Heritage week, quiet coast. Walk while the light lasts, then go indoors somewhere free.
The middle of September is often a settled, mild spell on the Northumberland coast, with days in the mid teens and the sea still around its warmest at about 13C to 14C, though the evenings are drawing in quickly. An easterly wind can bring sea fret that sits over Alnmouth Bay while it's bright a few miles inland, and a stiff westerly makes the beach feel a lot colder than the car park. On a beach walk the tide matters as much as the weather: at high water the sand narrows, so use the dune paths. Check the Met Office forecast for the North East before you set off.
Sunset 7.22pm in Alnwick on Wednesday. Full forecast (Met Office)
Archive edition. We wrote this one for the website to cover the week of Sunday 13 September 2026, so it lists what was on then and says nothing about the weather that week. The emails proper started on Tuesday 29 September 2026.
Heritage Open Days carry on all week, so there are free doors open across the county, with Berwick running something almost every day. The schools went back on 1 September and the coast has gone quiet, which makes this a good week for a long walk.
Start: Alnmouth station car park, Lesbury NE66 3QF
An easy, mostly flat walk: from the station into Alnmouth's colourful streets, then south on the Northumberland Coast Path through the dunes of Buston Links and along the long empty sands of Alnmouth Bay, before heading inland past the golf club and over the Coquet into Warkworth. On a Monday you can finish at Warkworth Castle and its riverside hermitage. The X18 bus runs roughly hourly in the daytime from Warkworth Market Place back to Alnmouth Station (Curly Lane).
Don't be tempted to wade across the Aln estuary to Church Hill at low tide: signs by the river warn against fording or bathing there, so stick to the path and the road bridge. If the tide is high, keep to the dune path. The station car park is run by the council at £1.50 for 24 hours (PayByPhone code 804130), and the station has step-free access and accessible toilets; the public toilets in Alnmouth are at the corner of Pease's Lane and Marine Road.
Free entry to the house, walled garden and grounds on a Monday, when it should be a lot quieter than Sunday. The Central Hall on the ground floor has step-free access; outside there are steep slopes and loose gravel in places, and mobility scooters can be hired. Details and booking
Mon 14 Sep; castle 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm), hermitage 11am to 4pm
Warkworth Castle, Warkworth Normal admission; English Heritage members free
The hermitage, a chapel cut into the riverbank upstream of the castle, only opens on Sundays and Mondays, with tickets limited to six people every half hour and booked at the castle. English Heritage gives 20% off if you arrive by bus. Details and booking
Tue 15 Sep; conservation 12pm to 2pm, exhibition and film 11am to 4pm (also Thu 17 Sep)
The Storehouse, Berwick Barracks, Berwick-upon-Tweed Free, drop in
Watch conservation staff and volunteers cleaning and packing the town's social history collections, then see Resonances: Things Unseen, an exhibition from the KOSB Regimental Museum about the barracks, the regiment and the town. There's also a 15-minute film on ideas for parks along Berwick's old walls. Details and booking
Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Hexham Free, donations welcome
The last week of an exhibition on Northumberland's dark skies and night-time heritage, made with Kielder Observatory and the National Park among others. Hexham has a railway station and bus station, so you can leave the car at home. Details and booking
Leaplish Waterside Park, Kielder Normal admission; pay on arrival by cash or card
One of the biggest collections of owls, eagles, hawks, falcons and vultures in the north of England, with flying demonstrations. A midweek visit with the school holidays over means a quieter drive round the reservoir. Details and booking
Market Place, outside Northumberland Hall, Alnwick Free (Heritage Open Days)
Alnwick had around 60 pubs by about 1860 after the Beer Act of 1830, and this walk goes looking for the ones that have gone. Up to 15 people, booked on Eventbrite; the route suits pushchairs, but the old pavements are narrow and uneven, and long-stay parking is on Greenwell Road or Howling Lane. Details and booking
An evening of live storytelling mixing personal reflections on the River Tweed with Border folklore from the 1830s. Booking on Eventbrite is preferred. Details and booking
Fri 18 Sep, 12pm to 4pm; Riverside Walls tours at 12pm and 4pm
Elizabethan Ramparts and Quay Walls, Berwick-upon-Tweed Free
Drop into the tunnel at Cumberland Bastion (top of Coxon's Lane), the 1749 Gunpowder Magazine near Lions House, Coxon's Tower and the New Tower. Expect steps, grass slopes and a low, uneven passage or two; the Riverside Walls tours with local historian Jim Herbert need booking on Eventbrite. Details and booking
Daily until Sun 1 Nov; trains from Heatherslaw at 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm
Heatherslaw, near Ford and Etal Return £12.50 adults, £12 over 60s; dogs free
A gentle narrow gauge run along the River Till to Etal and back, with room on the coaches for wheelchairs. Tickets are sold at the Heatherslaw ticket office only. Details and booking
Open this week; times change with the tides, so check the day's hours
Lindisfarne Castle, Holy Island Adults from £13, children from £6.50; National Trust members free
Check the council's safe crossing times before you set off. The castle is about a mile's walk from the main island car park, with a drop-off at the gate for anyone who can't walk that far, and inside there's a steep cobbled ramp, steps and narrow, dark rooms. Details and booking
A talk on Vanbrugh's later career and his links to the hall, with new archaeological research from Mark Newman and an introduction from Sandy Nairne. The Saloon is unheated, so wrap up; booking is essential on 0344 249 1895. Details and booking
Venues around Berwick-upon-Tweed Most events £10, some £15; workshops £25
More than 55 events, with Vince Cable on Thu 8 Oct, Joanne Harris and Diarmaid MacCulloch on Fri 9 Oct and Louis de Bernières closing on Sun 11 Oct. Book through The Maltings box office on 01289 330999. Details and booking
Book ahead
Rain-proof
Tip. Heritage Open Days end on Sun 20 Sep, and Saturday 19 is Alnwick's big day, with the Town Hall, the Mechanics' Institute and Bailiffgate Museum open for free. The heritage tours of The Alnwick Garden need booking, so sort that out this week.