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It's just three miles north from Warkworth to the seaside resort of ALNMOUTH , whose narrow, mostly nineteenth-century centre is strikingly situated on a steep spur of land between the wide sandy beach and the estuary of the Aln. Alnmouth was a busy and prosperous port up until 1806, when the sea, driven by a freakish gale, broke through to the river and changed its course, moving the estuary from the south to the north side of Church Hill and rendering the original harbour useless. Alnmouth never really recovered, though it has been a low-key holiday spot since Victorian times, as attested by the elegant seaside villas. There are local bus services from Alnwick and Warkworth, while the regular Newcastle to Alnwick bus passes through Alnmouth and calls at its train station at Hipsburn, a mile and a half west of the centre. Most of the accommodation lies along or just off the main Northumberland Street. Best central B&B is The Grange opposite the church (tel 01665/830401, the grange.alnmouth@virgin.net ; no credit cards; GBP40-50), a reclusive stone house with garden, overlooking the river. A few yards further down Northumberland Street, at no. 56, the friendly Beaches (tel 01665/830443; no credit cards; GBP50-60) has huge en-suite rooms in a period stone cottage above a good restaurant. A string of pubs along Northumberland Street also offers accommodation; the most reasonable is the Saddle Hotel , at no. 25 (tel 01665/830476; GBP50-60), whose spacious rooms have bath and TV, the top-floor ones enjoying (partial) sea views. The Tea Cosy Tea Room , at no. 23 (tel 01665/830393), serves bistro dinners at weekends in summer, but the best choice is to eat at the oak-beamed Beaches , at no. 56 (Tues, Thurs & Fri eve, Sat & Sun lunch & eve), where meals of local cod, Northumbrian game casserole and the like go for around GBP15 a head; you can take your own wine.
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