Things to do in Alnwick
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Ye Old Cross
Known as 'Bottles', after the dusty bottles in the window, this is another atmospheric stottie-and-pint halt. Legend has it that 150 years ago the owner collapsed and died while trying to move the bottles and no one's dared attempt it since; the irony is that the old window is now behind plexiglass to stop revellers stealing them!
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Market Tavern
Near Market Sq, this is the place to go for a traditional giant beef stottie (round loaf) sluiced down with a yard of real ale. B&B available (£30).
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Barter Books
If you're familiar with the renaissance of the WWII 'Keep Calm and Carry On' slogan, it's thanks to Barter Books, one of the country's largest and most beautiful second-hand bookshops. When converting the old Victorian railway station, the owner came across a set of posters - and turned it into a successful cottage industry. Coal fires, velvet ottomans and reading rooms make this a place you could spend days in, the silence interrupted only by the tiny rumble of the toy train that runs along the track above your head.
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Bailiffgate Museum
The three floors at this often overlooked museum near the castle are taken up with interesting exhibitions on coal mining, the history of Alnwick, Border Reivers and the railways as well as locally themed temporary shows.
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Art House
Located partially within the 15th-century Hotspur Tower (known locally as the Bondgate Tower), this bright, sharp-edged restaurant/art gallery offers simple but flavoursome combos such as salmon in white wine and pesto sauce, and chicken breast with wild mushrooms and tarragon. Ingredients are locally picked, caught and reared wherever possible. All the art on the walls is for sale.
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Alnwick Garden
As spectacular a bit of green-thumb artistry as you'll see in England, this is one of the northeast's great success stories. Since the project began in 2000, the 4.8-hectare walled garden has been transformed from a derelict site into a spectacle that easily exceeds the grandeur of the castle's 19th-century gardens, a series of magnificent green spaces surrounding the breathtaking Grand Cascade – 120 separate jets spurting over 30,000L of water down 21 weirs for everyone to marvel at and kids to splash around in.
There are a half-dozen other gardens, including the Franco-Italian-influenced Ornamental Garden (with more than 15,000 plants), the Rose Garden and the…
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Alnwick Castle
The outwardly imposing ancestral home of the Duke of Northumberland and a favourite set for film-makers (it was Hogwarts for the first couple of Harry Potter films) has changed little since the 14th century. The interior is sumptuous and extravagant; the six rooms open to the public – staterooms, dining room, guard chamber and library – have an incredible display of Italian paintings, including Titian's Ecce Homo and many Canalettos.
A free Harry Potter tour runs every day at 2.30pm and includes details of other productions – period drama Elizabeth and the British comedy series Blackadder to name but two – to have used the castle as a backdrop.
The castle is set in…
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