In just a few minutes from the time of posting on Saturday 22nd August 2026, ‘The Ancient Kingdom’ railtour, operated by UK Railtours will depart from London King’s Cross towards Berwick-Upon-Tweed, calling to pick-up passengers at Potters Bar, Stevenage, Peterborough, and Doncaster, and setting down at Alnmouth for Alnwick is due to run, and from the website seems that it will be very well filled with few available seats in any class of travel.
Off train options to Alnwick, Lindisfarne, and the Heatherslaw Light Railway
Ticket options plus coach transfer options.
Morning departure and evening arrival timings from London Kings Cross
1Z50 from London King’s Cross to Berwick-Upon-Tweed, with onward coach connections.
The train taking passengers from Kings Cross in London up here to Northumberland is the 1Z50, a diesel locomotive with a 455 tonne train in tow, at a maximum speed of 95mph (locomotive not yet announced).
At Alnmouth, road coaches will take passengers on to Alnwick, and at Berwick, will take them on to Lindisfarne, or the Heatherslaw Light Railway, but a little dive into the railway timetable raises some interesting possibilities…
Arrival at Alnmouth is due at 12:11, after standing in the loops at Wooden Gate for about 13 minutes, then the train proceeds to Berwick Upon Tweed, arriving at 13:02, having waited in Crag Mill Loop for around 12 minutes between Alnmouth and Berwick.
These stops in loops are usually part of being on a railtour; usually they use heritage or freight locomotives and heritage carriages that cannot reach 125mph, and so need to be ‘looped’ to allow a faster train behind them to overtake, much like a tractor driver pulling into a layby so that faster vehicles behind can overtake.
(Fittingly, Class 37 locomotives from the 1960’s get nicknamed ‘tractors’ by some on account of their engine sound, and would be an example of a heritage loco commonly used on railtours).
However, does this suggest an opportunity to develop these into more routine stops for passenger trains?
Expanding or relocating Alnmouth station to Wooden Gate Loops, and a reopening of Crag Mill/Belford station?
Post being progressed, a link will be posted here once ready; check back soon!
A recent video by the excellent Geoff Marshall (below) details some of the UK’s least served stations (fewest trains per week), which includes the famous four on the Northumberland Coast part of the East Coast Main Line (ECML) of Chathill, Acklington, Widdrington, and Pegswood; but is Chathill in the wrong location on the list?
Geoff Marshall – Least Served Stations video
Chathill error?
One thing that caught the eye was the position of Chathill in the list having fewer services than Pegswood, Widdrington, and Acklington.
If based on passenger carrying departures, then the list is correct, however Chathill is different to the other three in that it is possible to travel northbound and arrive at the station in the morning, whereas the ‘Chathill Flyer’ simply whizzes through Pegswood, Widdrington, and Acklington.
This is purely an unusual quirk of Chathill acting as a terminus; the ‘Chathill Flyer’ terminates for passengers at Chathill, whilst the train itself continues north to a siding at Belford, then reverses, and heads back to Chathill bound for Newcastle once again.
For the stations at Acklington, Widdrington, and Pegswood, the arrivals and departures are one and the same, thrice daily Monday to Saturday giving the correct 18 per week, but for Chathill, there are two arrivals per day, plus two depatures per day giving a total of four trains per day, multiplied by six days giving 24 trains per week.
This would then place Chathill in the same bracket as Havenhouse, Swineshead, Eccles Road, Harling Road, Coombe Junction Halt, Ince and Elton, Sankey for Penketh.
I’ve tried dropping a comment for Geoff on the video itself too, hopefully it’ll be an easy one to correct!
Otherwise another brilliant video from Geoff Marshall, a channel on YouTube well worth subscribing to!
Please note that all views expressed are my own, and not those of any organisations or personsmentioned within this post.
Bewdley – Kidderminster Town – Kidderminster – Birmingham Snow Hill trail train service.
In the West Midlands, the town of Bewdley has a station on the preserved Severn Valley Railway, a heritage railway that runs 16 miles between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, approximately following the River Severn through the counties of Worcestershire and Shropshire respectively.
Starting in September, a short stretch of this line between Bewdley, and the terminus at Kidderminster is proposed to operate a three days a week commuter service on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, with relatively low-cost ‘through tickets‘ being available, but using heritage trains on the Bewdley – Kidderminster Town section of the route.
Please view the full details below in this video by Network News on YouTube.
The Severn Valley Railway heritage line connects to the mainline in the town of Kidderminster itself, and the two stations are adjacent across a car park; ‘Kidderminster Town‘ is the heritage station, whilst plain ‘Kidderminster‘ is the national railway network station, with a short walk required between them.
Starting on 1st September 2026, an eight week long trial of a commuter service using heritage trains between Bewdley station and Kidderminster Town will begin, with trains timed from Bewdley in the morning to meet at Kidderminster the ‘mainline’ services into Birmingham Snow Hill, and vice versa in the evening.
Timings of the trains and making a connection at Kidderminster is competitive with road journeys either into Birmingham, or driving from Bewdley to Kidderminster station, then catching an onward train into Birmingham, with all at around 1hr in duration.
The 06:40 from Bewdley will meet the 07:08 Kidderminster to Birmingham Snow Hill (BSH), and the 07:40 from Bewdley will meet the 08:08 Kidderminster to BSH, the first leg of the trip therefore taking 28 mins from departing Bewdley to departure from Kidderminster, with the Severn Valley Railway timetable suggesting the train would take around 13 minutes to travel from Bewdley into Kidderminster Town, allowing a 15 minute connection time.
Alnwick (Lionheart) – Alnmouth for Alnwick – Newcastle Central Station:
The trial on the Severn Valley Railway will be interesting to observe, as it may be applicable to copy when the Aln Valley Railway (AVR) reaches its goal of Alnmouth Station in the hopefully not too distant future.
The astonishing progress made by the AVR since breaking ground at Alnwick Lionheart in February 2012 through to running regular services to Greenrigg Halt since June 2023, a little over 11 years is remarkable, and it would be unsurprising for progress towards Alnmouth to be equally rapid given the chance.
Obviously the Severn Valley Railway is a more long established heritage railway compared to the Aln Valley Railway, and all of the infrastructure is already in place, BUT the Aln Valley could soon reach this stage, and if developed with the idea from the outset, might make it easier to implement?
The Alnwick Branch, with hindsight was a mistake to close in the 1960’s, and perhaps ought to have had a ‘Northumberland Line’ style reopening and operating a regular, low-cost service to/from Alnwick, but that wasn’t to be, so perhaps a hybrid model of heritage+commuter may be an ideal solution to enhance a great local attraction and provide a much improved connection to Alnmouth station alongside?
So what could this look like?
Alnwick Lionheart to Alnmouth Station: c.20 mins
As it stands, the current Alnwick Lionheart to Greenrigg Halt (the approximately halfway point to Alnmouth station) journey time is a sedately paced 10 minute rail journey, so a reasonable assumption would be that the full journey will take approximately 20 minutes without stopping at Greenrigg Halt en-route.
Alnmouth Walking Connection: c.15 minutes
Assuming a similar ‘across the car park’ walking connection and a similar connection time of 15 minutes to southbound train, the overall departing Alnwick Lionheart to departing Alnmouth would take 35 minutes.
The fifteen minutes connection time allows a reasonable amount of time for the potential distance between the two stations, as well as the need to cross the bridge in good time, depending on layout, this may have scope to be reduced, especially if a near cross-platform interchange could be done as at Keighley on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, though this would impact on the current NCC car park and potentially some Network Rail lineside equipment.
Therefore, from Lionheart to the southbound platform at Alnmouth Station is an approximate 35 min trip overall.
Alnmouth to Newcastle Central: c.30 mins.
The typically journey time from Alnmouth to Newcastle Central Station is typically around around 30mins, with a range between 26 mins and 31 mins.
Alnwick to Newcastle: Just over 1hr by train.
The fastest ‘before 8am’ arrival in Newcastle is the 07:06 CrossCountry, taking just 26 minutes from Alnmouth to Newcastle Central station.
Working backwards, that would place the first Alnwick Lionheart departure at approx 06:31 to meet the current 07:06 from Alnmouth to Newcastle Central, an overall journey time of 61 minutes, which is again competitive with peak time driving from Alnwick to Newcastle city centre.
A similar ‘before 9am’ arrival would be based on a connection to the current 08:09 CrossCountry, arriving in Newcastle 29 minutes later at 08:38; to meet this train, a second morning departure from Alnwick Lionheart would be required at approximately 07:34, an overall journey time of 64 minutes
These journey times are quite competitive compared to driving at peak times in the rush hour, and whilst slower than driving between Alnwick and Alnmouth, it would obviate the need to find the sometimes scarce parking spaces at Alnmouth station, by using the ample free parking at Alnwick Lionheart, as well as the opportunity to walk or cycle much more reasonably to a much closer station and avoid the need for a car altogether, important for younger people who may find driving costs prohibitive or be less confident to drive longer distances daily.
This solution resolves several issues quite neatly; finding extra land for parking at Alnmouth station is challenging, and the overspill onto residential streets is often unwelcome, as is the high volume of traffic on roads such as Curly Lane or South View, so bring passengers into Alnmouth by rail resolves both issues, whilst also supporting the Aln Valley Railway.
Such a link, used more broadly such as at weekends would also support the town of Alnwick more broadly by making access by rail easier, with long term potential to have the Aln Valley Railway mainline connected, potentially allowing a direct Alnwick to Newcastle through journey to be made?
See below for information about car-free access and discounts for bus/rail tickets at venues around Northumberland.
Please note that information was correct at time of posting, but please ensure you confirm details before travelling.
Alnwick Castle: 20% discount with valid bus or rail ticket
From the Good Journey website for Alnwick Castle, accessed on 10th August 2026, customers purchasing a walk-up ticket are eligible for a 20% discount with a valid bus or train ticket.
Whilst you’re here…
Why not also do this FREE walk around Alnwick to see sights including fragments of RMS Titantic’s sister ship RMS Olympic at the White Swan Hotel, or the infamous ‘Dirty Bottles’?
The Alnwick Garden: 20% discount with valid bus ticket.
More attractions are due to be highlighted here in coming blog posts, but please take a look on the Good Journey website for more information in the meantime: https://www.goodjourney.org.uk/
This is a circular walk in and around Alnwick, Northumberland, which takes in large parts of the historic town centre, as well as views of landmark sites such as Alnwick Castle. This route is largely sticking to public roads/rights of way, and so will not have opening/closing times, but the route is intended to be completed in daylight and during relatively good weather. No responsibility is taken for the route, it is merely a suggested walk, dogs are welcome, but on the Pastures sometimes cattle are grazing and dogs should be kept on a lead.
In this walk are places with links to two famous shipwrecks, some deadly bottles, the first ‘bloodsucker’ in England, and a stone lion that reputedly wags its tail.
Safety
Safety: Please ensure you are wearing sturdy footwear and weather appropriate clothing all is outdoors, with some areas of grass which may be uneven and slippery after wet weather, and adjacent to the River Aln so please be aware of flood potential after heavy rainfall.
Start: Tenantry Column
This historic Tenantry Column in Alnwick marks the starting location for the description of this walk, but as a circular route, could indeed be started/ended at any chosen point, and indeed many other potential walks lead off from this one with plenty to explore!
This area is very well served by bus links, with several services linking directly to and from Newcastle, as well as Alnmouth station on the East Coast Main Line, making it easy for car-free access.
This column was erected in 1816 by tenants of Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, and is 83 feet (25m) in height, topped by a lion en passant (striding), with the distinctive straight tail, and four white lions at the base.
The column is situated over the road from the well known Barter Books secondhand bookshop, set up in the historic Alnwick Station, used for rail services between Alnwick and the East Coast Main Line at Alnmouth between September 1887 and January 1968, itself well worth a visit, and marks the first digression from the circular walk, of which there are likely to be many.
Down the hill to the War Memorial
The War Memorial (left foreground) and the Tenantry Column (centre background between the trees)
Setting off in a roughly north west direction and down the hill can be seen Alnwick War Memorial, which commemorates those lost in World War One and Two from Alnwick.
Caution: The road junction here can be very busy, and should be crossed with care.
Along Bondgate Without to The Playhouse
The route then continues along a road called ‘Bondgate Without’ in a north westerly direction past a number of public houses such as The Plough, The Ale Gate, and The Fleece.
The Playhouse (right) and Hotspur Tower (centre)
At the end of this road sits The Playhouse; which opened in 1925 as a 700 seat cinema and occasional music hall, until closure in 1979, it reopened in December 1990 and has remained open since, showing a wide range of movies, live performances, music, and more, and contains an excellent Cafe, Bar, and local library with great local info.
Crossing over Greenwell Road (again exercise caution when crossing here), this road leads to a combined entrance to The Alnwick Garden and Alnwick Castle.
Going through Hotspur Tower
Hotspur Tower: road in the centre, pedestrian routes to left and right.
Hotspur or Bondgate Tower is one of the last remaining pieces of Alnwick’s town wall, built around 1450 and now Grade 1 listed.
As can be seen from the image above, the route from The Playhouse, after crossing Greenwell Road means passing beneath Hotspur Tower and changing from ‘Bondgate Without’ to ‘Bondgate Within’, as before you were without, or outside the old town walls, now you are inside, or within them!
Bondgate Within and the Titanic link
Just a hundred yards or so from Hotspur Tower is a strong connection to the world famous shipping disaster of 1912, ‘Titanic’ has a quite strong Alnwick connection via it’s older sister ship ‘RMS Olympic‘.
Plaque on The White Swan Hotel
This is The White Swan hotel, which contains elements of RMS Olympic. A short video of her 27 year long epic career is outlined below in this video by Oceanliner Designs
RMS Olympic 1910 to 1937
In short, the ‘RMS Titanic‘ which famously hit an iceberg in April 1912 was one of the three ‘Olympic class’ ships built by the White Star Line, the oldest being RMS Olympic, then RMS Titanic, and finally HMHS Brittanic, of the three, Olympic was the only vessel of the three to survive afloat beyond WW1, and was partially scrapped at Jarrow on the River Tyne, leading to several sections of internal fittings being sold off second hand.
Interior of The White Swan
The ‘Olympic Suite’ is decorated with fittings from the first-class lounge and part of the aft grand staircase can be found in the White Swan hotel, as the then owner, Algernon Smart, was a regular traveller on the Olympic, and won an auction bid for some of the interior elements.
This lounge was identical to that installed on the sister ship Titanic, now resting at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean.
The revolving door into the White Swan itself was a unique feature of the Olympic to enter the First Class restaurant, and was a way to keep sea breezes out; due to design changes between Olympic and Titanic, such a revolving door was not needed on Titanic.
Walking beyond The White Swan, the old town can be better viewed, with a good street scene of both nationally known names such as Costa Coffee, Greggs, and many more are mingled in with excellent independent shops and cafes, many of which are personal favourites of mine.
At Newcastle Building Society, the main road veers off to the left, heading out of Alnwick towards Rothbury, but our route continues, keeping the buildings to the right, past Yorkshire Trading and on into Narrowgate.
Narrowgate: Grace Darling and the Dirty Bottles
Narrowgate has a somewhat sad link to the heroine Grace Darling of Farne Island fame, when the steamship Forfarshire was wrecked on the islands and Grace, alongside her father William embarked on a rescue in atrocious conditions.
The sad part is that at the young age of 26, Grace fell ill with Tuberculosis, and moved to Alnwick in October 1842 with her mother; convalescing with her cousins the MacFarlanes at their house in Narrowgate.
Later she moved even closer to Alnwick Castle into better accomodation that the then Duchess of Northumberland arranged, her helping to care for Grace, alongside the services of the family doctor to the Duke and Duchess. Sadly, this was to no avail, and Grace was taken back to Bamburgh where she died aged just 26 of consumption.
Entrance to Narrowgate from Hotspur Tower, travelling toward the ‘narrow’ end.
Next to The George pub is a narrow footpath leading to Alnwick Market Place, and Northumberland Hall, a currently empty Grade 1 listed building, but soon to hopefully be the new location for the excellent Bailiffgate Museum, which is currently in a converted church but the move will allow the museum to grow and secure the future of Northumberland Hall.
The images below capture the ‘narrow’ part of Narrowgate, pedestrianised in recent years from what was once somewhat unbelievably the route of the Great North Road and later A1, but is far better without vehicle traffic today.
Fenkle Street joins from the left, with faded ‘Give Way’ lines still showing the once through route through Narrowgate having priority.
Further along Narrowgate is a pub now called ‘The Dirty Bottles‘, as is 1725, so local legend has it, the landlord of the pub dropped dead whilst cleaning the bottles in the window, and his widow proclaimed them as being cursed; they have remained untouched for the 300 years since then, suitably grimy and sealed by the glass to avoid further deaths from cleaning.
The window containing the Dirty BottlesPlaque beside the windowThe cursed bottles, apparently untouched since 1725.
Following the road around the Dirty Bottles, a small side street called Bow Alley heads off to the right, and to the left in the middle of the road is a drinking fountain, locally called a ‘pant’, and at the top of the road (Pottergate) is another surviving part of the town wall, called Pottergate Tower.
Route up Pottergate to Pottergate Tower at the top of the hill.
The castle walls are now on the right hand side, heading around towards the Bailiffgate entrance to the castle, with an antique dealer occupying premises set within the walls themselves.
Bailiffgate: Ancient Football & the Alnwick Vampire
This is the main roadside entrance to the world famous Alnwick Castle, known the world over after multiple major movies have been shot there, including Harry Potter, Downton Abbey, and many more.
Bailiffgate at Alnwick CastleClose-up of Bailiffgate
The road leading off to the left, and opposite the entrance to the Castle is Bailiffgate, on which is Bailiffgate Museum, and further along St Michaels Church, where the road again splits, with Ratten Row leading to Hulne Park; the last of three parks around Alnwick Castle remaining intact. It is completely walled despite its vast size, and is home to many other attractions such as Hulne Priory, Brizlee Tower, and Alnwick Abbey. This park was landscaped by Capability Brown.
The first recorded use of the ‘bloodsucker’ in England was referring to the Alnwick Vampire; who was reputedly a man who was in service at Alnwick Castle but died when climbing the outside of his home in an attempt to catch his wife being adulterous, his neck snapping upon contact with the ground; the full details are linked above.
Scoring the Hales, an ancient game of football is played annually on Shrove Tuesday in Alnwick, and starts at the Bailiffgate entrance to Alnwick Castle where typically the Duke of Northumberland throws the ball from the castle to the public below, and the ball is then piped down the Peth, over the Lion Bridge to the Pastures, where the game is played; two hales (goals) to win, and then the ball is thrown into the river, with the catcher allowed to keep it.
This is the route that the circular walk follows onto The Pastures, but most days are much quieter here than on Shrove Tuesday!
British Pathe newsreel of the 1938 Shrove Tuesday football match
As an aside, the piper uses Northumbrian pipes, not Scottish Bagpipes, the former being much quieter and gentler by comparison, relying entirely on the bellows under the arm, and not blown into like bagpipes.
Piper playing at Bailiffgate in 2012
Lion Bridge: The Scots and a wagging tail?
After walking down the Peth, keeping the castle to the right hand side, the Lion Bridge is reached, with a stone lion, and its straight tail on the downstream side of the bridge.
According to local legend, it is said that ‘when a Scottish person leaves Alnwick bound for home over the bridge, the lions tail will wag’!
The Pastures
After the Lion Bridge, a gate on the right allows access to The Pastures, a landscape again designed by Capability Brown, and offering fine views of Alnwick Castle itself.
The path broadly follows the route of the river downstream until Denwick Bridge is reached.
Note that this path can be very muddy and slippery in wet weather, and sturdy shoes should be worn.
Denwick Bridge towards the Tenantry Column
Leaving the Pastures via a small gate, the road between Alnwick and Denwick is reached. Cross over the river via the bridge and remain with the road to the left and wall to your right.
This path is heading towards the vehicle entrance to The Alnwick Garden, which includes The Treehouse restaurant, and Lilidorei, which is within the walled grounds.
After passing the large wooden gates and entrance to The Alnwick Garden, cross the road either via the pedestrian crossing or the island crossing, and continue along the main road, taking extra care due to the narrow pavement, and then entering the park around the base of the Tenantry Column.
Climbing the hill, you are back to where we started with the four white lions, and a fifth atop the column.
Shortly I’ll be writing to local councillors, MP’s and other organisations such as Railfuture to seek their support for the route given the now substantial and growing support for the Newcastle – Northumberland Park – Blyth Bebside – Pegswood – Alnmouth – Berwick Upon Tweed – Edinburgh rail route to be implemented.
The North East Public Transport User Group (NEPTUG) is calling for support for the public control of bus services in the North East of England, mirroring the excellent services in London and Manchester.
On Saturday 4th July 2026, ‘The Tynesider’ railtour, operated by The Railway Touring Company and West Coast Railways, ran north from London to Newcastle; with the train continuing to Morpeth to take advantage of the ‘balloon loop’ formed by the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and the former Blyth and Tyne lines to turn the loco and train around without needing a turntable for the loco.
The reason for turning a steam hauled train in this way is so that the locomotive can head chimney first, and also allows the support coach to remain behind the locomotive, and using a turntable isn’t always possible, which also could mean shunting the train to put the support coach at the correct end, whereas running around a balloon loop (teardrop shape of track) resolves these movements.
However, this railtour made some unusual movements, and used all three sides of the Morpeth Triangle on Saturday 4th July 2026, which is very unique.
The question this railtour poses yet again is that should this route be utilised ahead of extending the line north to Newbiggin by the Sea?
The Morpeth Triangle and the six rail routes possible.
At Morpeth, the arrangement of the track forms a triangular junction (see image below from Rail Map Online) which allows up to six different routes to be taken by trains as described below.
Please note that the stations at Morpeth and Pegswood are currently open, but the station at Hepscott is long closed and demolished, it is shown here to illustrate the route between Bedlington and the ECML. Also, for the route of the ECML north of Pegswood, only a small number of stations are listed.
The ECML route: Newcastle, Morpeth, Pegswood, Edinburgh
Newcastle,Morpeth to Pegswood, then Alnmouth, Berwick Upon Tweed, and Edinburgh (Northbound route)
Edinburgh, Berwick Upon Tweed, Alnmouth, and Pegswood to Morpeth, then Newcastle via Cramlington (Southbound route)
Route map of railways in the North East showing the routes from Newcastle towards Berwick and Edinburgh via either Cramlington or Bedlington.
The Bedlington Balloon Loop (Newcastle to Newcastle via Bedlington and Morpeth)
Newcastle,Manors, Cramlington,thenMorpeth, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland Park, Manors,and Newcastle (the clockwise ‘balloon loop‘)
Newcastle, Manors, Northumberland Park, Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth Bebside, Bedlington, then Morpeth, Cramlington, Manors, Newcastle (the anti-clockwise ‘balloon loop‘)
The Northumberland Coast Loop Route (Newcastle, Bedlington, Pegswood, Edinburgh)
Newcastle, Manors, Northumberland Park, Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth Bebside, Bedlington, Pegswood, Alnmouth, Berwick Upon Tweed, Edinburgh (Northbound route)
Edinburgh, Berwick Upon Tweed, Alnmouth, Pegswood, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland Park, Manors, Newcastle. (Southbound route)
Morpeth to Hepscott and back to Morpeth again via the North Curve?
‘The Tynesider’ with steam loco Tangmere on the front came to Morpeth from Newcastle via Cramlington as would be expected for it to go clockwise around the ‘balloon loop’ via Bedlington; but instead of going directly from Morpeth towards Hepscott then Bedlington, the train instead left Morpeth heading towards Pegswood, stopping just beyond Morpeth North Junction, then coming back around the Morpeth North Curve being dragged by the Class 47 diesel on the back of the train towards Hepscott, then run back again via the same route as 5Z51 Morpeth to Morpeth.
This was done presumably to maintain driver knowledge, as it is assumed that the location of taking water wasn’t on the Morpeth North Curve itself.
WCR Class 47 hauling ‘The Tynesider’ on the Morpeth North Curve 4th July 2026.
Morpeth to Newcastle via Bedlington
Once the above Morpeth to Morpeth via Hepscott working had been completed, Tangmere, at the head of ‘The Tynesider’ took the train around the Bedlington Balloon loop back to Newcastle for the return to London as the 1Z51 Morpeth to London Kings Cross.
This route between Hepscott and Bedlington would run past the site of the long closed Choppington station, one that both myself and SENRUG argue should be reopened id services on the Northumberland Coast Loop as well as between Morpeth and Bedlington are established.
From the above timetable, we can see that Morpeth to Bedlington was timetabled at 18 minutes, but was actually done in just 16¼ minutes, not bad for a trailing load of 715 tonnes behind a steam loco built in 1947!
Details of the working on ‘The Tynesider’ 2026.
Bringing this lightly used line into regular service use?
This railtour once again demonstrates how the proposed Northumberland Coast Loop route is ready for regular services; if Tangmere and its 715 tonne train could run over it just a few days ago, then it is in a clearly ready state for rail services to North Northumberland and Scotland from Bedlington, and perhaps should be a higher priority than the Newbiggin extension since the line exists and could be put to use far faster?
Advantages
Using the Northumberland Coast Loop route would add extra rail services in both directions from Newcastle to Bedlington, adding more seats and avoiding the worst ‘crushes’ on carriages when the line is busy.
It would offer a much more direct and faster rail link between SE Northumberland, North Northumberland, and Scotland boosting the local, regional, and national economy. For example supporting events at places like Port of Blyth such as the Tall Ships, or at Blyth Battery and Seaton Delaval Hall.
It is just a short link between Bedlington and the ECML near Morpeth; so should be a relatively low-cost and therefore cost-effective expansion of the rail network.
It help would enable Choppington station to reopen, by providing a service along that line, though this new station is an optional extra, not a necessity so could be a separate or later addition to services running via Hepscott.
The route would give added resilience to the ECML; disruptions on the line between Morpeth and Newcastle could be bypassed by some trains running via Bedlington, meaning fewer cancellations of all trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
Another great meeting of the Northumberland Branch tonight, with much discussion on buses, rail services (ECML, Northumberland Line, and Tyne Valley Line), and also of cycling integration with rail too.
Membership is FREE, with the chance to have a real say in better buses, trains, and more! Why not sign up now?
We aim to change public transport for the better via improved integration between rail, buses, and active travel such as walking and cycling, and are working closely with other organisations to help deliver this.
There’s plenty of work to do ahead of our next online meeting at 18:30 on Wednesday 5th August 2026; so if you’d like to be part of it, please sign up using the form on the NEPTUG website here, where you’ll be able to join the Northumberland Branch, or whichever isclosest to you!
Poster for the event at Chester-Le-StreetTickets for the journey from Alnwick to Chester-Le-Street and return to Alnwick, total cost of £26.10 (£2.50 x 2 for single bus fares & £21.10 for the return rail ticket). All fares were paid with cash rather than card as personal preference and to show that this method of payment is still possible on both bus and rail services.
Part 1: Alnwick Bus Station to Alnmouth Railway Station
The day started at home, with a short walk to Alnwick Bus Station in glorious sunshine, a few things bought at Morrisons, then aboard the X20 bang on time at 08:37 in the morning.
Departure from Alnwick Bus Station.
‘Bus Meets Train’: Fair today, but certainly room to improve.
‘Bus Meets Train’ is a good principle, but the practice needs to be better.
Apologies for the brief segue, but it is an opportune time to make the case for better bus links between Alnwick and Alnmouth Railway Station.
On the Saturday, the bus departures and train times aligned quite well, meaning only a relatively short waiting time at Alnmouth for the next leg of the journey, BUT on an ordinary weekday, the first bus (X18) from Alnwick towards Alnmouth station doesn’t leave the bus station until 06:48, and also doesn’t run via the actual station, meaning an 8min walk between the bus stop at Hipsburn Roundabout and the railway station itself.
Bus times and connections between Alnwick Bus Station and Alnmouth Railway Station on the morning of Monday, 29th June 2026 (tomorrow). X18 missing the connection to the railway station; surely an obvious change to make to the route?
Taking the data from RealtimeTrains for Monday 29th June 2026, as can be seen below, this fairly late departure from Alnwick to Alnmouth means that seven trains, the 05:53, 06:24, 06:27, 06:43, 06:48, 06:55, and the 07:03 are impossible to connect to by bus from Alnwick.
Even the 07:15 and 07:20 trains would rely upon the bus being on-time, with the former a very tight connection even if the bus is running on-time, and a delay of just five to eight minutes would put the connection to the 07:20 at risk.
An X20 at 05:30 & 06:30 in the morning, and earlier opening of Alnmouth Ticket Office?
Therefore, earlier buses departing from Alnwick, with ideally a service timed to comfortably meet the first train of the day at 05:53 would be welcomed, which based on X20 route and journey time of 15 mins would need to leave Alnwick at around 05:30 or slightly later to allow a reasonable connection time to the station (to allow purchase of a rail ticket for example ahead of travel).
Two extra X20 services, or other services following the same route (i.e. smaller operator) with one departing Alnwick at ~05:30, and a second at ~06:30 would keep the roughly hourly X20 service pattern, just bringing the first departure forward by two hours, and an earlier opening time of Alnmouth Ticket Office would also be welcomed so that any passengers awaiting services such as the 06:24 could have an indoor shelter would also be welcomed.
RTT timetable for trains calling at Alnmouth on Monday 29th June 2026.
After leaving Alnwick Bus Station, the bus threaded its way around Alnwick, passing Bondgate Tower and Barter Books en-route to Alnmouth Station.
In many ways it is such a pity that Alnwick Station and the branchline into Alnwick itself hadn’t survived; it is almost certain that today it would have been a bustling line similar to the North Berwick line, with North Berwick station having around 566,000 passengers in the 2024/25 period, and lines like the Northumberland Line proving so popular, Alnwick could, had history went differently, a probably bustling branchline carrying perhaps millions of tourists into Alnwick to visit the Castle, Alnwick Garden, and now Lilidorei, but Barter Books possibly wouldn’t occupy the site it does had that been the case.
Perhaps one day the Aln Valley Railway might achieve running a shuttle services from their Lionheart station to Alnmouth with a smaller railcar as they intended to do many years ago, but even then, buses will probably remain an important link for many, many years to come.
The original Alnwick Station, and where the journey may have started had history been different!
Part 2: Alnmouth Station to Chester-Le-Street
The second leg of the journey involved the short walk from the Curly Lane bus stop where I alighted the X20, down to the station itself to buy my tickets at the ticket office.
Of note was a number of fellow passengers making the same journey from Alnwick to Alnmouth station; so it is perhaps a more popular mode than might be expected? Bus ticket data would be interesting to see for this flow to judge its scale if available?
A bit of a battered BR sign for Alnmouth on Curly Lane.Tickets purchased, now to wait on quite a busy platform. The first train, CrossCountry 221 133
The CrossCountry train was very comfortable, with plenty of seats available and air conditioning working well to keep the carriages cool.
Change to Platform 11 to catch the Liverpool bound Transpennine Express (TPE) 802 209 ‘North Star‘
The TPE service was significantly busier than the CrossCountry, but wasn’t overcrowded, and again was nicely cooled by air conditioning.
Part 3: Chester-Le-Street station to the Fair
Arrival at a toasty warm Chester-Le-Street on-time was followed by a c.30min walk across to the event field to the east of the A1(M).
The walk was quite nice, aside from the need to dash over the crossings on the A167 near the BP petrol station, the slip roads at Junction 63 on the A1(M), and crossing the A183, but after those, a pleasant short walk across a bridge over the River Wear and into the Fair!
Chester-Le-Street Steam and Vintage Fair
This is the second year that I have attended this rally, and in my own view, it has improved significantly despite it being an excellent show last year (2025). I spent a lot of time just watching the events taking place in the ‘play pen’ where traction engines, tractors, buses, and cars would have a drive around, and some of the larger vehicles would take a wide range of weighted trailers around to display their machines and capability.
There were an abundance of static exhibits too, and it is certainly a rally I would like to make a regular part of the diary!
If you enjoy classic cars, steam engines, and generally a good day out, it is certainly worth the ticket price, which for one adult was a very reasonable £12 this year.
After a long, but very enjoyable day at the Rally, it was time to head back home!
Part 4: Walk back to Chester-Le-Street station
The walk back, after a long day in the sun and on the feet was a bit slow, but arrival back at Chester-Le-Street was achieved in reasonable time, mostly retracing the route taken that morning.
Part 5: Chester-Le-Street to Alnmouth
Unfortunately, my train back was slightly delayed due to issues on the network with a level crossing, but it was only around 15 minutes late away from Chester-Le-Street and the rest at the station in the shade was most welcomed! Once on the train, it was a quick trip back to Central Station, and back onto a CrossCountry service from Central Station back to Alnmouth.
With the delays on the way home, and a nearly flat phone, I took many fewer pictures to try and save power, as well as checking connections, but there was really plenty of time and no stress about which platform I needed to use to catch the CrossCountry, and had I needed help, there were plenty of staff available at Central Station who I observed helping many other passengers.
Part 6: Bus back to Alnwick
Due to getting back in the late evening, it meant a prolonged wait at Curly Lane for the X18 back to Alnwick at 21:15; not bad on a warm summer evening like Saturday, but wouldn’t be great on a cold winters night; whicg is why ideally a half hourly service is better than hourly, the worst case scenario of a ‘just missed’ bus would mean only a 30min wait time.
The bus arrived a few minutes late, but was quick and comfortable back to Alnwick, with enough time to pop again into Morrisons for a bit of shopping then head home.
All in all a great day out and a success for public transport.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 