Hartburn Grotto is one of the most unusual spots we’ve visited in England so far! From the outside it looks like a cave house built into the cliff face and wouldn’t look out of place in a scene from The Lord of the Rings - with grass, bracken and other foliage threatening to fill every last inch of the rock. However, what makes it even more special is the history behind it.
Hartburn Grotto is actually a former changing room built in the Victorian times to allow women to change in private before accessing the river to bathe. You can still do the same, as despite the fact the building is Grade II listed, it’s open for anyone to access and follow in the footsteps of old.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Hartburn Grotto.
The walk to Hartburn Grotto
The stats
Distance: 600m (0.4 miles) each way
Elevation gain: 25m
Difficulty: Easy
Summary: The walk to Hartburn Grotto is easy and almost entirely flat. However, after rain it can get very muddy and the mud can make it a touch slippery. The grotto is not signposted, but we have detailed directions below.
The trail
The closest place to park for the grotto is a lay-by right beside the trailhead (co-ordinates - 55.1711732, -1.8631663 or you can find it on Google maps by clicking here). However, if the space here is taken you’ll park 300m up the road in the church car park (more details including postcode at the end of the post).
If you have parked at the church you’ll have to walk for 150m along a footpath and then 150m along a road with no footpath - however, it’s a very quiet road. You’ll then come to the lay-by.
Just a few seconds from the lay-by you’ll see a footpath with a wooden signpost heading right, into the forest. You’ll head downhill on stairs for 20m before the path curves left. It’s still downhill and this time there are no steps, so if muddy it can be a touch slippery.
It’s less than a minute more before the path flattens though and you’ll begin following the river.
This next part of the path can get very muddy. You can sometimes skirt round it, but if you are visiting after a lot of rain, I wouldn’t wear any shoes you want to keep pristine.
It’s a pretty woodland though with what should be a lovely river view to your right. For us the river was sadly flowing brown due to all the rain, so it wasn’t as picturesque as it would normally be!
After a couple of hundred metres into the walk you’ll reach the grotto, and this last section is all flat. If you had to park at the church you will have walked for 630m, and if you parked at the lay-by it’s just 330m.
When you’re ready to leave the grotto you could retrace your steps or make a circuit through the woodland. We were planning the circuit route but aborted when we realised how muddy the track was, I am sure it’s nicer to create a loop if you’re visiting in nicer conditions though!
Hartburn Grotto
Hartburn Grotto is such a fun spot, with windows cut into the rock and so much foliage surrounding it that it feels like walking into something from a fantasy novel.
There are a few steps leading down to the entryway to the grotto and then it’s a flat dirt path. Again for us this was very muddy, but was still easy enough.
You can walk through the arched doorway and right inside the grotto. Though there is no longer much to see, we did notice a fireplace, which was a real surprise!
There are two rooms and a high ceiling. It’s definitely the most unusual Grade II listed building you’re likely to have encountered!
When you turn to exit the grotto you’ll see a passageway just to the left which leads directly to the river. You have to crouch to use it, but it’s pretty fun to follow in the direct footsteps of those that used it to bathe in the river.
If you don’t want to walk through the tunnel you can easily access the river just to the right of the fencing. There are a few rocky steps down and then you’re at the water’s edge.
Wild swimming at Hartburn Grotto
Although I came to swim at the grotto, sadly for us it was brown and foamy following all the recent rain. In drier times it would be a nice quiet stretch of river, surrounded by woodland and easy to access.
Even following all the rain it didn’t look overly deep at the edge, so getting in shouldn’t be too difficult. The water was quite cold, but you can have a proper swim to warm up.
It would definitely add to the experience of visiting, so hopefully we’ll be back to try again one day!
Parking for and getting to Hartburn Grotto
As mentioned above you can park right beside the trailhead for Hartburn Grotto, at these coordinates: 55.1711732, -1.8631663
There is room for two cars to park here and it’s unlikely it will be full, as even when we visited in the middle of the day in August it was empty. However, if you can’t get a spot you can park in the church car park which is 300m away, the postcode is NE61 4JB. This is quite a large car park and costs £1, payable via the honesty box, so don’t forget a coin!
Hartburn Grotto is just over a 15 minute drive from Morpeth, 35 minutes from Alnwick and the same from Newcastle.
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