Amble

[am-buhl]

Amble, known as "Amble-by-the-sea" until 1985, is a small town in Northumberland, England. It is a seaport on the North Sea coast. It lies at the mouth of the River Coquet, and the nearby Coquet Island is clearly visible from its beaches and harbour.

Many of the town's buildings and streets are named after the River Coquet and Coquet Island, including Coquet High School, which lies on the outskirts of town.

The town

Amble grew in the nineteenth century as collieries were opened, and its then newly built railway links to the Northumberland coalfields, made it an ideal centre for the transportation and export of coal. Other industries, such as ship building and repair, and sea fishing, expanded with the growth of the town, although traditional Northumbrian fishing vessels such as cobles have sheltered in the natural harbour for centuries previously.

Today, the collieries in Northumberland are all closed (the last, Ellington, closed in 2005), and the railway no longer serves Amble. However, the fishing industry survives, albeit with a somewhat reduced numbers of vessels, as does a small marine industry, mainly concentrated around the construction and repair of yachts and other pleasure craft. A small industrial estate is located to the southwest of the town, whose clients include food processing plants, vehicle repairs and telecommunications companies.

Tourism forms an important sector of the town's economy - part of the harbour has been redeveloped into a marina, and caravan park, guest houses and B&Bs exist to serve visitors to the Northumberland coast.

Saint Cuthbert lived on Coquet Island just offshore from the town, which retains its strong Christian identity. Amble's four churches are often quite busy. Nearby Warkworth is noted for its castle.

The Friendliest Port

Amble holds the title 'Friendliest Port'. This derives from the 1930s when the RMS Mauretania was heading on her last voyage to the breaker's yard at Rosyth and the Amble town council (Amble Urban District Council) sent a telegram to the ship saying "still the finest ship on the seas". The Mauretania replied with greetings "to the last and friendliest port in England".

Communications

Road

Amble town is situated on the A1068 that runs along the north-eastern coastline.

Amble also lies near to the A1, (A1[M1]), providing easy access to nearest city Newcastle upon Tyne (south), Gateshead [Metro Centre] (south) and to the Scottish capital Edinburgh (north).

Rail

The East Coast Main Line railway link between Edinburgh (journey time approximately 1:10) and London (journey time approximately 3:45) runs via the nearby Alnmouth for Alnwick Station or Widdrington Station.

Air

Newcastle Airport lies around thirty-five minutes drive-time away, and provides nineteen daily flights to London (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and London City), with regular flights to other UK centres. The airport also operates regular flights to many European destinations, along with destinations in Africa and North America.