The river gives its name to the town of Alnwick and the villages of Alnmouth and Alnham.[1] For part of its route, directly upstream of Alnwick, the river flows through Hulne Park.
Etymology
The meaning of the name Aln is uncertain,[2] but it is generally seen as a river-name of the Alaunos or Alaunā.[3][4] Names of this type could derive from the Celtic root *al- ('feed, raise, nurture') or *alǝ- (to wander'),[4] or else from the Brittonic element *al-, "shining, bright" (Welshalaw, 'waterlilly').[3] Another suggestion is that the name is derived from the Brittonic root *Alaun- (‘holy one’ or ‘mighty one’).[5]
History
The Aln is first mentioned in the Geography of Ptolemy, a 2nd Century AD Roman cartographer. He refers to it as the River Alaunos or Alaunus (Geographica 2.3.4.18), on which seems to be situated the town of Alauna (Geographica 2.3.7.6). This can speculatively be identified as the Roman fort at Learchild, where the Devil's Causeway crosses the river.
The Aln is a relatively small river but has been important through history as one of the boundaries along which English and Scottish troops marching to war had to cross; for that reason, it was at times heavily defended. For example, the river flows past Learchild Roman Fort and, more significantly, Alnwick Castle which was built for this purpose.
The river has a good run of sea trout and salmon, as well as a population of resident brown trout. Public fishing is controlled by the Aln Anglers' Association.[6] The Aln also has a resident population of otters.[7]Grey heron, barn owls, kestrels and buzzards can be observed hunting along the banks of the river.
^ abDelamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. p. 37. ISBN9782877723695.
^Field, John (1980). Place-names of Great Britain and Ireland. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. p. 23. ISBN0389201545. OCLC6964610.
