Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill.
Two miles from The Alnwick Garden car park down through the Pastures to the River Aln, west along the bank to the four-arch Lion Bridge with the Percy lion on its parapet, and back up under the castle walls. This is the Waterside Trail published by Northumberland Estates, who own the ground, and it is the walk to do in Alnwick with a dog, because the estate's other big option, Hulne Park, bans dogs outright. Grass and gravel path, gently rolling, one gate. The estate's own instruction is that much of this land is a conservation area, so dogs are to be kept under strict control, and the trail is currently diverted around the Riverbrook Gardens housing works.
The longer of the two Waterside Trail variants that Northumberland Estates publishes from The Alnwick Garden car park, about three and a half miles taking in the Lion Bridge, the north bank of the Aln past the castle's Capability Brown parkland, and a swing east through farmland towards Denwick Bridge before turning back. Field-edge and riverside path with two gates and a short stretch of estate track. The estate's stated rule is that dogs must be kept under strict control here because the land is a conservation area, and the field sections are stock-grazed. Do not attempt to link it into Hulne Park: the estate does not permit dogs there.
Three miles there and back east out of Alnwick Market Place along Bondgate Within and Denwick Lane, past The Alnwick Garden entrance and out between the hedges to Denwick Bridge over the Aln and the hamlet beyond. It is the flattest way out of town on foot and it stays on public highway and verge throughout, which makes it a reliable option when the estate trails are wet or diverted. The county dog control PSPO requires a lead of no more than 1.5m on classified 'A' and 'B' roads and their verges, and Denwick Lane joins the B1340 at the far end, so the lead stays on. There is no exclusion anywhere on the route.
A mile and a half round the historic core, from the Market Place up Narrowgate and along Bailiffgate under the castle gatehouse, out past the museum to Wagonway Road and the old Alnwick station that now houses Barter Books, then back through Clayport and Bondgate Within under the surviving town gate. All pavement, all lit, and short enough to be the last walk of the day from a hotel. The county dog control PSPO places no exclusion on any of it and requires a lead only on the classified roads, in the cemetery and if an officer asks; the enclosed play area off Greenwell Road is out of bounds to dogs year round.
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