This market city noticed a surge in guests because of its hyperlinks to Harry Potter, and along with its iconic fort, it has a captivating historic city centre
The centre of city is stuffed with historic attraction (Picture: Getty)
Tucked away within the Northumberland countryside is a captivating market city stuffed with winding cobbled streets the place you’ll uncover quirky bookshops, impartial boutiques, and cosy cafés.
A twice-weekly market nonetheless brings guests to the city, whereas a grand fort and steam railway protect the city’s fascinating previous.
Regardless of its attraction, Alnwick in Northumberland was usually ignored as a vacationer vacation spot till its fort was utilized in a really well-known film manufacturing. Alnwick Fort was remodeled into Hogwarts for the Harry Potter motion pictures, with Quidditch scenes filmed on its exterior inexperienced, and iconic scenes such because the flying automotive crash going down on its grounds.
Alnwick Fort was used as a filming location for Hogwarts (Picture: Getty)
Whether or not you’re a Potterhead or not, Alnwick Fort is properly price a go to. Relationship again to the Twelfth-century, this imposing constructing is the second largest inhabited fort in England after Windsor, and the gates open to the general public in the summertime to discover.
Within the centre, you’ll see a number of the stays of Alnwick’s defences within the city partitions, constructed within the fifteenth century to maintain the city secure. Bondgate Tower has robust stone partitions and a slim tunnel that was well-guarded throughout instances of conflict. Sadly, whereas it was helpful centuries in the past, within the trendy world, it tends to trigger visitors as just one automotive at a time can move by its slim passageway.
Harry Potter isn’t the city’s solely literary connection. It additionally boasts one in all Europe’s largest secondhand bookstores, Barter Books, set in an previous prepare station. Amongst rows and rows of books, you’ll discover armchairs and open fireplaces, making it a comfortable place to spend the afternoon. To not be outdone, a competitor, The Unintended Bookshop, claims it has the UK’s tallest bookshop bookshelf, so it’s possible you’ll must ask employees to seize something you need from the highest.
Alnwick has loads of charming, impartial outlets, discovered down the city’s slim maze of streets. Market days are Thursday and Saturday, and there’s additionally a well-liked farmers’ market on the final Friday of the month. The cobbled Market Place is taken over by vibrant stalls promoting recent fruit and veg, flowers, crafts, and meals, with a lot of merchants promoting items made in Northumberland.
A great way to see the encompassing countryside is on the Aln Valley Railway, which runs seasonally. Made up of restored diesel and steam trains, it takes passengers on a half-hour journey by inexperienced landscapes. Only a 15-minute drive away is Alnmouth Seaside, an extended stretch of sand that’s dog-friendly and provides quite a lot of strolling routes and birdwatching.
After an extended day of exploring, Alnwick has a lot of cosy, old school pubs the place you possibly can take pleasure in a beer or a meal. Soiled Bottles might need a barely unappetising title, nevertheless it refers to a neighborhood legend. In between two window panes sit some dusty previous bottles. The legend goes that over 200 years in the past, an innkeeper died whereas interfering with the bottles, and his widow warned that anybody transferring the bottles would undergo the identical destiny. Due to this fact, the objects have been safely sealed away, and you’ll take pleasure in basic British pub meals or sit within the sunny beer backyard with out worry of being cursed.
Alnwick’s Market Place nonetheless holds common occasions (Picture: Getty)
The John Bull Inn is a favorite with actual ale drinkers, and is understood for its large collection of whiskies. Discovered down a small residential avenue, it’s a hidden gem. The Plough is one other must-visit for lovers of historic pubs, and whereas this teaching inn has been modernised inside, the outside nonetheless has most of the stunning stonework carvings from the nineteenth century.
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You would possibly assume dwelling on this charming city would include a hefty price ticket, nevertheless, whereas the typical home value within the UK is round £300,000, Alnwick has quite a lot of three-bedroom properties beneath £200,000. Current listings on Rightmove embody a terraced residence for £160,000 and a property with a storage and driveway for £189,950, falling method beneath the nationwide common.
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