There have long been suggestions made for a dedicated bus connection between the town of Alnwick and Alnmouth railway station; and a post on the Alnwick Matters Facebook Group prompted me to launch a petition for such a service.
This is based upon frequently unreliable Arriva services that connect the town of Alnwick to Alnmouth station, and drive a reliance on lifts, taxis, or driving to the station rather than taking the trip via public transport.
Alnwick – Alnmouth – Amble (& Druridge Bay)
While it was an Alnwick to Alnmouth Station trip that was the source of issues; it is reasonable to assume similar problems exist in nearby Amble, which is served by the same bus routes, so by sharing the same problem, the same solution exists.
Not only that, but there is a lot of traffic between both towns on a regular basis which this route would also serve. Slightly beyond Amble is Druridge Bay, a very popular destination on the spectacular Northumberland Coast, so it is reasonable that, especially during the summer months, that the service would be extended to serve Druridge Bay too, alleviating the need to drive to reach it as it is an area relatively poorly served by buses presently.
As a dedicated service, and probably one running year round, I would propose a dedicated branding, which could be along the lines of ‘Castles and Coast Connector‘, since this route would link both Alnwick & Warkworth Castles, as well as the Northumberland Coast from Hipsburn to Amble/Druridge Bay.
Strong response
Having only been launched today (16th February), the response to the petition has been very strong, with 91 signatures currently.
Outline of the case for the ‘Castles and Coast Connector’
Starting with Alnmouth Station itself, it is one of the best used on this stretch of line, used by, in 2023/24 a total of 353,000 passengers (of which I’m one on a semi-regular basis); Alnwick could arguably claim to be the leaded Northumberland town for tourism, being home to Alnwick Castle (itself seeing approximately 350,000 visitors per year according to a Northumberland Estates webpage (see below), as well as The Alnwick Garden and Lilidorei, Barter Books, Bailiffgate Museum and many other smaller attractions within Alnwick, and nearby drawing in hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.
The exact proportion who use the railway to travel to Alnmouth and then access these places is unknown, but it is certainly not uncommon, having personally offered visitors to Alnwick advice on rail connections on a number of occasions. I have personally noted that the deficient link is often getting to/from the station and I’ve occasionally needed to help people to arrange a taxi one more than once to ensure they caught their train.
Amble is a similarly bustling town during the season, and whilst not having the major tourist attractions of Alnwick, it does have excellent beaches, and is a popular place for a day out by the sea, with parking often difficult to find.
Warkworth is a village sited between Amble and Alnmouth, and is dominated by Warkworth Castle, open to visitors as part of English Heritage, and again is thriving village that is always filled with people, and would similarly benefit from a dedicated bus linking it to Alnmouth station.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 