Warkworth Dog Walk

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Overview

Small but perfectly formed, this walk has everything you could want from a short wander. There’s the River Coquet, fresh from the Cheviot Hills, but slowing down as it makes its final mad meanders to the North Sea. There are the substantial ruins of the medieval castle, looking like something out of a fairytale on its bluff of high ground. There’s Warkworth itself, an attractive village with a choice of pubs and cafés in which to take a break.    

But, for the dogs in your party, all of this pales in comparison to the highlight of the walk… a visit to the beach. What is it about dogs and beaches? You’d think, from their uncontrollable excitement as soon as you let them off their leads at the coast, that they’d been locked in a darkened kennel for weeks on end with no one for company but the spiders. Freedom!

The Walk

Starting with your back to the car park’s toilet block, turn right along the asphalt and  immediately take the surfaced trail rising slightly to pass through hedges on the left. Cross the holiday park’s driveway and join a good path along the field edge. When this emerges on a road, continue in the same direction to reach the A1068.

Carefully cross the main road and turn left over the River Coquet’s cobbled footbridge. Pass through the stone archway on the far side and turn right along the riverside path. You’ll soon pass St Lawrence’s Church. To visit the main part of the village, go left here; or, to continue on the main route, keep straight ahead along the waterside lane.

At the far end of the lane, follow the clear path along a wooded stretch of riverbank. Beyond the trees, the path crosses an open area to reach a waymarked junction opposite Warkworth Hermitage on the far bank.

Warkworth Hermitage, a small chapel, was probably carved out of the cliffs for Henry Percy, the first Earl of Northumberland, in the second half of the 14th century. It is accessible only by boat with English Heritage operating limited trips across to the site in summer. No dogs allowed.
 
Turn left at this junction. The track climbs away from the river to a T-junction where you go left again. Just behind a ‘give way’ sign, turn left to follow a path along the right-hand edge of a field. Entering a small recreational area via a gate, cross the grass diagonally left. After leaving via another gate, walk beside a fence on the right. Turn left along a gravel path and quickly bear right along the top of the wooded embankment. After you descend some steps, the castle walls rear up to your right.



Warkworth Castle dates from about 1200 although a more simple motte-and-bailey construction was probably raised in 1139. The castle walls are largely intact as is the impressive cross-shaped keep, which dates from the late 14th century. The ruins, now in the care of English Heritage, are open to the public, and dogs are allowed.

A gap in a wall brings you out at the top end of Castle Street. Carefully cross over and turn right. At the far end of the row of buildings, turn left along an alleyway – this is just before the Castle Brew House. Emerging on a road, go left and immediately right at the T-junction (or left to visit the main part of the village). On the far side of the road bridge over the River Coquet, take the lane rising to the right to retrace your steps to the car park where the walk started.

Of course, you could stop on returning to your car but, having caught the scent of the sea, your dog will be disappointed. So, from the car park, continue downhill on a path to the left of the toilet block, making directly for the North Sea. At the bottom of the slope, as another path joins from the left, the route ahead broadens. Keep straight on, passing through the dunes to reach the long beach – and canine freedom!


Vivienne Crow has written several guides to Northumberland, including Walking in Northumberland, published by Cicerone and Short Walks Made Easy: Northumberland, published by Ordnance Survey.