14.6 MILES     NEGLIGIBLE ASCENT

Seven of us left the coach near Alnmouth Station at Hipsburn on a slightly overcast but otherwise not bad day.  Our route was to take us down to the River Aln and around the north bank of the estuary and onto the beach.  Although the tide was coming in, there was plenty of hard sand on which to walk so we made steady progress up towards Foxton Hall although we had to manouvre around rocks just before Foxton.  Just beyond Foxton we had our coffee stop and then we proceeded northwards up the beach to Seaton House where we left the beach climbing Angie’s steps to pass the chalets before dropping back down to the beach at Boulmer Haven.  Leaving the beach again at Boulmer, we followed a good track up to Howdiemont Sands where again we were able to walk along the beach before rejoining the track above Sugar Sands and continuing to head northwards along the cliff tops past Howick Haven to Rumbling Kern.  At Rumbling Kern we dropped down into the small cove and had our lunch stop.  On our way northwards again we passed the Bathing House, once owned by the Grey family at Howick Hall and made our way to Craster.   Having already had lunch, we did not stop at Craster but continued north up to Dunstanburgh Castle.  As we approached the castle, it was noticeable that the sky was breaking to the north which gave a nice backdrop to the dark silhouette of the castle.  After passing the castle we took the first opportunity to rejoin the beach after the rounded stones at Greymare Rock.  Continuing up the excellent Embleton Bay, we were able to cross the Embletonburn without getting wet apart from our boots.  After rounding the headland we continued to Low Newton where seats provided an ideal stop for afternoon refreshments.  Heading around the pub and houses at Low Newton we started making our way southwards on a decent track (Northumberland Coastal Path) a short distance inland from the sea although we could not see the sea except for one point where we climbed a short rise to see Embleton Bay below us with the waves glistening in the late afternoon sunshine.  After crossing the golf course we arrived at the Dunstanburgh Castle  Hotel, our destination.