Northumberland – a secret to discover
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Why Book With Us?
- Value for Money
- Personal Service
- Hand-picked Tours & Activities
- No single supplement (UK only)
- Flights from local airports (Europe only)
Make an Enquiry
Do not hesitate to contact us. We are an expert team and we are always happy to talk to you.
01694 723600

You matter to us & we promise to provide you with a superb walking & social holiday, tailored specifically to your needs. We provide walking holidays for walkers & as walkers ourselves, we appreciate & understand the requirements of a walking holiday.
Northumberland Walking Holidays
Discover one of England’s most unspoilt counties on a Northumberland walking holiday. From the dramatic Northumberland Coast and its golden beaches to the rolling hills of Northumberland National Park, this remarkable landscape is filled with hidden gems, ancient castles, peaceful moorland and wildlife-rich islands waiting to be explored.
If you’re looking to escape the pace of everyday life, Northumberland offers the perfect retreat. With its vast open skies, quiet trails, fresh sea air and breath-taking scenery, it’s the ideal destination to relax, recharge and reconnect with nature. Whether you’re exploring the coastline, walking through historic market towns or discovering iconic landmarks, Northumberland never disappoints.
Our speciality is offering guided walking holidays for solos and singles in magnificent locations across the UK and Europe. Unlike many other walking companies which offer solos holidays as an extra, we are unique in that we only deal in solos guided walking. We also design bespoke holidays for special groups.
- Five Days
- Refund guarantee
- Expert Tour Guides
- Four Nights
Location: Northumberland- No Single Supplement
What you get on a Secret Hills Break
- Hotel bed and breakfast– en suite – four nights
- Dinner- three course.
- Lunch- except first day
- Sole Occupancy
- Personal service
- Expert guiding- friendly, local guides that know the area superbly well
- Transport to walks start and finish as needed
- Flexibility
- No single supplement
- A social, relaxed approach
- Full joining details prior to your holiday
- Our administration support from the point of booking to you joining the holiday
Hotel and Meals
We use the White Swan in Alnwick as the base for our Northumberland holidays. See https://www.classiclodges.co.uk/the-white-swan/
The hotel is in the centre of Alnwick.
We offer a three course dinner as part of your holiday fee.
Directions to the hotel
By Road
For your Sat Navs the post code is NE66 1TD
Train services
There are many train services to Alnmouth, Northumberland, including trains from London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and more:
Great reasons to join us
There are other walking holiday companies that cover the countryside but we believe we offer the best value for many reasons….
- We specialise in organising guided walking holidays for solos and singles.
- We are a small friendly company
- We have a loyal customer base who return again and again (so we must be doing something right) – read our testimonials page on the website
- We offer a lot of flexibility – you can stay extra nights which we are happy to organise for you. We are also very flexible on the walks we provide, adapting to suit walkers and weather conditions
- Our walk leading is second to none. Unlike some other large Walking Companies, we use LOCAL leaders who live in the area and who love their surroundings. They have expert knowledge of everything you need to know to make an area come alive.
- You are safe in our hands – our guides are experts, fully qualified in first aid. Also, because of their local knowledge of the hills, they can respond to any situation that might for example demand cutting short a route. They don’t need to consult maps – they know the hills intimately.
- Our leaders are all easy-going, genuinely sociable people who want to ensure that you have the best time you can with the rest of the group. They make the weekend fun by engaging with all members of a group, and ensuring that everyone feels part of the group experience.
- We give great value for money. Because we recognise that lots of walkers holiday on their own, we have negotiated no single supplement deals with all our hotels to ensure the best possible deal.
- We always use good hotels.
- We have smaller groups than some of the larger walking companies because we believe the social experience is much better in a smaller group. People can talk to everyone, especially at dinner where you can all sit at one table in a small group. Our numbers vary from holiday to holiday but an average group size would be 8-12.
Itinerary
We walk on the first afternoon, then four more days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
We lunch in one of Northumberland’s historic country inns, or if that is not possible we take a packed lunch.
This holiday is run by local guides who have a vast knowledge of this beautiful area
Walking is moderate, some ascending and descending – there are river valleys, coastal paths and moors after all, and you should be walking fit.
On the last day, Monday our guides will arrange the walking to suit the groups travel home arrangements.
It is our intention to plan the last days walk in Lindisfarne- subject to tide times – and you should plan any return train times after 3.00pm. We will take you to Alnmouth station though.
Sample Walks
We choose from many walks in this iconic walking area- here are a few
Alnmouth to Embleton along the coast path
Circular walk based on Rothbury and the Simonside Hills
Embleton to Bamburgh along the coast path
South to Warkworth castle
Lindisfarne (Holy Island) its castle and circular walks.
Grades and Difficulty
The walks on this trip are rated as Moderate but each day involves a fair amount of ascent and descent. The trip requires a reasonable amount of fitness, ideally with previous hill walking experience.
The paths we use are well trodden but can be uneven, rocky or stony in places. We will move carefully over these sections with your safety in mind. On some walks so there could be some short, sharp ups and downs. Some walking will be on quiet lanes or accessible tracks.
Please bring good walking boots or shoes with good soles for protection. Boots provide better ankle support than shoes. You will also need walking socks, walking trousers, breathable tops, warm layers and a waterproof jacket and trousers and a daysack/rucksack to carry spare clothing, your lunch, snacks and drinks and anything else you may need each day. Walking poles and gaiters are useful and you may need a warm hat and gloves or sunglasses, a sun hat and sun cream. It is best to be prepared for all kinds of weather!
Meet New Friends
Its all about meeting new friends. Each holiday is designed to be a friendly, relaxed and stress free occasion. Talking is as important as walking on Secrethills Walking Holidays. We don’t go in for discos, we may use an event that is taking place in the area we are in to boost the weekends activities – but its good, old fashioned chat that makes our short breaks successful.
“Make new friends that turn into old friends” – that’s our motto.
You might be surprised by what fun you’ll have with people who are older or younger than you during a holiday with us, and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere we encourage; people find it very rewarding. It doesn’t matter what your reasons for traveling with us are, we’ve had people who are single, divorced or widowed, people who have partners that are unable to travel, and people who can’t holiday with their friends anymore as they’ve all got married themselves. There are people who want to make friends, see sights, and experience something completely new. Whatever your reason, we’ll welcome you with open arms and our friendly hosts will help you to get the most out of your holiday.
Don’t worry if this is the first time you have ventured to join a group holiday – its always a bit daunting – but we will look after you and ensure that you get used to being amongst friends again. Trust us to to get you back into the swing of things.
Oh – by the way – its not a dating agency – over the years we have had people meet and fall in love – but that’s just chance. Our aim is that you make like minded friends – just relax and enjoy.
Just arrive and enjoy.
How to Book
To reserve a place on any of our holidays, please follow these simple instructions.
Reserve online – once you have chosen your holiday, click on Proceed Booking and complete the online form. If you have difficulty reserving online, please contact us (tel: 01694 723600, email: info@secrethillswalking.co.uk) and we will assist you to complete your booking.
Payment
Please note we cannot take credit/debit card details over the phone. You may pay by the following methods when you book online…
- Paypal – if you have a Paypal account, simply click on the link to the Paypal website.
- Credit / Debit card – we use Paypal to host our credit/debit cards facility because it is a very secure system. So if you want to pay with a card, simply click on this option which will take you to our page on the PayPal website. Check in there as a “Guest” to enable your card payment. You do not need to have a Paypal account for this transaction.
- We will also accept a Bank Transfer – you will find our account details on the booking form.
- Finally, we will also accept a cheque payable to Secret Hills Walking Holidays and sent to: Secret Hills Walking Holidays, 35 Sandford Avenue, Church Stretton, Shropshire, SY6 6BH
Please note than an initial deposit is required with each booking regardless of which payment method you choose. Your booking will be accepted when your payment (deposit or full balance) is received. Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.
It is important that you read the terms and conditions before you sign the booking form.
Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.
Location
Every day is a discovery
Northumberland never fails to surprise and delight. With so many destinations and experiences to discover, it’s a place people come back to, time and again.
It’s always a good time to visit Northumberland. Spring wildlife, summer beach days, autumn stars, and winter events make our astounding county worth exploring at the turn of every season.
From the lush, green valleys and forests in the west, to the unspoilt, dune-lined beaches in the east, Northumberland is blessed with an irresistible mix of stunning scenery, fascinating historical sites, and unforgettable adventures.
Northumberland is a place of tranquillity, where you can walk in the footsteps of saints at Holy Island, skim stones along 30 miles of unspoilt beaches, stroll back in time 2,000 years along Hadrian’s Wall, meet the local seals and puffins at the Farne Islands, then sleep under a canopy of stars in our International Dark Skies Park.
Reviews
5 Walkers from this New Holiday
Enjoyed hotel and staff all very friendly. Would happily stay there again. Central position made free time easy to fill.
Also enjoyed the relaxed efficiency, an opportunity to walk, chat and eat with a variety of people – Ann.
Friendly company. I like that whilst we pay the single supplement, there isn’t 2 prices
This was my 4th holiday and I love the fact that we get to the destination and walk, the hardest thing is always the food choices (and in a good way) Tina, Alvina and Alan were excellent – Sarah R.
I had a super time, thank you all – John P.
Hotel was good. Loved the walking, thought it was varied and liked the ability to split into two groups – Sarah T.
All walks were good and well organised.
Hotel was good.
Would recommend Secret Hills holidays.
Will be booking further Secret Hills holidays.
Thank you – Barbara
Northumberland, October 2025





















