We began 2024 with a bracing walk at Hauxley. The original  plan had been to walk towards Amble along the dunes and back to the cars and then go the Hauxley Reserve for lunch. As a couple of us needed to be back in Alnwick slightly earlier, and due to the temperature and force of the Arctic wind, we  adapted the walk.

We cut down on to the beach and walked southwards. Where had all the sand gone? Maybe Alnmouth as the beach level is higher and the estuary’s sandbanks have changed significantly. So we had to do a bit of scrambling over sandstone layers of rocks. We then turned up towards Hauxley walking past one of the coastal sculptures and into the Nature Reserve Café for coffee and whatever took our fancy. (They do very good blueberry and lemon scones!)

Some of us then returned to the cars and went home, while others headed back to the beach for a bit further south. They were the unlucky ones as they were caught by a brief lashing of horizontal hail. Despite this, all 12 of us had enjoyed our first walk of 2024.

See full programme below

St James’s Walking Group Programme 2024