Review of The Northumberland Arms in Felton, where a warm welcome awaits at the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards winner

The pub, in Felton, near Alnwick, is celebrating a recent coup after being named a winner of the 2022 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards for the second year in a row – putting the pub with rooms in the top ten per cent of hotels worldwide.

And it’s easy to see what impresses visitors so much.

Just a mile off the A1, the country pub is ideally situated as a pit stop on a long journey, and it also has enough appeal to make it a destination in itself.

Felton is a smaller village than most, with a population of just 1,000, and The Northumberland Arms is very much a focal point of the area from its vantage point overlooking the River Coquet.

A former coaching inn which dates back to the 1820s, it’s a building full of character, from its cosy corners filled with trinkets and taking style cues from a country estate with its antler light shades, exposed stone walls and beams and Scottish baronial tartan, to its staff who welcome visitors as though they were village locals.

In the warmer months, there’s also a picture perfect beer garden overlooking the river as it meanders under the ancient stone bridge.

Here’s what to expect from a visit:

The food

No one could accuse The Northumberland Arms of skimping on portions. Prepare to have your tummy filled here!

The menu is nothing too fancy: it’s all good, honest pub grub with a firm focus on local ingredients. Think classics such as burgers, grills, pie, beer-battered cod, pan haggerty and parmo, as well as vegan and veggie options – it’s all hearty stuff.

We chose the fish platter to start to share between two of us, although the size of it, it could have easily been enough for three.

For £16.95, you get plenty for your pounds with a board laden with a real catch of sliver upon sliver of smoked salmon, a moreish mackerel pate which we couldn't get enough of, a well-balanced potted trout, prawns, mussels and more than enough bread to devour it all with.

For mains, I ordered from the specials menu – pork cutlet with triple-cooked chips, fried hen’s egg, grilled tomatoes and spinach.