Alnmouth Friary

I've visited Alnmouth quite a few times, but hadn't realised that there was actually a friary here. Alnmouth Friary is nestled on a hill overlooking the sea and houses The Society of St Francis in the North East, a group of friars who follow in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi.

The friary opened on the 15th August 1961 and was scouted for them by Lady Mary of the nearby Howick Hall.

Nowadays the main ministry of the friary is hospitality and according to their website you can visit their library and chapel including some lunch, or even stay over too and sample the Franciscan way of life. They also host open garden days and our Fabulous North friend Michael Bailey visited on one of these days in May 2022 and took all these photos.

For more information why not head over to their website at www.franciscans.org.uk.

A few weeks later the Fabulous North team were up in Alnmouth for the Jubilee and the Friary was open for afternoon tea, so with the lure of scones, we obviously headed up.

The gardens were beautiful for a little wander around pre-afternoon tea.

Finally arrived at the top.

After a scone, a drink and an unsuccessful turn on the tombola, we heard back down through the garden again to find other little hidden gems.

Keep an eye out for their next open days and it's a lovely and tranquil place for a pootle.