorious summer’s day on 17th July 2006 in Boulmer.
Since then the path, which passes through some of the finest coastal scenery in Europe, has attracted thousands of walkers from around the world. Cllr John Woodman, Chair of the AONB Partnership said “Walkers undertaking a long-distance route such as the Northumberland Coast Path are good for the local economy. Because they are travelling-light, they buy everything that they need along the way: other than the money they spend in local businesses and their footprints in the sand, they leave nothing behind.
But they take away memories of a landscape, a heritage and a welcome that is collectively unsurpassed.” Organiser Iain Robson said “The Northumberland coast has an excellent bus service which runs parallel to the coast path. To encourage walkers to leave their cars at home, the start time for walk coincides with the arrival of a bus and we will return to our starting point by bus.
The second stage will be promoted as part of the national ’Catch the Bus’ week.” As well as the guided walks, there is a new website for the path – www.northumberlandcoastpath.org and a new passport scheme for walkers. The guided walks are free to join but booking is essential as places are limited. Details of each stage and information on booking your place are as follows:
Stage 1 1st July Cresswell to Warkworth 10.5 miles (5 hours)
Start: 09:20 Cresswell Ices to coincide with the arrival of the Arriva No.1 from Ashington (change here from Newcastle)
Stage 2 8th July Warkworth to Craster 13 miles (6.5 hours)
Start 09:30 Warkworth Market Cross to coincide with the arrival of the X18 from Alnwick and Newcastle.
Stage 3 15th July Craster to Seahouses 9.5 miles (5 hours)
Start 09:30 Craster TIC to coincide with the arrival of the 418 from Alnwick and X18 from Belford/Seahouses
Stage 4 22nd July Seahouses to Belford 10.5 miles (5 1/2 hours)
Start 10:05 Seahouses TIC to coincide with the arrival of the Travelsure 418 from Alnwick and Belford
Stage 5 29th July Belford to Fenwick 7 miles (4 hours)
Start 1030 Belford Market Cross to coincide with the arrival of the X15 from Alnwick/Newcastle or the Travelsure 418 from the Coast.
Stage 6 5th August Fenwick to Berwick-upon-Tweed 12 miles (6 hours)
Start 1035 Fenwick A1 Bus Stop to coincide with the arrival of the X15 from Alnwick/Newcastle
Booking is essential: Book your place by email to coastaonb@northumberland.gov.uk or by calling the AONB Partnership on 01670 620306