Alnwick is Northumberland’s finest market town — a compact, characterful settlement dominated by the massive Percy castle and surrounded by some of the finest and emptiest coastal and countryside walking in England. The Northumberland Coast Path runs just four miles east, offering endless miles of dune, beach and cliff walking.

A genuinely excellent small town with Barter Books, one of the world’s great second-hand bookshops, and good restaurants, Alnwick makes a superb base for Northumberland coast walking. Dunstanburgh Castle, approached along one of the finest coastal paths in England, is just nine miles east.