River Aln

River Aln
<div style=""font-size:small;";">The River Aln near Alnmouth
Source of the River Aln  River Aln shown within Northumberland
NT996108
List of places: UK • England • Northumberland

[ v t e ] River Aln route map

Legend Castle Pond; Alnham Castle Farm Alnham House Prendwick Little Ryle Ryle Mill Mere Burn Eslington Park Whittingham Whittingham Callaly Burn Whittingham A697, Devil's Causeway Bridge, Low Barton Coe Burn (Lower Learchild) Shawdon Burn Bolton Bolton Mill Edlingham Burn Abberwick Ford Abberwick Mill Catcheugh Drive, Hulne Park East Brizlee Drive, Hulne Park Eglingham Burn Shipley Burn Iron Bridge Drive, Hulne Park Weir, Hulne Priory Lady's Well Drive, Hulne Park Weir B6346, Canongate, Alnwick B6341, The Peth, Alnwick Weir Weir B1340, Alnwick A1 Alnwick Millenium Footbridge Denwick Burn A1068, "Alnmouth" Road Cawledge Burn Stepping Stones, Old Hawkhill Weir Bilton Mill Weir East Coast Main Line Viaduct Lesbury Weir Lesbury Old Mill Lesbury Millenium Bridge, A1068 Lesbury Old Bridge Steppey Lane Foot Bridge, Lesbury Duchess' Bridge, B1338, Alnmouth Limit of navigation End of River Aln — North Sea

Route

The River Aln (pronounced /ˈæln/, or /ˈælən/) runs through the county of Northumberland in England. It rises in Alnham in the Cheviot Hills and discharges into the North Sea at Alnmouth on the east coast of England.

The river gives its name to the town of Alnwick and the villages of Alnmouth and Alnham.^[1] For part of its route, directly upstream of Alnwick, the river flows through Hulne Park.

History

The Aln is first mentioned in the Geography of Ptolemy, a 2nd Century AD Roman cartographer. He refers to it as the River Alaunus (Geographica 2.3.4.18), on which seems to be situated the town of Alauna (Geographica 2.3.7.6). This can speculatively be identified as the Roman fort at Learchild, where the Devil's Causeway crosses the river.

The Aln is a relatively small river but has been important through history as one of the boundaries along which English and Scottish troops marching to war had to cross; for that reason, it was at times heavily defended. For example, the river flows past Learchild Roman Fort and, more significantly, Alnwick Castle which was built for this purpose.

Adtwifyrdi is the name used by the Venerable Bede to describe the meeting of river and tributary at the mouth of the River Aln.

Non-Tidal Ecology

The river has a good run of sea trout and salmon, as well as a population of resident brown trout. Public fishing is controlled by the Aln Anglers' Association.^[2] The Aln also has a resident population of otters.^[3] Grey heron, barn owls, kestrels and buzzards can be observed hunting along the banks of the river.

Tidal Ecology

Part of the estuary is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest,^[4] and the river below Lesbury footbridge (the normal tidal limit, except on high springs and in surge events) was included in 2013 proposals as a possible Marine Conservation Zone.^[5] Large groups of Lapwings, Oyster Catchers and Curlews can often be seen. In smaller numbers are Mallards, Shelducks, Grey Herons, Cormorants, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Swans and the occasional family of Goosander. Less often spotted are Barn Owls, Kestrels, Avocets and Little Egrets. Further down the tidal zone a visitor will often see Sandwich Tern and Common Tern, as well as a variety of Gulls and smaller waders including Redshanks, Greenshanks, Turnstones, Ringed Plovers, Pied Wagtails, and other Sandpipers.

See also

• Rivers of the United Kingdom

References