Amble - Definition and Overview

Amble is a town in Northumberland, England. It is a seaport on the North Sea coast. The town grew in the nineteenth century as collieries were opened; it's location at the mouth of the River Coquet, 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 will have sheltered in the natural harbour here for centuries previously.

Today, the collieries in Northumberland are virtually all now closed, 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 concentated around the construction and repair of Yachts and other pleasure craft. A small industrial estate is located to the south west 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 several caravan parks, guest houses and B&Bs exist to serve visitors to the Northumberland coast.

Saint Cuthbert lived on Coquet Island just offshore from the town, while nearby Warkworth is noted for its castle.