Alnwick
Alnwick is one of those Northumberland towns that has somehow kept its character, despite every modern temptation to replace it with glass boxes and identical coffee shops. The castle sits grandly above it all, looking exactly as a proper castle should: vast, slightly intimidating, and far too good for the weather it has to put up with.The cobbled streets and old buildings make for a pleasant wander, provided your knees are still willing and the rain holds off for five minutes. There are independent shops, decent places for tea, and enough history to remind you that people managed perfectly well before everything came with an app.
Best of all, the old railway station is now Barter Books, a marvellous bookshop tucked beneath the original station roof. It is full of second-hand books, open fires, little corners to disappear into, and the faint feeling that you ought to have brought a larger bag. Frankly, it is far more useful now than it ever was for catching a train.
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