The Northeast

Post-industrial Tyne and Wear is home to the Northeast’s major metropolis, the dynamic and distinctive city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Crammed with cultural attractions, great shops and an exceptionally energetic nightlife, Newcastle is up there with the most exciting cities in England. The bulk of the Northeast is, however, formed by the remote and beautiful county of Northumberland, an enticing medley of delightful market towns, glorious golden beaches, wooded dells, wild uplands and an unsurpassed collection of historical monuments. South of Northumberland lies the county of Durham, famous for its lovely university town and magnificent twelfth-century cathedral.

While its most recent past is defined by industry and in particular post-industrial hardship, the Northeast has an eventful early history: Romans, Vikings and Normans have all left dramatic evidence of their colonization, none more cherished than the 84-mile-long Hadrian’s Wall, built by the Romans in 122 AD to contain the troublesome tribes of the far north. Thousands come each year to walk along parts, or all, of the Wall, or to cycle the nearby National Route 72. Neighbouring Northumberland National Park also has plenty for outdoors enthusiasts, with the huge Kielder Water reservoir, and surrounding footpaths and cycleways.

As well as Roman ruins, medieval castles scatter the region, the best-preserved being Alnwick, with its wonderful gardens, and stocky Bamburgh, on the coast. The shoreline round here, from Amble past Bamburgh to the Scottish border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed – and officially the end of Northumberland – is simply stunning, boasting miles of pancake-flat, dune-backed beach and a handful of off-shore islands. Reached by a tidal causeway, the lonely little islet of Lindisfarne – Holy Island – where early Christian monks created the Lindisfarne Gospels, is the most famous, while not far away to the south, near Seahouses, the Farne Islands are the perfect habitat for large colonies of seabirds including puffins, guillemots and kittiwakes.

South of Northumberland, the counties of Durham and Tyne and Wear better illustrate the Northeast’s industrial heritage. It was here in 1825 that the world’s first railway opened – the Darlington and Stockton line – with local coal and ore fuelling the shipbuilding and heavy-engineering companies of Tyneside. Abandoned coalfields, train lines, quaysides and factories throughout the area have been transformed into superb, child-friendly tourist attractions.

Getting around: The northeast

By public transport The main East Coast train line runs along the coast from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh, calling at Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed, while cross-country trains and buses serve smaller towns and villages inland. In the more remote areas public transport is spotty, so it’s best to have your own car or bike.

Lindisfarne Castle, Holy Island

Highlights

1 Newcastle nightlife From raucous clubs and chic wine bars to cosy boozers and chilled-out indie gigs, there’s something for everybody.

2 Hadrian’s Wall Walk the length of the greatest Roman monument in England.

3 Northumbrian castles Northumberland is littered with beautiful castles, telling of a violent past ridden with ferocious battles and embittered family feuds.

4 Holy Island A brooding lump of rock reached by a tidal causeway, this is a cradle of Christianity, where the splendid, illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels were created.

5 Durham Cathedral Said to be the finest Norman building in Europe, this awe-inspiring cathedral soars above the River Wear.

6 Beamish Museum Exceptional open-air museum that recreates the Northeast’s industrial past.

7 Killhope Lead Mining Museum Put on a hard hat and get down the pit to see what life was really like for the Weardale coal miners.

< Back to The Northeast

Newcastle upon Tyne

The de facto capital of the area between Yorkshire and Scotland, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE was named for its “new castle” founded in 1080 on the mighty River Tyne. The city hit the limelight during the Industrial Revolution – Grainger Town in the city’s centre is lined with elegant, listed classical buildings, indicating its past wealth and importance as one of Britain’s biggest and most important exporters of coal, iron and machinery. Although the decline of industry damaged Newcastle badly, today the city has emerged from its post-industrial difficulties with barely a smut on its face. Its reputation for lively nightlife is just the tip of the iceberg; visitors flock here for its collection of top-class art galleries, museums and flourishing theatre scene – not to mention the shopping.

Newcastle Castle

Castle Garth, NE1 1RQ • Daily 10am–5pm • £6.50, purchased at the Black Gate • 0191 230 6300, newcastlecastle.org.uk

Anyone arriving by train from the north will get a sneak preview of the Castle, as the rail line splits the keep from its gatehouse, the Black Gate, on St Nicholas Street. A wooden fort was built here over an Anglo-Saxon cemetery by Robert Curthose, illegitimate eldest son of William the Conqueror, but the present keep dates from the twelfth century. There’s a great view from the rooftop over the river and city.

St Nicholas Cathedral

At the junction of St Nicholas St and Mosley St, NE1 1DF • Mon–Fri & Sun 7.30am–6pm, Sat 8am–4pm • Free, donation requested • 0191 232 1939, stnicholascathedral.co.uk

St Nicholas Cathedral, dating mainly from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, is remarkable chiefly for its tower; erected in 1470, it is topped with a crown-like structure of turrets and arches supporting a lantern. Inside, behind the high altar, is one of England’s largest funerary brasses, commissioned by Roger Thornton, the Dick Whittington of Newcastle, who arrived in the city penniless and died its richest merchant in 1429.

Quayside

From between the castle and the cathedral a road known simply as The Side – formerly the main road out of the city, and home to the excellent Side Gallery – descends to Newcastle’s Quayside. The river is spanned by seven bridges in close proximity, the most prominent being the looming Tyne Bridge of 1928, symbol of the city. Immediately west is the hydraulic Swing Bridge, erected in 1876 by Lord Armstrong so that larger vessels could reach his shipyards upriver, while modern road and rail lines cross the river on the adjacent High Level Bridge, built by Robert Stephenson in 1849 – Queen Victoria was one of the first passengers to cross, promoting the railway revolution. Beyond the Tyne Bridge is an area of riverside apartments, landscaped promenades, public sculpture and pedestrianized squares, along with a series of fashionable bars and restaurants centred on the graceful Gateshead Millennium Bridge, the world’s first tilting span, designed to pivot to allow ships to pass.

Newcastle orientation

Visitors are encouraged to think of the city as Newcastle Gateshead, an amalgamation of the two conurbations straddling the Tyne. On Gateshead Quays are the BALTIC contemporary arts centre and Norman Foster’s Sage music centre, and on the opposite side, Newcastle’s Quayside is where you’ll find much of the city’s nightlife. The city splits into several distinct areas, with just a few minutes’ walk between them. The castle and cathedral occupy the heights immediately above the River Tyne, while north of here lies the city centre, Grainger Town. Chinatown and the two big draws of the Discovery Museum and Centre for Life are west of the centre, while east is the renowned Laing Gallery and, a short walk along the river, the old industrial Ouseburn area, home to an alternative cultural scene, interesting galleries, the excellent Seven Stories children’s museum and some popular bars. In the north of the city, on the university campus, is the Great North Museum: Hancock; further north, through the landscaped Exhibition Park, is the Town Moor, 1200 acres of common land where freemen of the city – including Jimmy Carter and Bob Geldof – are entitled to graze cattle.

BALTIC

By the Millennium Bridge, Gateshead Quays, NE8 3BA • Mon & Wed–Sun 10am–6pm, Tues 10.30am–6pm • Free • 0191 478 1810, balticmill.com

Fashioned from an old brick flourmill, BALTIC sits on the Gateshead riverbank, by the Millennium Bridge. Designed to be a huge visual “art factory”, it’s second only in scale to London’s Tate Modern. There’s no permanent collection here – instead there’s an ever-changing calendar of exhibitions and local community projects, as well as artists’ studios, education workshops, an art performance space and cinema, plus a rooftop restaurant with uninterrupted views of the Newcastle skyline.

Sage Gateshead

St Mary’s Square, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2JR • Daily 9am–late • 0191 443 4666, sagegateshead.com

Sitting on the riverbank, the Sage Gateshead is an extraordinary billowing steel, aluminium and glass concert hall complex, best seen at night when it glows with many colours. It’s home to the Royal Northern Sinfonia orchestra and Folkworks, an organization promoting British and international traditional music, and there’s something on most nights – from music concerts to workshops and lectures, as well as the Gateshead International Jazz Festival every April. The public concourse provides marvellous river and city views, and there are bars, a café and a brasserie.

A weekend in Newcastle

Friday night

There’s no point in wasting time: put on your glad rags and head into town for a raucous night out, Geordie-style. Warm up with a pint at the Crown Posada, and then move on to sleek Tokyo for a cocktail or three and some dancing. Hardcore party people can finish up their night at a club – World Headquarters and Digital are the pick of the bunch.

Saturday

Blow the cobwebs away with a breezy walk along the Quayside, admiring the melee of beautifully constructed bridges and striking modern buildings that fringe the riverbank. Spend an hour or two in the contemporary art museum, The Baltic, and then pop back over the river to the old town, stopping off at the diminutive Side Gallery. After all that art, it’s time for lunch at lively Sardinian café, Pani. In the afternoon, indulge your inner child at the colourful Seven Stories literature museum in Ouseburn. While you’re in the area, don’t miss a visit to the Biscuit Factory, if only for a cup of coffee and a cake in their cute café. The best place to spend Saturday night is at the artsy Cluny bar, particularly if there’s live music or a theatre recital going on.

Sunday

Explore Newcastle’s architectural heritage – take a trip up to the gloomy castle and the adjacent cathedral, and then follow the ruins of the old city wall and medieval towers along Stowell Street. For lunch you could choose one of the many Chinese restaurants near the wall, or tuck into a large Sunday roast at the snug and traditional Blackfriars. Walk off your meal and expand your scientific knowledge at the Centre of Life museum, and the nearby Discovery Museum. If you’re all partied and museumed out, put your feet up and munch on popcorn at Newcastle’s art-house cinema, The Tyneside.

Ouseburn

The Ouseburn area, fifteen minutes’ walk up the River Tyne from Millennium Bridge, was once at the heart of Newcastle’s industrial activities but became a derelict backwater in the mid-twentieth century. A jumble of old Victorian mills and warehouses, Ouseburn has seen a remarkable rejuvenation, as artists, musicians, businesses and even residents move in. Lime Street, home to quirky live-music venue, The Cluny, artists’ workshops and the nationally renowned Seven Stories, is the hub, but there are plenty of attractions nearby including Europe’s biggest commercial art space, the Biscuit Factory (see box opposite), plus an art-house cinema, riding stables and a small working farm.

Seven Stories

30 Lime St, NE1 2PQ • Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun & bank hols 10am–4pm • £7.70, under-17s £6.60 • 0300 330 1095 ext 300, sevenstories.org.uk

Housed in a beautifully converted Victorian riverside mill and spread over seven floors, Seven Stories celebrates the art of children’s books through displays of original artwork, manuscripts and related documents. The bright, interactive exhibitions change regularly but highlights include original sketches taken from Noel Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes, material from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Philip Pullman’s early drafts, and the unpublished novel by Enid Blyton, Mr Tumpy’s Caravan. Kids get the opportunity to dress up and create their own artworks; there is also a simple café.

Grainger Town

The heart of the city is known as Grainger Town, one of the best-looking city centres in Britain. Thrown up in a few short mid-nineteenth-century years by businessmen-builders and architects such as Richard Grainger, Thomas Oliver and John Dobson, the area is known for its classical stone facades lining splendid, wide streets and, in particular, Grey Street, named for the second Earl Grey (he of the tea), prime minister from 1830 to 1834. In 1832, Grey carried the Reform Act – which granted seats in the House of Commons to large cities that had developed during the Industrial Revolution, like Newcastle – through parliament, an act commemorated by Grey’s Monument at the top of the street. The restored Grainger Market (Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm, graingermarket.org.uk), nearby, was Europe’s largest covered market when built in the 1830s, and is today home to the smallest branch of Marks & Spencer, known as the Original Penny Bazaar.

Centre for Life

Times Square, NE1 4EP • Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–6pm; last admission 4pm • £13, under-18s £7.50 • 0191 243 8210, life.org.uk

A five-minute walk west of Central Station, the sleek buildings of the Centre for Life reach around the sweeping expanse of Times Square. This ambitious “science village” project combines bioscience and genetics research with a science visitor centre that aims to convey the secrets of life using the latest entertainment technology. Children find the whole thing enormously rewarding – from the sparkling Planetarium to the motion simulator – so expect to spend a good three hours here, if not more.

Discovery Museum

Blandford Square, NE1 4JA • Mon–Fri 10am–4pm, Sat & Sun 11am–4pm • Free • 0191 232 6789, twmuseums.org.uk

The Discovery Museum concentrates on the maritime history of Newcastle and Tyneside, and their role in Britain’s scientific and technological developments. Highlights include the Turbinia – the first ship to be powered by a steam turbine – which dominates the museum entrance, and the Newcastle Story, a walk through the city’s past with tales from animatronic characters along the way.

Literary and Philosophical Society

23 Westgate Rd, NE1 1SE • Mon, Wed & Thurs 9.30am–7pm, Tues 9.30am–8pm, Fri 9.30am–5pm, Sat 9.30am–1pm • Free • 0191 232 0192, litandphil.org.uk

Known as the Lit and Phil, this temple-like public library and learned society occupies one of the city’s finest Georgian buildings: the domed roof, stucco ceilings and wrought-iron galleries are well worth a look. Established in 1825, it now runs a programme of recitals, jazz concerts, talks and exhibitions.

Laing Art Gallery

New Bridge St, NE1 8AG • Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 2–5pm • Free • laingartgallery.org.uk

The Laing Art Gallery, in the east of the city, is home to the northeast’s premier art collection: the permanent display is a sweep through British art from the seventeenth century to today, featuring sculpture from Henry Moore and a large collection of John Martin’s fiery landscapes, along with a smattering of Pre-Raphaelites, a group much admired by the English industrial barons. Another permanent display highlights a superb collection of Newcastle silver dating from the seventeenth century and some colourful 1930s glassware by George Davidson.

Newcastle University

A short walk north of Haymarket Metro are two sites of interest on the Newcastle University campus.

Great North Museum: Hancock

Barras Bridge, NE2 4PT • Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am–4pm, Sun 11am–4pm • Free, planetarium £2.50 • 0191 208 6765, greatnorthmuseum.org.uk

The Great North Museum: Hancock has an engaging mishmash of natural history exhibits – there’s a knobbly T-Rex skeleton, some stuffed animals and an aquarium – historical artefacts such as the large-scale replica Hadrian’s Wall, and a planetarium.

Hatton Gallery

Kings Rd, NE1 7RU • Mon–Sat 10am–5pm • Free • 0191 208 6059, hattongallery.org.uk

Just across the street from the Great North Museum is the newly reopened bijou Hatton Gallery (hattongallery.org.uk), famous for housing the only surviving example of German Dadaist Kurt Schwitters’ Merzbau (a sort of architectural collage).

Arrival and departure: Newcastle upon Tyne

By plane Newcastle International Airport is 6 miles north of the city (0871 882 1121, newcastleairport.com). It is linked by the Metro to Central Station (every 7–15min 5.45am–midnight; 22min; £4.70) and beyond. You can also take a taxi into the centre (around £18).

By train Central Station is a 5min walk from the city centre or Quayside, and has a Metro station.

Destinations Alnmouth (hourly; 25min); Berwick-upon-Tweed (hourly; 45min); Carlisle (hourly; 1hr 30min); Darlington (frequent; 35min); Durham (frequent; 15min); Hexham (every 30min; 40min); London (every 30min; 2hr 45min–3hr 15min); York (frequent; 1hr).

By bus National Express coaches stop on St James’s Boulevard/Churchill St, not far from Central Station, while regional buses stop at Haymarket bus station (Haymarket Metro). Gateshead Interchange is a big bus station served by local and national buses, linked by Metro to the city centre.

Destinations Alnmouth (every 30min; 1hr 30min); Alnwick (every 30min; 1hr 20min); Bamburgh (Mon–Sat 3 daily; Sun 2 daily; 2hr 30min); Beamish (April–Oct daily, Nov–March Sat & Sun; every 30min; 1hr); Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mon–Sat 8 daily; 2hr 30min); Carlisle (Mon–Sat hourly; 2hr 10min); Craster (Mon–Sat 7 daily, Sun 4 daily; 1hr 50min); Durham (Mon–Sat every 30min, Sun 4–6 daily; 50min); Hexham (hourly; 50min); Middlesbrough (Mon–Sat every 30min; 1hr); Rothbury (Mon–Sat hourly, Sun 2 daily; 1hr 30min); Seahouses (Mon–Sat 3 daily, Sun 2 daily; 2hr 10min); Warkworth (daily every 30min; 1hr 20min).

The Geordie Nation

Tyneside and Newcastle’s native inhabitants are known as Geordies, the word probably derived from a diminutive of the name ”George”. There are various explanations of who George was (King George II, railwayman George Stephenson), all plausible, none now verifiable. Geordies speak a highly distinctive dialect and accent, heavily derived from Old English. Phrases you’re likely to come across include: haway man! (come on!), scran (food), a’reet (hello) and propa belta (really good) – and you can also expect to be widely addressed as “pet” or “flower”.

Getting around

By Metro The convenient, easy-to-use Tyne and Wear Metro (daily 5.30am–midnight, every 5–10min or 10–20min in the evening) connects the city centre with the airport and runs out to the suburbs. You can buy a Metro Day Saver ticket for unlimited rides in all zones (£5).

By bus All city and local buses stop at Eldon Square shopping centre. Quaylink buses connect major attractions in Newcastle and Gateshead Quays with Newcastle Central Station, Haymarket Bus Station and Gateshead Interchange. Buses run frequently daily (day ticket from £5.10).

By bike Rent bikes at The Cycle Hub, Quayside (0191 276 7250, thecyclehub.org). Town bikes £10/2hr.

By taxi There are taxi ranks at Haymarket, Grey St (near the Theatre Royal) and outside Central Station. To book, contact Noda Taxis (0191 222 1888, noda-taxis.co.uk).

Information and tours

Tourist information Up-to-date visitor information is available online (newcastlegateshead.com) and maps and brochures are available at hotels and attractions across Newcastle and Gateshead.

Public transport information Nexus Traveline has shops at the Central Station, Haymarket, Monument and Gateshead Metro stations (0191 202 0747, nexus.org.uk).

Tours City tours and various tours to Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland and Durham are run by Newcastle City Tours (from £40 per group of seven people max; 07780 958679, newcastlecitytours.co.uk) while River Escapes Cruises’ sightseeing boats (£6/10/12; 01670 785666, riverescapes.co.uk) depart most weekends throughout the year, and other days in summer, from the Quayside. A hop-on hop-off, open-top sightseeing bus departs from Central Station (April–June, Sept & Oct Sat & Sun only, July & Aug daily; every 30min–1hr; £8; 01789 299123, city-sightseeing.com). Saddle Skedaddle (skedaddle.co.uk) organizes C2C (sea-to-sea) cycle tours and trips to Hadrian’s Wall from £250/3 days.

Newcastle Art galleries

Biscuit Factory 16 Stoddart St, Ouseburn, NE1 2NP 0191 261 1103, thebiscuitfactory.com. Britain’s largest commercial art gallery, displaying and selling anything from pendulum clocks and carved wooden tables to ceramic teapots and quirky necklaces. Free. Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–5pm.

Globe Gallery 47 Pilgrim St, NE1 6QE 0191 597 9377, globegallery.org. Contemporary arts space that supports local, up-and-coming artists; it hosts a variety of exhibitions and one-off events. Free. Wed–Sat noon–5pm.

Northern Print Stepney Bank, Ouseburn, NE1 2NP 0191 261 7000, northernprint.org.uk. Little gallery that sells affordable prints by local artists. You can also learn how to make prints at the studio’s workshop. Free. Wed–Sat noon–4pm.

Side Gallery 5–9 Side, NE1 3JE 0191 232 2208, amber-online.com. A long-established, collectively run space with a strong specialism in social documentary photography. Free. Tues–Sun 11am–5pm.

Accommodation

Budget hotel chains offer plenty of good-value rooms in the city centre and down by the Quayside, while the biggest concentration of small hotels and guesthouses lies a mile north of the centre in popular, student-filled Jesmond, along and off Osborne Road: take bus #33 from Central Station or Haymarket.

Jesmond Dene House Jesmond Dene Rd, Jesmond, NE2 2EY 0191 212 3000, jesmonddenehouse.co.uk; map. An imposing Arts and Crafts house in a very peaceful wooded valley. The sleek, boldly decorated rooms are decked out in decadent velvet and silk furnishings and have enormous bathrooms with underfloor heating. There’s fine dining in the garden-room restaurant and breakfasts are particularly luxurious, with smoked salmon, a range of cooked meats and champagne on offer. Rates vary; book well in advance. £110

Kensington House Aparthotel 5 Osborne Rd, Jesmond, NE2 2AU 0191 281 8175, kensingtonaparthotel.com; map. Twenty-three upmarket apartments of varying sizes, conveniently situated near Jesmond Metro. The decor is modern and sleek, with wood floors, cream carpets and marble kitchen surfaces. Beds are kitted out with luxurious Egyptian cotton sheets and feather down duvets. Six apartments have wheelchair access. £115

Motel One 15–25 High Bridge, NE1 1EW 0191 211 1090, motel-one.com/en; map. This new 222-bed budget chain hotel has retained period features while embracing modern style. Rooms are small but perfectly formed and staff go the extra mile. Breakfast extra. £59

Sleeperz 15 Westgate Rd, NE1 1SE 0191 261 6171, sleeperz.com/newcastle; map. A great-value option in the heart of town, part of a little chain that marries functionality with good design. Despite the city-centre location, the 98 compact but comfortable rooms provide a quiet respite from Saturday-night mayhem, and there’s a funky breakfast bar/café downstairs. £52

Eating

Newcastle has a great variety of places to eat, from expensive, top-quality restaurants showcasing the talents of young and creative chefs, to fun, relaxed cafés and budget-friendly Chinese restaurants (mostly around Stowell Street in Chinatown). The popular chain restaurants are down by the Quayside.

21 Trinity Gardens, NE1 2HH 0191 222 0755, 21newcastle.co.uk; map. Parisian-style bistro with crisp white tablecloths, leather banquettes, a classic French menu and slick service. Expect dishes like confit of duck with Lyonnaise potatoes (£20.50) or smoked haddock with softly poached hen’s egg (£18.20), and delicious desserts – the Florentine doughnut with strawberry jam and crème Chantilly (£7.20) is particularly good. Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 5.30–10.30pm, Sun noon–8pm.

Blackfriars Friars St, NE1 4XN 0191 261 5945, blackfriarsrestaurant.co.uk; map. Housed in a beautiful stone building dating to 1239, Blackfriars offers superb traditional British dishes made with local ingredients. Mains (from £15) could include pork loin with a bacon and cheese floddie (potato cakes, originating from Gateshead, and traditionally eaten for breakfast) or a Doddington cheese and onion Wellington with chive cream sauce. For afters, dig into sticky toffee pudding with green grape ice cream and Brown Ale caramel (puddings from £6). Book ahead. Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 5.30pm–late, Sun noon–4pm.

Café Royal 8 Nelson St, NE1 5AW 0191 231 3000, sjf.co.uk; map. Bright and buzzy café with great smoothies, coffees and delectable home-made breads and cakes – try the raspberry scones with clotted cream (£3.50) or hazelnut twists (£2). Mon–Sat 8am–6pm, Sun 10am–3.30pm.

El Coto 21 Leazes Park Rd, NE1 4PF 0191 261 0555, elcoto.co.uk; map. Cute and cosy, this great tapas place has an extensive, good-value menu featuring all the usuals, such as patatas bravas and marinated sardines – dishes cost around £5, though paella goes for £10 per person. Daily noon–11pm.

Pani’s Café 61–65 High Bridge St NE1 6BX 0191 232 4366, paniscafe.co.uk; map. On a side street below the Theatre Royal, this lively Sardinian café has won a loyal clientele for its good-value sandwiches, pasta and salads (mains around £8). Mon–Sat 10am–10pm.

Paradiso 1 Market Lane, NE1 6QQ 0191 221 1240, paradiso.co.uk; map. Mellow café-bar hidden down an alley off Pilgrim Street – the snack food in the daytime becomes more substantial at night, with truffle risotto, salmon steaks and the like. There are set menus throughout the day (two courses: lunchtime £9.95, evening £16.95) as well as a la carte. You can dine outdoors on the terrace in good weather. Mon–Thurs 11am–2.30pm & 5–10.30pm, Fri & Sat 11am–10.45pm.

Pink Lane Coffee 1 Pink Lane, NE1 5DW 07841 383085, pinklanecoffee.co.uk; map. The best coffee in town: their beans are slow roasted and the milk is Northumbrian Pedigree. Exposed light bulbs, reclaimed furniture and brickwork tiling makes for an uber-hip interior. Mon–Fri 7.30am–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 10am–4pm.

Quay Ingredient 4 Queen St, Quayside, NE1 3UG 0191 447 2327, quayingredient.co.uk; map. Teeny tiny and popular, so it’s best to get here early for brunch at weekends. Full English (£6.95) or eggs benedict (£5.95), plus sandwiches and salads (from £4.95) and delicious cakes (sweet muffin £1). Great coffee, too. Daily 8am–5pm.

Vujon 29 Queen St, NE1 3UG 0191 221 0601, vujon.com; map. The city’s classiest Indian restaurant, housed in an elegant building by the Quayside, serving dishes a cut above the ordinary, from venison Jaipur-style with chilli jam (£15.90) to the spicy duck salan (£14.90). Daily 5.30–11.30pm.

Drinking

Newcastle’s boisterous pubs, bars and clubs are concentrated in several areas: in the Bigg Market (between Grey St and Grainger St), around the Quayside and in the developing Ouseburn area, where bars tend to be quirkier and more sophisticated; in Jesmond, with its thriving student-filled strip of café-bars; and in the mainstream leisure-and-cinema complex known as The Gate (Newgate St). The main LGBT+ area, known as the “Pink Triangle”, focuses on the Centre for Life, spreading out to Waterloo Street and Westmorland and Scotswood roads.

As You Like It Archbold Terrace, NE2 1DB 0191 281 2277, asyoulikeitjesmond.com; map. The top bar in the Jesmond area sits incongruously beneath an ugly tower block. This funky bar/restaurant has a relaxed vibe, exposed brick walls and a mishmash of furniture. The Supper Club, a club night on Fri & Sat (10pm–2am) features jazz, blues and soul. Mon–Thurs & Sun noon–midnight, Fri & Sat noon–2am.

Crown Posada 31 Side, NE1 3JE 0191 232 1269, sjf.co.uk; map. A proper old man’s boozer: local beers and guest ales in this small wood-and-glass-panelled Victorian pub. You might fancy the dark, malty Hadrian’s Gladiator (£3.80) or opt for the golden, hoppy Tyneside Blonde (£3.80). Mon–Wed noon–11pm, Thurs 11am–11pm, Fri 11am–midnight, Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10.30pm.

Free Trade St Lawrence Rd, NE6 1AP 0191 265 5764; map. Walk along the Newcastle Quayside past the Millennium Bridge and look for the shabby pub on the hill, where you are invited to “drink beer, smoke tabs” with the city’s pub cognoscenti. Cask beer from local microbreweries, a great free juke box and superb river views from the beer garden. Mon–Thurs 11am–11pm, Fri & Sat 11am–midnight, Sun noon–11pm.

Tokyo 17 Westgate Rd, NE1 1SE 0191 232 1122, tokyonewcastle.co.uk; map. The dark, sleek main bar is handsome enough, but follow the tealights up the stairs to the outdoor “garden” bar lined by plants and trees, giving the area a secret, exclusive feel. A pre-club favourite for Shindig (see below). Mon, Tues & Sun 5pm–midnight, Wed & Thurs 5pm–1am, Fri & Sat 5pm–2am.

Nightlife

Newcastle’s biggest club night is Shindig, taking place on Saturdays and switching locations around the city. See shindiguk.com for the latest. Gigs, club nights and the gay scene are reviewed exhaustively in The Crack (monthly; free; thecrackmagazine.com), available in shops, pubs and bars.

Clubs

Digital Times Square, NE1 4EP 0191 261 9755, yourfutureisdigital.com/newcastle; map. The city’s top club, with an amazing sound system pumping out a variety of musical genres. If you like cheesy classics, look out for Born in the Sixties nights; while house, funk and disco fans will get their fix on Saturday’s Love nights. Mon & Thurs 10.30pm–2.30am, Fri & Sat 11pm–3.30am.

World Headquarters Carliol Square, East Pilgrim St, NE1 6UF 0191 281 3445, welovewhq.com; map. Smallish and down-to-earth club that’s always packed. Music is a medley of house, hip-hop, soul and r’n’b and reggae. Downstairs there’s a comfy lounge area with squashy sofas and a pool table. Entry fee around £10. Fri & Sat 10.30pm–3am.

Live music venues

The Cluny 36 Lime St, Ouseburn, NE1 2PQ 0191 230 4474, thecluny.com; map. Based in an old whisky bottling plant, this is the best small music venue in the city, with something going on most nights, from quirky indie bands to contemporary punk-pop. Cluny 2, around the corner at 34 Lime Street (same hours), is its spacious sister venue, with less frequent gigs. Mon–Fri noon–11pm, Fri & Sat noon–1am, Sun noon–10.30pm.

Jazz Café 23–25 Pink Lane, NE1 5DW 0191 232 6505, jazzcafe-newcastle.co.uk; map. Slick and intimate jazz club in inauspicious surroundings, hosting top-quality jazz from 9.30pm on Friday and Saturday nights. Tues–Thurs 11am–11pm, Fri & Sat 11am–1am.

Metro Radio Arena Arena Way, NE4 7NA 0844 493 4567, metroradioarena.co.uk; map. The biggest concert and exhibition venue in the Northeast; star appearances have included Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton and The Killers. Book popular gigs well in advance.

O2 Academy Westgate Rd, NE1 1SW 0844 477 2000, o2academynewcastle.co.uk; map. Housed in the former bingo hall, this mainstream venue hosts a variety of big names and local talent.

Entertainment

Live Theatre 27 Broad Chare, NE1 3DQ 0191 232 1232, live.org.uk; map. Enterprising theatre company that aims to find and develop local, and particularly young, talent – the attached Caffe Vivo is good for coffee by day and pre-theatre meal deals by night.

Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre 111 Westgate Rd, NE1 4AG 0844 493999, millvolvotynetheatre.co.uk; map. Beautifully restored Victorian theatre with a wide range of plays, comedy shows and gigs.

Side Cinema 3 Side, NE1 3JE 0191 232 2000, amber-online.com; map. A quaintly dishevelled fifty-seat cinema: they run an imaginative programme combining art-house movies with live music.

The Stand Comedy Club 31 High Bridge, NE1 1EW 0191 300 9700, thestand.co.uk; map. Great venue for comedy downstairs, with great pub food and a lovely courtyard upstairs. Laidback and friendly, with something showing every night of the week.

Theatre Royal 100 Grey St, NE1 6BR 0844 811 2121, theatreroyal.co.uk; map. Grand venue for drama, opera, dance, musicals and comedy; also hosts the annual RSC season in Nov.

Tyneside Cinema 10 Pilgrim St, NE1 6QG 0845 217 9909, tynesidecinema.co.uk; map. The city’s premier art-house cinema, with coffee, light meals and movie talk in the Art Deco cinema café. The gorgeous restored decor includes Persian-inspired gilded stucco, stained glass and mosaic floors.

Shopping

Newcastle has two shopping centres, the central intu Eldon Square (intu.co.uk/eldonsquare) and the vast intu Metrocentre (intu.co.uk/metrocentre), 4 miles west of the city centre.

Central Arcade Grainger Town, NE1 6EG; map. A classy Edwardian arcade with a barrel-vaulted roof. Several high-end chain stores here include Office, Jones, Space NK and JG Windows (with its lovely window display of musical instruments). Daily 9am–5pm.

Farmers’ Market Grey’s Monument, NE1 7AL; map. Central market selling wonderful locally sourced fruit and veg, jams, meats and fish. First Fri of each month 9.30am–2.30pm.

Grainger Market Grainger Town, NE1 5JQ graingermarket.org.uk; map. One of the city’s oldest and best shopping experiences: a centrally located Georgian market painted in pastel colours and featuring old-fashioned fishmongers, butchers and a hardware store, alongside delis, gift shops and a French café. Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm.

Quayside Market NE1 3DE; map. Busy, popular market down on the quayside selling locally produced food, clothes and arts and crafts including jewellery. Sun 9.30am–4pm.

Arrival and information: Sunderland

By Metro The main stop for Metros from Newcastle (30–35min) is in the central train station opposite The Bridges shopping centre.

Website seeitdoitsunderland.co.uk is a great site for visitors; it also lists visitor information points around the city where you can pick up maps and brochures.

< Back to The Northeast

Hadrian’s Wall

Hadrian’s Wall (hadrianswallcountry.co.uk) was constructed in 122 AD at the behest of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Keen for peace and safety within his empire, fearing attacks from Pictish Scotland, Hadrian commissioned a long wall to act as a border, snaking its way from the Tyne to the Solway Firth. It was built up to a height of 15ft in places and was interspersed by milecastles, which functioned as gates, depots and mini-barracks. The best-preserved portions of the Wall are concentrated between Chesters Roman Fort, four miles north of Hexham, and Haltwhistle, sixteen miles to the west, which passes Housesteads Roman Fort, Vindolanda and the Roman Army Museum. Most people come to walk or cycle the length of the Wall, but if you’re only planning to walk a short stretch, start off at Housesteads and head west for sweeping views. There are plenty of interesting places to stay and eat around and along the Wall, including the handsome market town of Hexham.

Chesters Roman Fort

4 miles north of Hexham, NE46 4EU • April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct & Nov daily 10am–5pm; Nov–April Sat & Sun 10am–4pm • £6.60; EH • 01434 681379, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/chesters-roman-fort-and-museum-hadrians-wall

Beautifully sited next to the gurgling River Tyne, Chesters Roman Fort, otherwise known as Cilurnum, was built to guard the Roman bridge over the river. Enough remains of the original structure to pick out the design of the fort, but the highlight is down by the river where the vestibule, changing room and steam range of the garrison’s bathhouse are still visible, along with the furnace and the latrines.

Housesteads Roman Fort

Around 8 miles west of Chesters, NE47 6NN • Daily: April–Sept 10am–6pm; Oct–March 10am–4pm • £7.50; EH & NT • 01434 344525, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/housesteads-roman-fort-hadrians-wall

Housesteads Roman Fort is one of the most popular sites on the Wall. The fort is of standard design but for one enforced modification – forts were supposed to straddle the line of the Wall, but here the original stonework follows the edge of the cliff, so Housesteads was built on the steeply sloping ridge to the south. Enter via the tiny museum, and walk across to the south gate; next to this lies the ruins of a garrison of up to one thousand infantrymen. It’s not necessary to pay for entrance to the fort if you’re simply walking along the Wall west from here; the three-mile hike takes in wonderful views as it meanders past Crag Lough and over to Steel Rigg (which has a car park).

Along Hadrian’s Wall

The best way to visit the Wall is to walk or cycle the length of it. The Hadrian’s Wall Path (nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrians-wall-path) runs for 84 miles alongside the Wall itself from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway. It takes on average seven days to complete and there’s an optional Passport system (May–Oct) involving collecting a series of stamps to prove you’ve done it. If you want to walk only short routes, you can link up with the AD122 bus (see below) that runs along Hadrian’s Wall between mid-April and October. Alternatively, the National Route 72 (signposted NCN 72; www.sustrans.org.uk), shares some of the same route as the Hadrian Wall Path, and runs from South Shields to Ravenglass in Cumbria. There’s bike hire in Newcastle.

Vindolanda

13 miles west of Hexham, NE47 7JN, turn-off at Bardon Mill is signposted • Daily: mid-Feb to late March & Oct 10am–5pm; April–Sept 10am–6pm; Nov & Dec 10am–4pm • £7, combined ticket with Roman Army Museum £11 • 01434 344277, vindolanda.com

The garrison fort of Vindolanda is believed to have been built and occupied before the construction of the Wall itself. Guarding the important central section of the east–west supply route across Britain, a series of early forts in this location were built of timber, eventually replaced with a stone construction during Hadrian’s reign. Preserved beneath the remains of the stone fortress, these early forts are now being excavated – around three to four hundred volunteers take part every day. The museum contains the largest collection of Roman leather items ever discovered on a single site – sandals, purses, an archer’s thumb guard – and a fascinating series of writing tablets dating to 90 AD. The earliest written records found in Britain, they feature shopping lists, duty rotas and even a birthday party invitation from one Claudia Severa to Sulpicia Lepidina.

Roman Army Museum

20 miles west of Hexham, CA8 7JB • Daily: mid-Feb to end March & Oct 10am–5pm; April–Sept 10am–6pm; Nov & Dec 10am–4pm • £5.75, combined ticket with Vindolanda £11 • 01434 344277, vindolanda.com

The Roman Army Museum aims to illustrate how the Roman soldiers stationed here lived. There’s everything from armour and weapons – including javelins, shields and swords – to a full-size chariot and a wagon. It’s all very entertaining, and successfully brings to life the ruins you may just have seen at Vindolanda.

Arrival and getting around: Hadrian’s Wall

By train The nearest train stations are on the Newcastle–Carlisle line at Corbridge, Hexham, Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle.

By bus The little #AD122 (known as the “Hadrian’s Wall bus”; Easter–Oct up to five times daily in each direction) runs from Newcastle to Corbridge, Hexham, and all the Wall sites and villages, before heading on to Carlisle and Bowness-on-Solway (the end of the Hadrian’s Wall Path). There’s also a year-round hourly service on the #685 bus between Newcastle and Carlisle, and other local services from Carlisle and Hexham, which provide access to various points along the Wall.

Information and tours

Information The Sill Landscape Discovery Centre, Military Rd (01434 605555, northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk) is a National Park hub that introduces visitors to the natural and human history of Hadrian’s Wall. It has an exhibition centre and shop, a café and an 86-bed youth hostel.

Tours Wild Dog Outdoors (01434 688386, wilddogoutdoors.co.uk) runs tours of the wall and forts suitable for all ages. Guides dress up as Celts or Romans and most of the walks set out from Cawfields, a lesser-known, but well-preserved section on the wall. From £20/2hr.

Accommodation

In addition to the B&Bs in the countryside around the Wall, Hexham (see below), Haltwhistle and Corbridge have a good selection of accommodation.

Carraw B&B Military Rd, Humshaugh, NE46 4DB 01434 689857, carraw.co.uk; map. It’s not often you can say “I’ve slept on Hadrian’s Wall”, but here you can – this beautiful B&B, run by a friendly couple, is built right next to Hadrian’s masterpiece and boasts stunning views. Lovely homely touches, like home-made shortbread and cake on arrival, hot-water bottles and luxurious toiletries make this place really special. Delicious breakfasts – the nutty granola is a winner. Supper £12.50. £105

Hadrian’s Wall Camping and Caravan Site Melkridge Tilery, NE49 9PG, 2 miles north of Melkridge 01434 320495, hadrianswallcampsite.co.uk; map. Friendly, family-run site half a mile from the Wall, with showers, café, washing machine and dryer, and bike storage; breakfast and evening meals available. There’s also a heated bunk room sleeping 10 people (£15/person). Open all year. Camping £12, camper van £15

Langley Castle A686, Langley-on-Tyne, 2 miles south of Haydon Bridge, NE47 5LU 01434 688888, www.langleycastle.com; map. There are suitably regal rooms – four-poster beds, sumptuous furnishings and beautiful bathrooms with saunas and spa baths – in this turreted medieval castle. The cheaper rooms are in the grounds, looking onto the castle. There’s also an atmospheric restaurant, cocktail bar, lounge and gardens. £195, castle rooms £245

Twice Brewed Inn Military Rd, NE47 7AN 01434 344534, twicebrewedinn.co.uk; map. This friendly community pub close to new hub The Sill has simple en-suite rooms that have been recently redecorated. On site there’s a microbrewery and beer garden; breakfast is included, but must be ordered the night before. £85

Willowford Farm Gilsland, CA8 7AA 01697 747962, willowford.co.uk; map. Strictly speaking just over the Northumbrian border in Cumbria, but this farmhouse B&B still makes a lovely, tranquil base to explore the Wall. Rooms are in converted farm buildings and decked out with pretty wooden beams and large beds. Packed lunch £6. £88

YHA The Sill Military Road, Bardon Mill, NE47 7AN 0800 019 1700, yha.org.uk/sill-hadrians-wall; map. Opened in summer 2017, this 86-bed hostel, attached to The Sill information centre, has doubles, triples and four-bed rooms, some of them en suite. Dorms £15, doubles £39

Eating

Barrasford Arms Barrasford, NE48 4AA, 9 miles north of Hexham 01434 681237, barrasfordarms.co.uk; map. Endearingly local, welcoming and homely, this country pub serves great traditional British food with a French twist; dishes could include pan-roasted lamb rump with creamy mash, wilted spinach, onion gravy and onion rings (£16) and for pudding, sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce (£6.50). Booking advisable. Tues–Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–11pm; snacks served all day; kitchen Tues–Sat noon–2pm & 6–9pm, Sun noon–3pm.

Battlesteads Country Inn and Restaurant Wark-on-Tyne, NE48 3LS, 12 miles north of Hexham 01434 230209, battlesteads.com; map. In a charming little village by a trickling stream, this locally renowned restaurant with a lovely beer garden uses fresh produce sourced from within a 30-mile radius. Leave room for their famed whisky and marmalade bread-and-butter pudding (£5.75). Best to book. Food served daily noon–3pm & 6.30–9.30pm.

General Havelock Inn 9 Ratcliffe Rd, Haydon Bridge, NE47 6ER 01434 684376; map. Eighteenth-century inn that specializes in tasty Modern British food, from crab cakes and Cumberland sausages to chocolate brûlée and ice-cream sundaes. Great locally brewed ales on offer, too. Main meals average around £17 (bar menu cheaper). Daily noon–3pm & 5pm–midnight; kitchen daily noon–3pm & 6–11pm.

Hexham

HEXHAM is the only significant stop between Newcastle and Carlisle, and however keen you are on seeing the Wall, you’d do well to spend a night at this handsome market town – or even make it your base.

The focal point is the abbey, whose foundations were originally part of a fine Benedictine monastery founded by St Wilfrid in 671. Claimed, according to contemporaneous accounts, to be the finest this side of the Alps, the church – or rather its gold and silver – proved irresistible to the Vikings, who savaged the place in 876. It was rebuilt in the eleventh century as part of an Augustinian priory, and the town grew up in its shadow.

Hexham Abbey

NE46 3NB • Daily 9.30am–5pm • hexhamabbey.org.uk

The stately exterior of Hexham Abbey dominates the west side of the central marketplace. Entry is through the south transept, where there’s a bruised but impressive first-century tombstone honouring Flavinus, a standard-bearer in the Roman cavalry, who’s shown riding down his bearded enemy. The memorial lies at the foot of the broad, well-worn steps of the canons’ night stair, one of the few such staircases – providing access from the monastery to the church – to have survived the Dissolution. The chancel, meanwhile, displays the inconsequential-looking frith-stool, an eighth-century stone chair that was once believed to have been used by St Wilfrid.

The Old Gaol

Hallgate, NE46 1XD • Feb, March, Oct & Nov Tues & Sat 11am–4.30pm; April–Sept Tues–Sat 11am–4.30pm • £3.95 • 01434 652349, hexhamoldgaol.org.uk

Britain’s first purpose-built prison, Hexham Old Gaol occupies a solid sandstone building to the east of the abbey. It was commissioned by the powerful Archbishop of York in 1330, and constructed using stone plundered from the Roman ruins at Corbridge. Inside there’s an entertaining museum extolling the virtues and pitfalls of medieval crime and punishment.

Arrival and information: Hexham

By train The train station sits on the northeastern edge of the town centre, a 10min walk from the abbey.

Destinations Carlisle (hourly; 50min); Haltwhistle (hourly; 20min); Newcastle (hourly; 50min).

By bus The bus station is Loosing Hill, a 10min stroll east of the abbey.

Destinations Bellingham (Mon–Sat hourly; 45min); Newcastle (hourly; 50min).

Tourist office In the library at Queens Hall, Beaumont St (Mon 9am–6pm, Tues–Thurs 9am–5pm, Friday 9am–6pm, Sat 9.30am–5pm; 01670 620250).

Websites hadrianswallcountry.co.uk, visithexham.net.

Accommodation

The County Hotel Priestpopple, NE46 1PS 01434 608444, countyhotelhexham.co.uk. A refurbished pub with seven spacious and elegant en-suite rooms. The staff are incredibly welcoming and there’s great food served here, too. Street parking. £110

Hallbank Hallgate, behind the Old Gaol, NE46 1XA 01434 605567, hallbankguesthouse.co.uk. A restored house in a quiet town-centre location, with eight very comfortable rooms and an associated coffee shop/restaurant. Evening meals available on request. £120

Eating and drinking

Bouchon Bistrot 4–6 Gilesgate, NE46 3NJ 01434 609943, bouchonbistrot.co.uk. Very stylish restaurant in a handsome terraced townhouse, serving sophisticated French dishes such as crispy duck confit with gratin potatoes (£15.95), and crème brûlée (£5.50). Mon–Sat noon–2pm & 6–9.30pm.

Dipton Mill Inn Dipton Mill Rd, NE46 1YA, 2 miles south of Hexham01434 606577, diptonmill.co.uk. A lovely, traditional country pub covered in ivy. While the food is excellent – good pub grub like steak and kidney pie and vegetable casserole – it’s most famous for the home-brewed ales, made at Hexhamshire Brewery. Try Old Humbug, named after the landlord. Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 6–11pm, Sun noon–3pm; kitchen Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 6.30–8.30pm, Sun noon–2pm.

Rat Inn Anick, NE46 4LN, 2 miles northeast of Hexham 01434 602814, theratinn.com. In a glorious hillside location overlooking Hexham, this quaint pub has a roaring fire in winter and a pretty summer garden. The food is all locally sourced – try the braised local beef in Allendale beer (£10.50). Booking essential for Sun lunch. Mon–Sat noon–11pm, Sun noon–10.30pm; kitchen Mon–Sat noon–2pm & 6–9pm, Sun noon–3pm.

< Back to The Northeast

Northumberland National Park

Northwest Northumberland, the great triangular chunk of land between Hadrian’s Wall and the coastal plain, is dominated by the wide-skied landscapes of Northumberland National Park (northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk), whose four hundred windswept square miles rise to the Cheviot Hills on the Scottish border. The bulk of the park is taken up by Kielder Water and Forest nature reserve, a superb destination for watersports and outdoor activities; the small town of Bellingham on the eastern edge of the park makes a good base for the reserve, as do Rothbury and Wooler, both of which also provide easy access to some superb walking in the craggy Cheviots.

Kielder Water and Forest

Surrounded by 250 acres of dense pine forest, Kielder Water and Forest is the largest reservoir in England; the mass of woodlands and wetlands means that wildlife is abundant – you might spot badgers, deer, otters, ospreys and red squirrels. The road from Bellingham follows the North Tyne River west and skirts the forested edge of the lake, passing an assortment of visitor centres, waterside parks, picnic areas and anchorages that fringe its southern shore. Mountain biking, hiking, horseriding and fishing are some of the land-based activities on offer, and of course watersports (waterskiing, sailing, kayaking and windsurfing) are hugely popular, too.

The skies here are some of the darkest in Europe and star-gazing can be magical; award-winning Kielder Observatory (kielderobservatory.org) hosts over forty night-time events a month (booking essential). Kielder Waterside, on the western flank of the reservoir, is the best place to head if you’re visiting for the first time and need to get your bearings.

Kielder Waterside

NE48 1BT • Birds of Prey Centre daily 10.30am–4pm • Flying demonstrations summer 1.30pm & 3pm, Oct–March 2pm • £7, children £4.50 • 01434 251000, kielderwaterside.com

Kielder Waterside Park is a purpose-built hub of lodges (see below) with cafés and a restaurant, a visitor centre (see below), bike hire (see below) and a Birds of Prey Centre where you can see a variety of handsome, sharp-taloned beasts, from owls and falcons to vultures and ospreys.

Arrival and information: Kielder water and forest

By bus The #880 from Hexham serves the visitor centres of Tower Knowe, Kielder Waterside (by request) and Kielder Castle via Bellingham (2 daily Tues & Sat). The #714 from Newcastle upon Tyne runs on Sun (1 daily) to Tower Knowe, Kielder Waterside (by request) and Kielder Castle.

Visitor centres Tower Knowe: from Bellingham, the first visitor centre you come to as you head anti-clockwise round the reservoir (daily: April–June & Sept 10am–5pm; July & Aug 10am–6pm; Oct 10am–4pm; 0845 155 0236). Kielder Waterside: western flank of the reservoir (Feb–Oct daily 9am–5pm; 01434 251000). Kielder Castle: at the northernmost point of the reservoir (daily 10am–5pm; 01434 250209).

Getting around

By bike The Bike Place (thebikeplace.co.uk) has two hire centres at Kielder Castle Visitor Centre (daily 9.30am–5.30pm; 01434 250457) and at Kielder Waterside (daily 9.30am–6pm; 01434 250144); both offer day rental from £15/2hr.

By car For parking, you can buy a ticket at your first stop (£5) that’s valid for all other car parks throughout the day.

By ferry The 60-seater Osprey Ferry (01434 251000) sails round the reservoir, with stops at Kielder Waterside, Tower Knowe and occasionally Belvedere. Tickets (day pass £6.75, short journeys from £4.40) are available at Tower Knowe; prior booking is necessary.

Accommodation and eating

Hollybush Inn Greenhaugh, NE48 1PW, 12 miles east of Kielder Water01434 240391, hollybushinn.net. Super little pub in a remote village serving great ales and food, and with seven simple and attractive bedrooms upstairs or in the quiet cottage next door. £85

Kielder Lodges Kielder Waterside Park, NE48 1BT 0845 155 0236, or Hoseasons 0345 498 6060, hoseasons.co.uk. Scandinavian-style self-catering lodges, all with access to the park’s pool, sauna, bar and restaurant. Bring plenty of midge repellent. Two-night minimum stay; rates vary widely. From £60

Pheasant Inn Stannersburn, NE48 1DD 01434 240382, thepheasantinn.com. A traditional country pub on the road from Bellingham, the Pheasant Inn has eight very comfortable bedrooms (including one family room). The highlight is the food, though, served downstairs in the cosy restaurant; expect game pies, Northumbrian cheeses and plenty of fish (mains around £12 in the evening). Booking recommended. Food served noon–2pm & 6.30–8.30pm. £110

Rothbury and around

ROTHBURY, straddling the River Coquet thirty miles northeast of Hexham, prospered as a late Victorian resort because it gave ready access to the forests, burns and ridges of the Simonside Hills. The small town remains a popular spot for walkers, with several of the best local trails beginning from the Simonside Hills car park, a couple of miles southwest of Rothbury. Nearby, the estates of Cragside and Wallington are good options if you want to take a break from hiking.

Cragside

1 mile east of Rothbury, NE65 7PX • House March–Oct daily 11am–5pm • £17 (includes gardens); NT • Gardens March–Oct daily 10am–6pm; Nov–Feb Fri–Sun 11am–4pm • £11; NT • 01669 620333, nationaltrust.org.uk/cragside

Victorian Rothbury was dominated by Sir William, later the first Lord Armstrong, the wealthy nineteenth-century arms manufacturer, shipbuilder and engineer who built his country home at Cragside, a mile to the east of the village. He hired Richard Norman Shaw, one of the period’s top architects, who produced a grandiose Tudor-style mansion entirely out of place in the Northumbrian countryside. Armstrong was an avid innovator, and in 1880 Cragside became the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectric power. The surrounding gardens, complete with the remains of the original pumping system, are beautiful and there’s a pleasant tearoom for a light snack.

Wallington

13 miles south of Rothbury, NE61 4AR • House March–Oct daily noon–5pm; gardens year-round daily 10am–dusk • £12.40; NT • 01670 773967, nationaltrust.org.uk/wallington

South of Rothbury, down the B6342, stands Wallington, an ostentatious mansion rebuilt in the 1740s by Sir Walter Blackett, the coal- and lead-mine owner. The house is known for its Rococo plasterwork and William Bell Scott’s Pre-Raphaelite murals of scenes from Northumbrian history. Children will love the collection of doll’s houses, one of which has thirty-six rooms and was originally fitted with running water and a working lift. However, it’s the magnificent gardens and grounds that are the real delight, with lawns, woods and lakes laced with footpaths. There are events, concerts and activities throughout the year, as well as a café and farm shop on site.

Arrival and information: Rothbury and around

By bus Buses from Newcastle via Morpeth stop outside the Queen’s Head pub in the centre (hourly; 1hr 20min).

Information Help and advice for visitors to Northumberland National Park is available at the Coquetdale Centre near the cross on Church St (daily 9.30am–5pm; 01669 621462, northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk).

Accommodation

Hillcrest Rothbury, NE65 7TL 01669 621944, hillcrestbandb.co.uk. Superb B&B in a pretty Georgian house, with two beautifully decorated bedrooms – wooden floorboards, antique furniture, exposed walls and the like – with an intriguing past (the owner will explain). Wonderful breakfasts, too. £85

Thistleyhaugh Longframlington, NE65 8RG, 5 miles east of Rothbury 01665 570629. Gorgeous, ivy-smothered Georgian farmhouse with five luxurious chintzy bedrooms. They serve delicious three-course dinners (7pm; £20) and hearty breakfasts. £80

Tosson Tower Great Tosson, NE65 7NW, 2 miles southwest of Rothbury 01669 620228, tossontowerfarm.com. Seven lovely rooms on this little working farm in a quiet hamlet with spectacular views out over the Cheviot Hills. Four charming self-catering cottages also available for longer stays. £90

TOP 5 NORTHUMBRIAN CASTLES

Alnwick Castle

Bamburgh Castle

Chillingham Castle

Dunstanburgh Castle

Warkworth Castle

Wooler and around

Stone-terraced WOOLER – rebuilt after a terrible fire in the 1860s – is a one-street market town twenty miles north of Rothbury. It’s the best base for climbs up The Cheviot (2674ft), seven miles to the southwest and the highest point in the Cheviot Hills. From YHA Wooler at 30 Cheviot St, it’s four hours there and back; from Hawsen Burn, the nearest navigable point, it’s two hours walking there and back. Wooler is also a staging post on the Pennine Way and the lovely St Cuthbert’s Way (from Melrose in Scotland to Lindisfarne).

Chillingham Castle

6 miles southeast of Wooler, NE66 5NJ • April–Oct daily noon–5pm • £9.50 • 01668 215359, chillingham-castle.com

Chillingham Castle started life as an eleventh-century tower. The castle was augmented at regular intervals until the nineteenth century, but from 1933 was largely left to the elements for fifty years, until the present owner set about restoring it in his own individualistic way: bedrooms, living rooms and even a grisly torture chamber (designed to “cause maximum shock”) are decorated with historical paraphernalia.

Chillingham Wild Cattle

Between Alnwick and Belford, signposted The Wild White Cattle, NE66 5NP • Tours April–Oct Mon–Fri hourly 10am–noon & 2–4pm, Sun 10am–noon; winter by appointment • £16 • chillinghamwildcattle.com

In 1220, Chillingham Castle’s adjoining 365 acres of parkland were enclosed to protect the local wild cattle for hunting and food. And so the Chillingham Wild Cattle – a fierce, primeval herd with white coats, black muzzles and black tips to their horns – have remained to this day, cut off from mixing with domesticated breeds. It’s possible to visit these unique relicts, who number around ninety, but only in the company of a warden, as the animals are potentially dangerous, and also need to be protected from outside infection. The visit takes about two hours and involves a short country walk before viewing the cattle at a safe distance – the closest you’re likely to get to big-game viewing in England. Bring strong shoes or walking boots if it’s wet.

Arrival and information: Wooler and around

By bus The bus station is set back off High St.

Destinations Alnwick (Mon–Sat 9 daily; 45min); Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mon–Sat 9 daily; 50min); Newcastle (Mon–Sat 2 daily; 1hr 15min).

Tourist office Cheviot Centre, Padgepool Place (Mon–Sat 10am–4.30pm, plus Sun 10am–2pm Easter to Oct; 01668 282123).

Accommodation and eating

Milan 2 High St, through the arch of the Black Bull hotel, NE71 6BY 01668 283692, milan-restaurant.co.uk. Good-value Italian restaurant with exposed brick walls and a jolly ambience, serving large pizzas (from £7.50), pasta dishes (from £7.95) and plenty of meat and fish options. It’s a very popular place, so book ahead. Daily 5–10pm.

Tilldale House 34 High St, NE71 6BG 01668 281450, tilldalehouse.co.uk. Snug seventeenth-century stone cottage in the middle of town with three en-suite bedrooms. With enormous, soft beds, deep-pile carpets, an open fire and great breakfasts, it makes a very cosy and enticing base after a long day hiking in the hills. £75

< Back to The Northeast

The Northumberland coast

Stretching 64 miles north of Newcastle up to the Scottish border, the low-lying Northumberland coast is the region’s shining star, stunningly beautiful and packed with impressive sights. Here you’ll find mighty fortresses at Warkworth, Alnwick and Bamburgh and magnificent Elizabethan ramparts surrounding Berwick-upon-Tweed; in between there are glorious sandy beaches, the site of the Lindisfarne monastery on Holy Island, and the seabird and nature reserve of the Farne Islands, reached by boat from Seahouses.

Warkworth

WARKWORTH, a peaceful coastal hamlet set in a loop of the River Coquet a couple of miles from Amble, is best seen from the north, from where the grey stone terraces of the long main street slope up towards the commanding remains of Warkworth Castle. From the castle, the main street sweeps down into the village, flattening out at Dial Place and the Church of St Lawrence before curving right to cross the River Coquet; just over the bridge, a signposted quarter-mile lane leads to the beach, which stretches for five miles from Amble to Alnmouth.

Warkworth Castle

Castle Terrace, NE65 0UJ • April–Oct daily 10am–5pm; rest of the year usually Sat & Sun only, see website for details; Duke’s Rooms April–Sept Mon, Sun & bank hols only • £6.20, combined ticket with hermitage £8.90; EH • 01665 711423, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/warkworth-castle-and-hermitage

Ruined but well-preserved, Warkworth Castle has Norman origins, but was constructed using sandstone during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Home to generations of the Percy family, the powerful earls of Northumberland, it appears as a backdrop in several scenes of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part II. The cross-shaped keep contains a great hall, a chapel, kitchens, storerooms and the Duke’s Rooms, which are kitted out in period furniture and furnishings.

Warkworth Hermitage

Castle Terrace, NE65 0UJ • Weather permitting April–Oct Mon, Sun & bank hols (plus Fri & Sat in July & Aug) 11am–5pm; rest of the year limited opening hours, see website for details • £4.30, combined ticket with castle £8.90; EH • 01665 711423, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/warkworth-castle-and-hermitage

A path from the churchyard heads along the right bank of the Coquet to the boat that shuttles visitors across to Warkworth Hermitage, a series of simple rooms and a claustrophobic chapel that were hewn out of the cliff above the river some time in the fourteenth century, but abandoned by 1567. The last resident hermit, one George Lancaster, was charged by the sixth earl of Northumberland to pray for his noble family, for which lonesome duty he received around £15 a year and a barrel of fish every Sunday.

Arrival: Warkworth

By bus The #X18 (Newcastle to Berwick) stops here, but it’s quicker to take the train to Alnmouth, then the bus.

Destinations Alnmouth (every 30min; 10min), Berwick (every 2hr; 2hr 10min), Newcastle (hourly; 1hr 30min).

Alnmouth

It’s three miles north from Warkworth to the seaside resort of ALNMOUTH, whose narrow centre is strikingly situated on a steep spur of land between the sea and the estuary of the Aln. This lovely setting has been a low-key holiday spot since Victorian times, and is particularly popular with golfers: the village’s nine-hole course, right on the coast, was built in 1869 (it’s claimed to be the second oldest in the country) and dune-strollers really do have to heed the “Danger – Flying Golf Balls” signs which adorn Marine Road.

Arrival and departure: Alnmouth

By train Trains pass through from Berwick (every 2hr; 20min) and Newcastle (hourly; 30min).

By bus There are local bus services from Alnwick and Warkworth, and the regular #X18 Newcastle–Berwick bus also passes through Alnmouth and calls at its train station, 1.5 miles west of the centre.

Accommodation and eating

Red Lion 22 Northumberland St, NE66 2RJ 01668 30584, redlionalnmouth.com. Six spacious and modern rooms, with pine furniture, cream walls and fresh bathrooms, above a popular, traditional pub. The beer garden is perfect for sunny days, and the menu has everything from big open sandwiches (from £4.95) to sirloin steak (£17.50). Restaurant Mon–Sat noon–3pm & 4–9pm, Sun noon–8pm. £85

Alnwick

The appealing market town of ALNWICK (pronounced “Annick”), thirty miles north of Newcastle and four miles inland from Alnmouth, is renowned for its castle and gardens – seat of the dukes of Northumberland – which overlook the River Aln. It’s worth spending a couple of days here, exploring the medieval maze of streets, the elegant gatehouses on Pottergate and Bondgate and the best bookshop in the north.

Alnwick Castle

NE66 1NQ • April–Oct daily 10am–5.30pm • £15.50; castle and garden £26.10 • 01665 511100, alnwickcastle.com

The Percys – who were raised to the dukedom of Northumberland in 1750 – have owned Alnwick Castle since 1309. In the eighteenth century, the first duke had the interior refurbished by Robert Adam in an extravagant Gothic style – which in turn was supplanted by the gaudy Italianate decoration preferred by the fourth duke in the 1850s. There’s plenty to see inside, including remains from Pompeii, though the interior can be crowded at times – not least with families on the Harry Potter trail, since the castle doubled as Hogwarts School in the first two films.

Alnwick Garden

NE66 1YU • April–Oct & late Nov to early Jan daily 10am–6pm; Grand Cascade and Poison Garden closed in winter • Summer £12.10, winter £7; garden and castle £26.10 • 01665 511350, alnwickgarden.com

The grounds of the castle are taken up by the huge and beautiful Alnwick Garden, designed by an innovative Belgian team and full of quirky features such as a bamboo labyrinth maze, a serpent garden involving topiary snakes, and the popular Poison Garden, filled with the world’s deadliest plants. The heart of the garden is the computerized Grand Cascade, which shoots water jets in a regular synchronized display, while to the west is Europe’s largest treehouse, which has a restaurant within (see below). The walled Roots and Shoots community veg garden (no ticket required) is a delight.

Barter Books

Alnwick station, NE66 2NP • Daily 9am–7pm • 01665 604888, barterbooks.co.uk

Housed in the Victorian train station on Wagonway Road, and containing visible remnants of the ticket office, passenger waiting rooms and the outbound platform, the enchanting Barter Books is one of the largest secondhand bookshops in England. With its sofas, murals, open fire, coffee and biscuits – and, best of all, a model train that runs on top of the stacks – it is definitely worth a visit.

Arrival and information: Alnwick

By bus The station is on Clayport St, a couple of minutes’ walk west of the marketplace.

Destinations Bamburgh (Mon–Sat 7 daily, Sun 4 daily; 1hr 15min); Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 3 daily; 1hr); Craster (Mon–Fri 7 daily, Sat 4 daily; 35min); Wooler (Mon–Sat 9 daily; 45min).

Tourist office 2 The Shambles, off the marketplace (April–June, Sept & Oct Mon–Sat 9.30am–5pm, Sun 10am–4pm; July & Aug daily 9am–5pm; Nov–March Mon–Fri 9.30am–4.30pm, Sat 10am–4pm; 01665 622152, visitalnwick.org.uk).

Accommodation and eating

Alnwick Garden Treehouse Alnwick Gardens, NE66 1YU 01665 511852, alnwickgarden.com. Glorious restaurant in the enormous treehouse in Alnwick Gardens (you don’t have to pay the garden entry fee to visit). There’s an open fire in the middle of the room and even tree trunks growing through the floor. A set menu is available at lunch and dinner (two courses £19.95/£28.50) with lots of local produce cooked to perfection (mains include English rack of lamb or stuffed field mushrooms). Booking essential. Mon & Tues noon–3pm, Wed–Sat noon–3pm & 6.30–9.15pm, Sun noon–8pm.

Station Buffet Barter Books Wagonway Road, NE66 2NP 01665 604888, barterbooks.co.uk. Set in the old station waiting room at Barter Books, this unique café serves home-made food including cooked breakfasts (9–11.30am), hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and cakes (meals around £7). Daily 9am–7pm.

Tate House 11 Bondgate Without, NE66 1PR 01665 660800, stayinalnwick.co.uk. In a pretty Victorian house opposite Alnwick Gardens, the ten comfortable bedrooms are available on a “room only” basis, with spotless bathrooms and nice little touches such as hot-water bottles, iPod docks and DVD players. Ten percent off breakfast at The Plough across the road. £65

YHA Alnwick 4–38 Green Batt, NE66 1TU 01665 604661, yha.org.uk/hostel/alnwick. A handsome Victorian courthouse nicely converted into a hostel with some private rooms. You’re a stroll away from the gardens and castle, and there’s a bus stop right outside the front door. Dorms £18.50, doubles £39

Craster and around

The tiny fishing village of CRASTER – known for its kippers – lies six miles northeast of Alnwick, right on the coast. It’s a delightful little place, with its circular, barnacle-encrusted harbour walls fronting a cluster of tough, weather-battered little houses and the cheery Jolly Fisherman pub. Other villages worth visiting round here include Newton-on-Sea and Beadnell, both exuding wind swept, salty charm. The coastline between Dunstanburgh and Beadnell is made up of the long sandy beaches that Northumberland is famous for.

Dunstanburgh Castle

Dunstanburgh Rd, NE66 3TT • April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct daily 10am–4pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm • £5; NT & EH • 01665 576231, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dunstanburgh-castle

Looming in the distance, about a thirty-minute walk northwards up the coast from Craster, is stunning Dunstanburgh Castle. Built in the fourteenth century, in the wake of civil war, its shattered remains occupy a magnificent promontory, bordered by sheer cliffs and crashing waves.

Arrival: Craster and around

By bus Buses #X18 and #418 run to Alnwick (Mon–Sat 11 daily, Sun 3 daily; 35min).

Accommodation

Old Rectory Howick, NE66 3LE, 2 miles south of Craster 01665 577590, oldrectoryhowick.co.uk. Just 400yds from the wind-whipped North Sea, this fantastic B&B sits in its own peaceful grounds and has extremely pretty bedrooms and comfortable sitting areas. Superb breakfasts feature plenty of cooked options, including Craster kippers. £90

Eating and drinking

There’s not much in the way of fine dining round these parts; most villages simply have a traditional pub serving decent meals. Craster’s beloved kippers are smoked at L. Robson & Sons (01665 576223, kipper.co.uk) in the centre of the village; they also sell salty oak-smoked salmon.

Jolly Fisherman 9 Haven Hill, NE66 3TR 01665 576461, thejollyfishermancraster.co.uk. Located just above the harbour, this pub has sea views from its back window and a lovely summer beer garden. Not surprisingly for a pub opposite L. Robson & Sons, it serves plenty of fish – crab sandwiches, kipper pâté and a famously good crabmeat, whisky and cream soup. Mon–Sat 11am–11pm, Sun noon–11pm; ktchen Mon–Fri 11am–3pm & 5–8.30pm, Sun noon–7pm.

Ship Inn Low Newton-by-the-Sea, NE66 3EL, 5 miles north of Craster 01665 576262, shipinnnewton.co.uk. Great, rustic pub in a coastal hamlet serving dishes using ingredients from local suppliers – there’s plenty of L. Robson smoked fish on the menu. Mains from £7. Ales are supplied by their own brewery next door. Dinner reservations essential in evening. April–Oct Mon & Tues 11am–10.30pm, Wed–Sat 11am–11pm, Sun & bank hols noon–10pm, Nov–March Mon–Wed 11am–5pm, Thurs–Sat 11am–11pm, Sun noon–6pm; kitchen April–Oct daily noon–2.30pm plus Wed–Sat 7–8pm, Nov–March daily noon–2.30pm plus Thurs–Sat 7–8pm.

Seahouses and the Farne Islands

Around ten miles north from Craster, beyond the small village of Beadnell, lies the fishing port of SEAHOUSES, the only place on the local coast that could remotely be described as a resort. It’s the embarkation point for boat trips out to the wind swept Farne Islands, a rocky archipelago lying a few miles offshore.

The Farne Islands

Owned by the National Trust and maintained as a nature reserve, the Farne Islands (nationaltrust.co.uk/farne-islands) are the summer home of hundreds of thousands of migrating seabirds, notably puffins, guillemots, terns, eider ducks and kittiwakes, and home to the only grey seal colony on the English coastline. A number of boat trips potter around the islands – the largest of which is Inner Farne – offering birdwatching tours, grey seal-watching tours and the Grace Darling tour, which takes visitors to the lighthouse on Longstone Island, where the famed local heroine lived.

Arrival and information: Seahouses and the Farne Islands

By bus The bus stop is on King St, near the post office. The #X18 runs between Berwick (every 2hr; 1hr) and Alnwick (every 2hr; 1hr).

By boat Weather permitting, several operators in Seahouses run daily boat trips (2–3hr; from £15; National Trust landing fee £7–9) starting at around 10am. Wander down to the quayside, contact either the National Trust Shop or the tourist office (closed at time of writing; see above), or book online in advance at farne-islands.com. During the breeding season (May–July) landings are restricted to morning trips to Staple Island and afternoons to Inner Farne.

Tourist information National Trust Shop, 16 Main St (01665 721099), by the Seahouses traffic roundabout. The tourist office is located in the main car park but was closed at the time of writing; see seahouses.org for the latest information.

Accommodation

St Cuthberts 198 Main st, Seahouses, NE68 7UB 01665 720456, stcuthbertshouse.com. Award-winning B&B in a beautifully converted 200-year-old chapel a mile inland from the harbour. Rooms cleverly incorporate period features like the original arched windows with lovely modern touches such as wet rooms, flatscreen TVs, comfy dressing gowns and slippers. Breakfast is all locally sourced, from the sausages and the eggs to the kippers and the honey. £105

Bamburgh

One-time capital of Northumbria, the little village of BAMBURGH, just three miles from Seahouses, lies in the lee of its magnificent castle. Attractive stone cottages – holding the village shop, a café, pubs and B&Bs – flank each side of the triangular green, and at the top of the village on Radcliffe Road is the diminutive Grace Darling Museum. From behind the castle it’s a brisk, five-minute walk to two splendid sandy beaches, backed by rolling, tufted dunes.

Bamburgh Castle

Half a mile from Bamburgh, NE69 7DF • Mid-Feb to Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov to mid-Feb Sat & Sun 11am–4.30pm • £10.85 • 01668 214515, bamburghcastle.com

Solid and chunky, Bamburgh Castle is a spectacular sight, its elongated battlements crowning a formidable basalt crag high above the beach. Its origins lie in Anglo-Saxon times, but it suffered a centuries-long decline – rotted by sea spray and buffeted by winter storms, the castle was bought by Lord Armstrong (of Rothbury’s Cragside) in 1894, who demolished most of the structure to replace it with a hybrid castle-mansion. Inside there’s plenty to explore, including the sturdy keep that houses an unnerving armoury packed with vicious-looking pikes, halberds, helmets and muskets; the King’s Hall, with its marvellous teak ceiling that was imported from Siam (Thailand) and carved in Victorian times; and a medieval kitchen complete with original jugs, pots and pans.

From top Walking along Hadrian’s wall; Bamburgh Castle; Beamish Museum

Grace Darling Museum

Radcliffe Rd, NE69 7AE • Easter–Sept daily 10am–5pm; Oct–Easter Tues–Sun 10am–4pm • Free • 01668 214910, rnli.org.uk

The Grace Darling Museum celebrates the life of famed local heroine Grace Darling. In September 1838, a gale dashed the steamship Forfarshire against the rocks of the Farne Islands. Nine passengers struggled onto a reef where they were subsequently saved by Grace and her lighthouseman father, William, who left the safety of the Longstone lighthouse to row out to them. The Times trumpeted Grace’s bravery, offers of marriage and requests for locks of her hair streamed into the Darlings’ lighthouse home, and for the rest of her brief life Grace was plagued by unwanted visitors – she died of tuberculosis aged 26 in 1842, and was buried in Bamburgh, in the churchyard of the thirteenth-century St Aidan’s.

Arrival and information: Bamburgh

By bus A regular bus service links Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed with Bamburgh, stopping on Front St, by the green.

Destinations Alnwick (Mon–Sat hourly; 1hr 10min); Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mon–Sat every 2hr; 40min); Seahouses (Mon–Sat hourly; 10min).

Website bamburgh.org.uk

Accommodation and eating

Copper Kettle 21 Front St, NE69 7BW 01668 214315. Sweet little tearoom, with a sunny sitting area out the back, serving tasty cakes, teas and coffees – try the fruit loaf or the tempting carrot cake with icing. Also light meals such as sandwiches (£5), jacket potatoes (£6.50) and pies (£6). Daily 11am–6pm.

Victoria Hotel 1 Front St, NE69 7BP 01668 214431, strhotels.co.uk/victoria-hotel. This smart boutique hotel has elegant rooms in a variety of sizes – one with lovely castle views – a couple of relaxing bars and a more expensive brasserie (dinner only). Pets are welcome for an additional charge of £7.50/night. £90

Holy Island

It’s a dramatic approach to HOLY ISLAND – only accessible at low tide – past the barnacle-encrusted marker poles that line the three-mile-long causeway. Topped with a stumpy castle, the island is small (just 1.5 miles by one), sandy and bare, and in winter it can be bleak, but come summer day-trippers clog the car parks as soon as the causeway is open. Even then, though, Lindisfarne (as the island was once known) has a distinctive and isolated atmosphere. Give the place time and, if you can, stay overnight, when you’ll be able to see the historic remains without hundreds of others cluttering the views. The island’s surrounding tidal mud flats, salt marshes and dunes have been designated a nature reserve.

Brief history

It was on Lindisfarne that St Aidan of Iona founded a monastery at the invitation of King Oswald of Northumbria in 634. The monks quickly established a reputation for scholarship and artistry, the latter exemplified by the Lindisfarne Gospels, the apotheosis of Celtic religious art, now kept in the British Library. The monastery had sixteen bishops in all, the most celebrated being the reluctant St Cuthbert, who never settled here – within two years, he was back in his hermit’s cell on the Farne Islands, where he died in 687. His colleagues rowed the body back to Lindisfarne, which became a place of pilgrimage until 875, when the monks abandoned the island in fear of marauding Vikings, taking Cuthbert’s remains with them.

Lindisfarne Priory

TD15 2RX • Feb daily 10am–4pm; March & Nov–Jan Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct daily 10am–5pm • £6.50; EH • 01289 389200, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/lindisfarne-priory

Located just off the village green are the tranquil, pinkish sandstone ruins of Lindisfarne Priory, which dates from the Benedictine foundation. The museum next door displays a collection of incised stones that constitute all that remains of the first monastery.

Lindisfarne Castle

TD15 2SH • Castle Closed until April 2018 • Gardens Daily dawn–dusk • Free • 01289 389244, nationaltrust.org.uk/lindisfarne-castle

Stuck on a small pyramid of rock half a mile away from the village, Lindisfarne Castle was built in the middle of the sixteenth century to protect the island’s harbour from the Scots. It was, however, merely a decaying shell when Edward Hudson, the founder of Country Life magazine, stumbled across it in 1901. He promptly commissioned Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944) to turn it into an Edwardian country house, and installed a charming walled garden in the castle’s former vegetable gardens, to designs by Gertrude Jekyll. Only the garden remains open while the castle undergoes major restoration work, due to be completed in April 2018.

Arrival and information: Holy Island

By bus The #477 bus from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Holy Island (35min) is something of a law unto itself given the interfering tides, but basically service is daily in Aug and twice-weekly the rest of the year.

Crossing the causeway The island is cut off by tides for about 5hr a day. Consult tide timetables at a tourist office, in the local paper or at holyisland.northumberland.gov.uk.

Castle shuttle A minibus trundles the half a mile to the castle from the main car park, The Chare (every 20min 10.20am–4.20pm; £1).

Website lindisfarne.org.uk

Accommodation and eating

Due to the size of the island and the small number of B&Bs, it’s imperative to book in advance if you’re staying overnight.

Bamburgh View Fenkle St, TD15 2SR 01289 389212, lindisfarne.org.uk/bamburghview. Sweet, friendly B&B very near the priory, with three airy, wood-floored rooms, good showers and generous breakfasts. £90

St Aidan’s Winery TD15 2RX, in the modern building behind the green 01289 389230, lindisfarne-mead.co.uk. If you’re keen to sample some of the world-famous Lindisfarne mead, this is the place to come. They also sell home-made chutneys, biscuits and jams. Hours depend on tides.

The Ship Marygate, TD15 2SJ 01289 389311, theshipinn-holyisland.co.uk. The best pub on the island; friendly and traditional, with open fires and wood-panelled walls. The ales are good, as is the inexpensive pub grub. They have four cosy, en-suite rooms upstairs. £110

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Before the union of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603, BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, twelve miles north of Holy Island, was the quintessential frontier town, changing hands no fewer than fourteen times between 1174 and 1482, when the Scots finally ceded the stronghold to the English. Interminable cross-border warfare ruined Berwick’s economy, turning the prosperous Scottish port of the thirteenth century into an impoverished English garrison town. By the late sixteenth century, Berwick’s fortifications were in a dreadful state and Elizabeth I, fearing the resurgent alliance between France and Scotland, had the place rebuilt in line with the latest principles of military architecture. Berwick was reborn as an important seaport between 1750 and 1820, and is still peppered with elegant Georgian mansions dating from that period.

Berwick’s walls – one and a half miles long and still in pristine condition – are now the town’s major attraction, but look out for panels that mark the Lowry Trail; L.S. Lowry (1887–1976) was a regular visitor to Berwick and his sketches and paintings of local landmarks are dotted about town.

Town walls

No more than 20ft high but incredibly thick, the Elizabethan town walls are protected by ditches on three sides and the Tweed on the fourth, and strengthened by immense bastions. It’s possible to walk a mile-long circuit (45min) around Berwick, and to take in wonderful views out to sea, across the Tweed and over the orange-tiled rooftops of the town.

Barracks

TD15 1DF • April–Sept Mon–Fri 10am–6pm; Oct 10am–4pm • £4.90; EH • 01289 304493, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/berwick-upon-tweed-barracks-and-main-guard

The town’s finely proportioned Barracks, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor (1717) functioned as a garrison until 1964, when the King’s Own Scottish Borderers regiment decamped. Inside there’s the rather specialist By the Beat of the Drum exhibition, tracing the lives of British infantrymen from the Civil War to World War I, as well as the King’s Own Scottish Borderers Museum and the Berwick Museum and Art Gallery, which has a collection of works donated by Sir William Burrell.

Arrival and departure: Berwick-upon-Tweed

By train From the train station it’s a 10min walk down Castlegate and Marygate to the town centre.

Destinations Durham (every 30min; 1hr 10min); Edinburgh (hourly; 45min); Newcastle (hourly; 45min).

By bus Most regional buses stop on Golden Square (where Castlegate meets Marygate), though some may also stop in front of the train station.

Destinations Bamburgh (Mon–Sat every 2hr; Sun 3 daily; 45min); Holy Island (Aug 2 daily, rest of the year 2 weekly; 35min); Newcastle (Mon–Sat hourly; 2hr 15min); Wooler (Mon–Sat 6 daily; 1hr).

Information and tours

Tourist office Berwick TIC and Library, Walkergate (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 10am–5pm; 01670 622155).

Tours The tourist office can book you onto a walking tour (Easter–Oct Mon–Fri 11am; £7; explore-northumberland.co.uk) which includes the walls and an eighteenth-century gun bastion not usually open to the public.

Accommodation

Marshall Meadow Hotel 3 miles north of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, TD15 1UT 01289 331133, marshallmeadowshotel.co.uk. An eighteenth-century country house set in delightful grounds. The 19 en-suite guest rooms are traditional – but without chintz – and very clean. The oak-panelled restaurant has a menu of comforting seasonal dishes, featuring local produce. £109

Queen’s Head 6 Sandgate, TD15 1EP 01289 307852, queensheadberwick.co.uk. One of the best pubs in town has six snug rooms, including a family room. Great evening meals and breakfasts, too (mains around £15). £99

YHA Berwick Dewars Lane, TD15 1HJ 0845 371 9676, yha.org.uk/hostel/berwick. Set in a remarkable eighteenth-century granary building which, thanks to a fire in 1815, has a lean greater than that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Thirteen en-suite rooms, some private and family, plus a bistro and gallery. Dorms £18, doubles £78

Eating and drinking

Barrel’s Alehouse 59–61 Bridge St, TD15 1ES 01289 308013, facebook.com/TheBarrelsAleHouse. Atmospheric pub specializing in (frequently changing) cask ales, lagers and stouts. It’s also a great music venue, hosting an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, rock and indie bands. Daily noon–midnight.

The Maltings Eastern Lane, TD15 1AJ 01289 330999, maltingsberwick.co.uk. Berwick’s arts centre has a year-round programme of music, theatre, comedy, film and dance and a licensed café, the Maltings Kitchen. Café Mon–Wed 9.30am–4pm, Thurs–Sat 9.30am–4pm & 5.45–7.30pm.

< Back to The Northeast

Durham

The handsome city of DURHAM is best known for its beautiful Norman cathedral – there’s a tremendous view of it as you approach the city by train from the south – and for its flourishing university, founded in 1832. Together, these form a little island of privilege in what’s otherwise a moderately sized, working-class city. It’s worth visiting for a couple of days – there are plenty of attractions, but it’s more the overall atmosphere that captivates, enhanced by the omnipresent golden stone, slender bridges and the glint of the river. The heart of the city is the marketplace, flanked by the Guildhall and St Nicholas Church. The cathedral and church sit on a wooded peninsula to the west, while southwards stretch narrow streets lined with shops and cafés.

Brief history

Durham’s history revolves around its cathedral. Completed in just forty years, the cathedral was founded in 1093 to house the shrine of St Cuthbert, arguably the Northeast’s most important and venerated saint. Soon after Cuthbert was laid to rest here, the bishops of Durham were granted extensive powers to control the troublesome northern marches of the Kingdom (a rabble of invading Picts from Scotland and revolting Norman earls, ruling as semi-independent Prince Bishops, with their own army, mint and courts of law. At the peak of their power in the fourteenth century, the office went into decline, especially in the wake of the Reformation), yet the bishop’s clung to the vestiges of their authority until 1836, when they ceded them to the Crown. The bishops abandoned Durham Castle for their palace in Bishop Auckland and transferred their old home to the fledgling Durham University, England’s third-oldest seat of learning after Oxford and Cambridge.

Durham Cathedral

DH1 3EH • Mon–Sat 9.30am–6pm, Sun 12.30–5.30pm • Donation requested; Open Treasure ticket (£7.50) covers entry to the Monks’ Dormitory, the Great Kitchen and the Treasures of St Cuthbert • Tours April–Oct Mon–Sat 2–3 daily; 1hr • £5 • 0191 386 4266, durhamcathedral.co.uk

From the marketplace, it’s a five-minute walk up Saddler Street to Durham Cathedral, considered a supreme example of the Norman-Romanesque style. The awe-inspiring nave used pointed arches for the first time in England, raising the vaulted ceiling to new and dizzying heights. The weight of the stone is borne by massive pillars, their heaviness relieved by striking Moorish-influenced geometric patterns. A door on the western side gives access to the tower, from where there are beautiful views. Separated from the nave by a Victorian marble screen is the choir, where the dark Restoration stalls are overshadowed by the 13ft-high bishop’s throne. Beyond is the Chapel of the Nine Altars, which dates from the thirteenth century. Here, and around the Shrine of St Cuthbert, much of the stonework is of local Weardale marble, each dark shaft bearing its own pattern of fossils. Cuthbert himself lies beneath a plain marble slab, his shrine having gained a reputation over the centuries for its curative powers. The legend was given credence in 1104, when the saint’s body was exhumed in Chester-le-Street for reburial here, and was found to be completely uncorrupted, more than four hundred years after his death on Lindisfarne. Almost certainly, this was the result of his fellow monks having (unintentionally) preserved the body by laying it in sand containing salt crystals.

Back near the entrance, at the west end of the church, is the Galilee Chapel; begun in the 1170s, its light and exotic decoration is in imitation of the Great Mosque of Córdoba. The chapel contains the simple tombstone of the Venerable Bede, the Northumbrian monk credited with being England’s first historian. Bede died at the monastery of Jarrow in 735, and his remains were transferred to the cathedral in 1020.

St Cuthbert

Born in North Northumbria in 653, Cuthbert spent most of his youth in Melrose Abbey in Scotland, from where he moved briefly to Lindisfarne Island, which was at that time a well-known centre of religious endeavour. Preferring the peace and rugged solitude of the Farne Islands, he lived on Inner Farne for thirty years. News of his piety spread, however, and he was head-hunted to become Bishop of Lindisfarne, a position he accepted reluctantly. Uncomfortable in the limelight, he soon returned to Inner Farne, and when he died his remains were moved to Lindisfarne before being carted off to Durham Cathedral.

Open Treasure

A large wooden doorway opposite the cathedral’s main entrance leads into the spacious cloisters, which are flanked by the most intact set of medieval monastic buildings in the UK. These now house Open Treasure, a display exploring the history of Christianity in northeast England, which kicks off in the fourteenth-century Monks’ Dormitory with its magnificent oak-beamed ceiling, where interactive displays evoke the sights, sounds and smells of life in a medieval monastery. The Collections Gallery showcases some of the most precious manuscripts from the cathedral’s collections; while the spectacular Great Kitchen – one of only two surviving medieval monastic kitchens in the UK – is a setting for The Treasures of St Cuthbert, featuring beautifully preserved Anglo-Saxon artefacts.

Palace Green Library

Palace Green, DH1 3RN • Mon noon–5pm, Tues–Sun 10am–5pm • Free, although entry fee for changing exhibitions • 0191 334 2972, dur.ac.uk/palace.green/whatson

Palace Green Library, between the cathedral and the castle, shows off a wonderful collection of the university’s treasures, including medieval manuscripts and incunabula – early printed books. The library is divided into four separate galleries, two of which host permanent exhibitions that are free to view: Living on the Hills: 10,000 years of Durham; and the DLI Collection: Courage, Comrades, Community. The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) were one of the most famous county regiments in the British Army and the exhibit tells the story from their beginnings in 1181, via World War I (when it lost twelve thousand soldiers) to its last parade in 1968. Other exhibitions change but could feature anything from Japanese enamel pots to Chinese imperial textiles and ancient Egyptian relics. The Courtyard Café (daily 9.30am–4pm) is on the ground floor.

Durham Castle

DH1 3RW • Tours daily: Easter & July–Sept 10am, 11am, noon, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm & 5pm; rest of the year 2pm, 3pm & 4pm; 50min • £5 • 0191 334 3800, durhamworldheritagesite.com

Durham Castle lost its medieval appearance long ago, as each successive Prince Bishop modernized the building according to the tastes of the time. The university was bequeathed the castle in the nineteenth century and subsequently renovated the old keep as a hall of residence. It’s only possible to visit the castle on a guided tour, departing from outside Palace Green Library, highlights of which include the enormous hanging staircase and the underground Norman chapel, one of the few surviving interiors from the period. It’s notable for its lively Romanesque carved capitals, including a green man, and what may be the earliest surviving depiction anywhere of a mermaid. Note that out of term time you can stay here (see below).

Crook Hall

Frankland Lane, Sidegate, DH1 5SZ • Mon–Wed & Sun 10am–5pm • April–Oct £7.50, Nov–March £5.50 • 0191 384 8028, crookhallgardens.co.uk

Around half a mile north of the centre, Crook Hall is a hidden gem. A rare mix of medieval, Jacobean and Georgian architecture, with origins dating from the twelfth century, it’s said to be one of the oldest inhabited houses in the area. You can explore its rambling rooms, complete with period furniture and rickety staircases, as well as a series of beautifully tended, themed gardens, including the ethereal Silver and White garden, the Shakespeare Garden, planted with herbs used in Elizabethan times, and the delightful Secret Walled Garden. Book afternoon tea in the manor house tearooms in advance (£24.50) or drop in at the Garden Gate Café and shop at the gatehouse (sandwiches from £5).

Arrival and information: Durham

By train Durham’s train station is on North Rd, a 10min walk from the centre of the city.

Destinations Berwick-upon-Tweed (every 30min; 1hr 10min), Darlington (frequent; 20min); London (every 30min–1hr; 3hr); Newcastle (frequent; 15min); York (frequent; 50min).

By bus It’s a 5min walk to the city centre from the bus station on North Rd.

Destinations Bishop Auckland (frequent; 30min); Darlington (every 20min; 1hr 10min); Middlesbrough (every 30min; 55min); Newcastle (Mon–Sat every 30min, Sun 4–6 daily; 50min); Stanhope (Mon–Fri 4 daily; 45min).

Tourist information There are visitor information points dotted around the city. From mid-April to mid-Sept volunteer “pointers” on Market Square give out information (durhampointers.co.uk).

Website thisisdurham.com

Getting around

By bus The Cathedral Bus is a minibus service running two routes around Durham via the train station, the bus station, the marketplace and the cathedral. Tickets cost £1 and are valid all day (Mon–Sat).

Accommodation

Durham Castle B&B DH1 3RW 0191 334 4106, dur.ac.uk; map. Out of term time you can have the unique experience of staying in Durham Castle. Accommodation ranges from standard rooms with shared bathrooms to two grand “state rooms” (£250), one with a four-poster and seventeenth-century tapestries. Breakfast is served in the thirteenth-century Great Hall. £100

Farnley Tower The Avenue, DH1 4DX 0191 375 0011, farnley-tower.co.uk; map. A 10min walk up a steep hill west from the centre, this fine stone Victorian house has thirteen comfortable rooms with bright, coordinated fabrics. The best rooms have sweeping city views. £95

Kingslodge Inn Waddington St, DH1 4BG 0191 370 9977, kingslodgeinn.co.uk; map. The 23 en-suite rooms at this newly reopened inn aren’t spacious, but they are comfortable and clean. The pub-restaurant is usually fairly quiet. Free on-site car park, a rarity in central Durham. £95

Seaham Hall Lord Byron’s Walk, Seaham, SR7 7AG, 12 miles northeast of Durham0191 516 1400, seaham-hall.co.uk; map. Perched on a clifftop overlooking the sea, this hip, exclusive hotel makes a great coastal base for city sightseeing – Durham is only a 20min drive away. It’s known for its luxurious spa and pampering treatments and has a wonderful restaurant; spa, dinner, bed and breakfast packages are available. £195

The Victorian Town House 2 Victoria Terrace, DH1 4RW 0191 370 9963, durhambedandbreakfast.com; map. This friendly and tranquil B&B features three en-suite rooms: one twin, one double and one family room. It’s located on a quiet and attractive backstreet backed by gardens and is a 5min walk from the station. £95

Eating

Finbarrs Aykley Heads House, HH1 5TS 0191 307 7033, finbarrsrestaurant.co.uk; map. This chic restaurant with crisp white tablecloths serves up anything from full English breakfasts and banana pancakes to dinners of Moroccan lamb with golden raisins; the sweet cherry and pistachio sundaes are delicious. Mains from £15. Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 6–9.30pm, Sun noon–2.30pm & 6–9pm.

Flat White 21a Elvet Bridge, DH1 3AA 07936 449291, flatwhitekitchen.com; map. Durham’s hippest café, serving barista-standard coffee and hearty sandwiches served on wooden boards (£5). Sit outside in the sun, or inside at tables made from old sewing machines. It has a fancier sister restaurant on Saddler St, too. Mon–Sat 8am–4pm, Sun 10am–6pm.

Vennel’s 71 Saddler’s Yard, Saddler St, DH1 3NP 0191 375 0571; map. Named after the skinny alley or “vennel” where it stands – near the junction with Elvet Bridge – this café serves up generous sandwiches, salads, quiche (£5–6) and tasty cakes in its sixteenth-century courtyard. Mon–Sat 9.30am–5.30pm, Sun 10.30am–5.30pm.

Drinking and nightlife

Walkergate is the area to head for if you’re after loud, lively bars and mainstream nightclubs pumping out cheesy music, but there are also plenty of quieter establishments and more traditional, laidback pubs. Durham’s clubs, frequented by students during the week and locals at the weekends, don’t generally have a dress code, but the locals tend to make an effort.

Fabios 66 Sadler St, DH1 3NP 0191 383 9290, fabiosdurham.com; map. Just above La Spaghettata pizzeria, Fabios occupies a series of rooms filled with comfy, rug-draped sofas and chalked-up blackboards offering drinks from around £3. The atmosphere is cool and relaxed, with music a melange of rap, r’n’b and dance. Daily 6pm–2am.

Love Shack Walkergate, DH1 1WA 0191 384 5757, loveshackdurham.com; map. Large, popular club with two bars, snug booths and a sleek dancefloor. Music is an energetic mix of contemporary club tunes and cheesy classics. Wed–Fri 10pm–2am, Sat 8pm–2am.

Swan & Three Cygnets Elvet Bridge, DH1 3AF 0191 384 0242; map. Sitting proudly at the end of Elvet Bridge overlooking the River Wear, this loud and cheery pub serves cheap drinks and is filled with a mixed crowd of locals and students. Mon–Sat 11am–11pm, Sun noon–10.30pm.

Victoria Inn 86 Hallgarth St, DH1 3AS 0191 386 5269, victoriainn-durhamcity.co.uk; map. With its three open fires and rickety wooden stools, this cosy, traditional pub specializes in local ales – try the creamy Tyneside Blonde or the hoppy Centurion Bitter – and stocks more than thirty Irish whiskeys. Mon–Sat noon–3pm & 6–11pm, Sun noon–3pm & 7–11pm.

Entertainment

In addition to shows at the Gala Theatre, you can catch regular classical concerts at venues around the city, including the cathedral. Ask the tourist office for more details.

Gala Theatre Millennium Place, DH1 1WA 0191 332 4041, galadurham.co.uk; map. A modern venue staging music of all kinds, plus theatre, cinema, dance and comedy.

Shopping

As well as the indoor market (see below), Durham has a monthly farmer’s market in the Market Place (third Thurs of the month 9am–4pm; thisisdurham.com).

Durham Market Market Place, DH1 3NJ durhammarkets.co.uk; map. Durham’s Indoor Market holds a variety of stalls including a haberdashers, sweet shop and fishmongers. Mon–Sat 9am–5pm.

Fowlers Yard Silver St, DH1 3RA fowlersyarddurham.co.uk; map. A series of workshops behind the marketplace showcasing local trades and crafts. Drop by to watch the craftspeople at work, commission a piece or buy off the cuff. Opening hours vary.

Riverwalk DH1 4SL theriverwalk.co.uk; map. Shopping development undergoing a much-needed revamp, but stores including vintage Ding Dong and gentleman’s outfitters Woven remain open.

< Back to The Northeast

Around Durham

The county of Durham has shaken off its grimy reputation in recent years and recast itself as a thriving tourist area. The well-to-do market towns of Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle make great day-trips from Durham, and there’s plenty of excellent walking and cycling in the wilds of the two Pennine valleys, Teesdale and Weardale. You’ll find some top-class museums in the area, too, including Beamish, Locomotion and the Bowes Museum.

Beamish Museum

10 miles north of Durham, DH9 0RG • Daily: April–Oct 10am–5pm; Nov–March 10am–4pm • £19, under-17s £11 • 0191 370 4000, beamish.org.uk • Waggonway #28/28A runs from Newcastle (every 30min Mon–Sat, hourly Sun); from Durham catch a bus to Chester-le-Street to connect with the #28/28A

The open-air Beamish Museum spreads out over three hundred acres, with buildings taken from all over the region painstakingly reassembled in six main sections linked by restored trams and buses. Complete with costumed shopkeepers, workers and householders, four of the sections show life in 1913, before the upheavals of World War I, including a colliery village complete with drift mine (regular tours throughout the day) and a large-scale recreation of the high street in a market town. Two areas date to 1825, at the beginning of the northeast’s industrial development, including a manor house, with horse yard, formal gardens, vegetable plots and orchards. You can ride on the beautifully restored steam-powered carousel, the Steam Galloper, which dates from the 1890s, and the Pockerley Waggonway, which is pulled along by a replica of George Stephenson’s Locomotion, the first passenger-carrying steam train in the world.

Bishop Auckland

BISHOP AUCKLAND, a busy little market town eleven miles southwest of Durham, grew up slowly around its showpiece building, Auckland Castle, and became famous throughout England as the homeland of the mighty Prince Bishops. Today the town has paled into lesser significance but still offers enough for a pleasant hour or two’s wander.

Auckland Castle

DL14 7NR • Castle Closed into 2018 for extensive restoration work; see online for times and charges • Deer park Daily 7am–dusk • Free • 01388 602576, aucklandcastle.org

Looking more like an opulent Gothic mansion than a traditional fortress, Auckland Castle served for 900 years as a private palace for the Prince Bishops of Durham, who stood second in power only to the King of England. The castle is one of the most important and best-preserved medieval bishops’ palaces in Europe and today it’s being transformed into an arts, faith and heritage destination; an extension will house the UK’s first Faith Museum, the original seventeenth-century walled garden is being revamped, and a mining art gallery (which includes works by prominent local mining artists Tom McGuinness and Norman Cornish), Spanish gallery and welcome building are opening in the adjoining Market Place. These will open in stages between 2017 and 2020, with Auckland Castle itself reopening in May 2018. Meanwhile, you can stroll around the 200-acre Deer Park, or book tickets for the summer spectacular open-air show, Kynren (elevenarches.org), which features the castle as a backdrop to a reenactment of 2000 years of history.

Binchester Roman Fort

1.5 miles north of Bishop Auckland, DL14 8DJ • Daily: Easter–June & Sept 11am–5pm; July & Aug 10am–5pm • £2.55 • 0191 370 8712, durham.gov.uk

From the town’s marketplace, it’s a pleasant twenty-minute walk along the banks of the River Wear to the remains of Binchester Roman Fort. While most of the stone fort and a civilian settlement that occupied the area remain hidden beneath surrounding fields, the bathhouse with its sophisticated underground heating system (hypocaust) is visible. Excavations are ongoing.

Arrival: Bishop Auckland

By train Bishop Auckland is the end of the line for trains from Darlington (26min); the station is on Newgate St.

By bus Buses terminate at Saddler St. There are frequent services to Durham (40min) and Newcastle (1hr 25min).

Locomotion (National Railway Museum Shildon)

Shildon, DL4 2RE, 12 miles south of Durham • Daily 10am–5pm • Free • 01388 777999, nrm.org.uk • Trains from Durham and Darlington to Bishop Auckland stop at Shildon station, a 2min walk from the museum. Buses #1 and 1B (to Crook and Tow Law) run from Darlington (Mon–Sat every 30min), stopping at Dale Rd, a 15min walk from the museum

The first passenger train in the world left from the station at Shildon in 1825 – making this the world’s oldest railway town. It’s a heritage explored in the magnificently realized Locomotion (also known as NRM Shildon), the regional outpost of York’s National Railway Museum. It’s less a museum and more an experience, spread out around a 1.5-mile-long site, with the attractions linked by free bus from the reception building. Depots, sidings, junctions and coal drops lead ultimately to the heart of the museum, Collection – a gargantuan steel hangar containing an extraordinary array of seventy locomotives, dating from the very earliest days of steam. With interactive children’s exhibits, summer steam rides, rallies and shows, it makes an excellent family day out.

Barnard Castle

Affectionately known as “Barney”, the honey-coloured market town of BARNARD CASTLE lies fifteen miles southwest of Bishop Auckland. The middle of the town is dominated by the splendid octagonal Market Cross; built in 1747 and formerly functioning as a market for dairy and butter, it now serves a more mundane purpose as a roundabout.

The castle

Galgate, DL12 8PR • Daily: April–Sept 10am–6pm; Oct 10am–5pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm • £5.40; EH • 01833 638212, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/barnard-castle

The skeletal remains of the town’s castle sit high on a rock overlooking the River Tees. It was founded in 1125 by the powerful Norman baron Bernard de Balliol – thus the town’s name – and later ended up in the hands of Richard III. Richard’s crest, in the shape of a boar, is still visible carved above a window in the inner ward.

Bowes Museum

Half a mile east of the town centre, DL12 8NP • Daily 10am–5pm • £10.50, under-16s free • 01833 690606, bowesmuseum.org.uk

Castle aside, the prime attraction in town is the grand French-style chateau that constitutes the Bowes Museum. Begun in 1869, the chateau was commissioned by John and Josephine Bowes, a local businessman and MP and his French actress wife, who spent much of their time in Paris collecting ostentatious treasures and antiques. Don’t miss the beautiful Silver Swan, a life-size musical automaton dating from 1773 – every afternoon at 2pm it puts on an enchanting show, preening its shiny feathers while swimming along a river filled with jumping fish.

Trails and cycleways

Coast-to-Coast (C2C) c2c-guide.co.uk. This demanding cycle route runs 140 miles from Whitehaven to Sunderland.

Hadrian’s Wall Path hadrianswallcountry.co.uk. An 84-mile waymarked trail allowing you to walk the length of this atmospheric Roman monument.

National Route 72 hadrian-guide.co.uk. Cycle path that starts in the Lake District and heads to the Northumberland coast, running the length of Hadrian’s Wall.

Pennine Way thepennineway.co.uk. This 270-mile-long footpath starts in the Peak District National Park, runs along the Pennine ridge through the Yorkshire Dales, up into Northumberland, across the Cheviots, and finishes in the Scottish Borders.

Egglestone Abbey

A mile southeast of Barnard Castle, DL12 9TN • Daily 10am–6.30pm • Free; EH • www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/egglestone-abbey

It’s a fine mile-long walk from the castle, southeast (downriver) through the fields above the banks of the Tees, to the lovely shattered ruins of Egglestone Abbey, a minor foundation dating from 1195. A succession of wars and the Dissolution destroyed most of it, but you can still see the remnants of a thirteenth-century church and the remains of the monks’ living quarters, including an ingenious latrine system.

Arrival and information: Barnard Castle

By bus Buses stop either side of Galgate.

Destinations Bishop Auckland (Mon–Sat 6 daily; 50min); Darlington (Mon–Sat every 30min; Sun hourly; 45min); Middleton-in-Teesdale (Mon–Sat hourly; 35min); Raby Castle (Mon–Sat hourly; 15min).

Tourist information There’s a visitor information point at The Witham arts centre, 3 Horsemarket (Tues–Sat 10am–4pm).

Accommodation

Homelands 85 Galgate, DL12 8ES 01833 638757, homelandsguesthouse.co.uk. An assortment of pretty rooms with floral soft furnishings and comfortable beds. The owners are very knowledgeable about the area and can recommend plenty of good walks. Breakfast is great, with delicious fruit salads and generous cooked options. £85

Eating and drinking

Blagraves House 30–32 The Bank, DL12 8PN 01833 637668, blagraves.com. Supposed to be the oldest house in Barnard Castle, dating back 500 years, this refined restaurant – oozing atmosphere, with its low oak wooden beams, open log fires and plush furnishings – specializes in traditional British cuisine. Dishes such as pan-fried fillet of beef cost from £23. Tues–Sun 7–10pm.

Fernaville’s Rest Whorlton, DL12 8XD 01833 627341, fernavilles.com. Cosy country pub, with open fires and flagstone floors, in a picturesque village four miles east of Barnard Castle. The food is traditional pub grub which changes seasonally – try the shepherd’s pie with red cabbage, apple and kale (£12.90). Daily 5–10pm; kitchen daily 5.30–8.30pm.

Teesdale

TEESDALE extends twenty-odd miles northwest from Barnard Castle, its pastoral landscapes on the lower reaches beginning calmly enough but soon replaced by wilder Pennine scenery. Picturesque little villages like Middleton-in-Teesdale and Romaldkirk pepper the valley, while natural attractions include the stunning Cow Green Reservoir in Upper Teesdale, home to the indigenous Teesdale violet and the blue spring gentian.

Raby Castle

Staindrop, DL2 3AH, 8 miles northeast of Barnard Castle • Castle Easter to Sept Mon–Wed & Sun 12.30–4.30pm (weekdays by guided tour only) • £12 (includes park & gardens) • Park & gardens Easter to Sept Mon–Wed & Sun 11am–5pm • £7 • 01833 660202, rabycastle.com

Eight miles from Barnard Castle, up the A688, beckon the splendid, sprawling battlements of Raby Castle, reflecting the power of the Neville family, who ruled the local roost until 1569. The Neville estates were confiscated after the “Rising of the North”, the abortive attempt to replace Elizabeth I with Mary Queen of Scots, with Raby subsequently passing to the Vane family in 1626, who still own it today. You can explore the interior, with its lavish bedrooms, dining room, kitchen and drawing rooms, which are filled with furniture and artwork dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Middleton-in-Teesdale

Surrounded by magnificent, wild countryside laced with a myriad of public footpaths and cycling trails, the attractive town of MIDDLETON-IN-TEESDALE is a popular base for walkers and cyclists. A relaxed little place, it was once the archetypal “company town”, owned lock, stock and barrel by the London Lead Company, which began mining here in 1753. Just a few miles out of town is a famous set of waterfalls, Low Force and High Force.

High Force

DL12 0XH • Daily: Easter–Oct 10am–5pm; Nov–Easter 10am–4pm • £1.50 • highforcewaterfall.com

Heading on the B6277 northwest out of Middleton-in-Teesdale, you’ll first pass the turning off to the rapids of Low Force. Another mile up the road is the altogether more spectacular High Force (from the Norse “foss”, meaning waterfall), a 70ft cascade that tumbles over an outcrop of the Whin Sill ridge and into a deep pool. The waterfall is on private Raby land and is reached by a short woodland walk.

Arrival and information: Middleton-in-Teesdale

By bus There are hourly bus services to Middleton-in-Teesdale from Barnard Castle (35min).

Tourist office Market Place (restricted hours, though usually daily 10am–1pm; 01833 641001).

Accommodation and eating

The Old Barn 12 Market Place, DL12 0QG 01833 640258, theoldbarn-teesdale.co.uk. In a very central location next to the tourist office, this sympathetically converted barn has three attractive B&B rooms with rustic furniture, elegant iron beds and Egyptian cotton sheets. There’s a little patio garden to chill out in after a hard day’s walking. £75

Rose & Crown Romaldkirk, DL12 9EB, 4 miles southwest of Middleton-in-Teesdale 01833 650213, rose-and-crown.co.uk. Beautiful ivy-clad eighteenth-century coaching inn set on the village green and next to a pretty Saxon church. Beneath the tastefully decorated rooms is a refined restaurant (mains from £16), serving accomplished dishes such as pan-fried wood pigeon with juniper-berry sauce and grilled pancetta, plus a cosy bar with a wood fire. Restaurant Mon–Sat 6.30–9pm, Sun noon–2.30pm; bar meals daily noon–2.30pm and 6.30–9pm. £140

Weardale

Sitting to the north of Teesdale, the valley of WEARDALE was once hunting ground reserved for the Prince Bishops, but was later transformed into a major centre for lead mining and limestone quarrying; this industrial heritage is celebrated at the excellent Killhope Lead Mining musueum and the Weardale Museum near Irehopesburn. The main settlement is Stanhope, a small market town with a pleasant open-air heated swimming pool (£4; times at stanhopehosting.co.uk/pool), perfect for cooling off after a long walk in the hills. Just to the east is the village of Wolsingham, a renowned pilgrimage centre in the Middle Ages, and neighbouring Frosterley which features the remnants of an eleventh-century chapel.

Weardale Museum

Ireshopeburn, DL13 1HD, 9 miles west of Stanhope • Easter, May, June, Sept & Oct Wed–Sun 1.30–4.30pm; July & Aug daily 1.30–4.30pm • £3 • 01388 517433, www.weardalemuseum.co.uk

At Ireshopeburn, west of Stanhope, the Weardale Museum tells the story of the dale, in particular its lead mining and the importance of Methodism (the faith of most of the county of Durham’s lead miners). There’s a reconstructed miner’s house as well as the “Wesley Room”, dedicated to the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, and filled with his writings, books and belongings.

Killhope Lead Mining Museum

5 miles west of Ireshopeburn and 12 miles east of Stanhope, DL13 1AR • April–Oct daily 10.30am–5pm • £8.60 (includes mine visit) • 01388 537505, www.killhope.org.uk • Request stop on bus #101 (see opposite), contact Weardale Travel (01388 528235, weardale-travel.co.uk)

If you’re keen to learn about Weardale’s mining past, a visit to Killhope Lead Mining Museum, five miles west of Ireshopeburn, is an absolute must. After many successful years as one of the richest mines in Britain, Killhope shut for good in 1910, and now houses a terrific, child-friendly museum that brings to life the difficulties and dangers of a mining life. The site is littered with preserved machinery and nineteenth-century buildings, including the Mine Shop where workers would spend the night after finishing a late shift. The highlight of the visit comes when you descend Park Level Mine – you’ll be given wellies, a hard hat and a torch – in the company of a guide who expounds entertainingly about the realities of life underground, notably the perils of the “Black Spit”, a lung disease which killed many men by their mid-forties.

Arrival and information: Weardale

By bus Bus #101 runs roughly hourly (Mon–Sat) between Bishop Auckland and Stanhope, calling at Wolsingham and Frosterley.

Information Durham Dales Centre, Stanhope, houses the tourist office (daily: April–Oct 9am–5pm; Nov–March 9am–4pm; 01388 527650, durhamdalescentre.co.uk) and a café.

Getting around

By bus Apart from #101, buses are relatively irregular and sporadic round these parts. Contact the Weardale Bus Company (01388 528235, weardale-travel.co.uk).

By train Weardale Railway is a volunteer-run steam line which chugs along from Bishop Auckland to Stanhope, stopping at Wolsingham and Frosterley on request. For timetables and fares see weardale-railway.org.uk.

Accommodation

Dowfold House Crook, DL15 9AB, 6 miles east of Wolsingham 01388 762473, dowfoldhouse.co.uk. Wonderful, relaxed B&B in a Victorian house surrounded by lush gardens and with splendid views out over Weardale. Breakfast, served in the elegant dining room, is the highlight, with lashings of free-range eggs, locally sourced sausages and bacon, home-made bread and jams. £90

Eating and drinking

Black Bull Frosterley, DL13 2SL 01388 527784, blackbullfrosterley.com. Hop off the Weardale Railway (see above) and into this traditional pub with beams, ranges, oak tables and flagstone floors. The ales are excellent, as is the food, which is hearty and delicious; mains, like herb-crusted lamb shoulder with apricot and walnut stuffing, start at £10. Thurs–Sat 11am–11pm, Sun 11am–5pm; food served Thurs–Sat noon–3pm & 7–9pm, Sun noon–2.30pm.

Allen Valley

The B6295 climbs north out of Weardale into Northumberland, soon dropping into the Allen Valley, where heather-covered moorland shelters small settlements that once made their living from lead mining. The dramatic surroundings are easily viewed from a series of river walks accessible from either of the main settlements: Allenheads, at the top of the valley, twelve miles from Stanhope, where handsome stone buildings stand close to the river, or Allendale Town, another four miles north. Allendale is a quiet, rural spot – New Year’s Eve excepted, when the villagers celebrate pagan-style by throwing barrels of burning tar onto a huge, spluttering bonfire – and is a good place to base yourself for local walking; it has a small supermarket and several friendly pubs, all centred on the market square.

Arrival and getting around: Allen Valley

By bus Service #668 runs from Hexham to Allendale (Mon–Sat 4 daily; 40min) and Allenheads (Mon–Sat 3 daily; 55min).

Eating and drinking

Allenheads Inn Allenheads, NE47 9HJ 01434 685200, allenheadsinn.co.uk. A popular stop for cyclists on the C2C route, this pub provides beer and inexpensive bar meals, and has seven rooms which get booked up quickly in summer. Mon–Thurs 4–11pm, Fri & Sat 12.30pm–midnight, Sun 12.30–10.30pm. £80

King’s Head Market Place, Allendale, NE47 9BD 01434 683 681, thekingsheadallendale.com. A handsome eighteenth-century stone-built pub run by two ex-police officers and serving Marston’s cask ales and Jennings’ Cumberland Ale as well as classic pub grub: fish and chips, scampi and burgers. In summer you can eat outside on the village square. Daily noon–11pm.

Blanchland

A trans-moorland route into Northumberland, the B6278 cuts north from Weardale at Stanhope for ten wild miles to BLANCHLAND, a handful of lichen-stained stone cottages huddled round an L-shaped square that was once the outer court of a twelfth-century abbey. The village has been preserved since 1721, when Lord Crewe bequeathed his estate to trustees on condition that they restored the old buildings, as Blanchland had slowly fallen into disrepair after the abbey’s dissolution.

Arrival and departure: Blanchland

By bus Service #733 connects Blanchland with Consett (Mon–Fri 3 daily; 30min).

Eating and drinking

Lord Crewe Arms Hotel DH8 9SP 01434 675251, lordcrewearmsblanchland.co.uk. Once the abbot’s lodge, this hotel’s nooks and crannies are an enticing mixture of medieval and eighteenth-century Gothic, including the vaulted basements, two big fireplaces and a priest’s hideaway stuck inside the chimney. You can eat in the restaurant (mains from £15), or more cheaply in the public bar in the undercroft. Restaurant Mon–Fri noon–2.30pm & 6–9pm, Sat noon–3.30pm & 6–9pm, Sun noon–3pm & 6.30–8.30pm; bar food Mon–Sat noon–8.30pm, Sun 6.30–8.30pm. £172

< Back to The Northeast

Tees Valley

Admittedly not much of a tourist hotspot in comparison to Northumberland or Durham, the Tees Valley – once an industrial powerhouse and birthplace of one of the greatest developments in Britain, the public steam railway – nevertheless has some enjoyable attractions. Darlington, with its strong railway heritage, is a pleasant place to spend a day, while Middlesbrough’s MIMA and Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience (daily: April–Oct 10am–5pm; Nov–March 11am–4pm; £9.25, under-16s £7; 01429 860077, hartlepoolsmaritimeexperience.com) are all worthwhile, the latter particularly if you have children to entertain.

Darlington

Abbreviated to “Darlo” by the locals, the busy market town of DARLINGTON hit the big time in 1825, when George Stephenson’s “Number 1 Engine”, later called Locomotion, hurtled from here to nearby Stockton-on-Tees at the terrifying speed of fifteen miles per hour. The town subsequently grew into a rail-engineering centre, and it didn’t look back till the closure of the works in 1966. The origins of the rest of Darlington lie deep in Saxon times. The monks carrying St Cuthbert’s body from Ripon to Durham stopped here, the saint lending his name to the graceful riverside church of St Cuthbert. The market square, one of England’s largest, spreads beyond the church up to the restored and lively Victorian covered market (Mon–Sat 8am–5pm).

Head of Steam

North Rd Station, a 20min walk up Northgate from the marketplace, DL3 6ST • April–Sept Tues–Sun 10am–4pm, Oct–March Wed–Sun 11am–3.30pm • £4.95 • 01325 460532, www.darlington.gov.uk

Darlington’s railway history is celebrated at the wonderful little Head of Steam museum, which is actually the restored 1842 passenger station on the original Stockton and Darlington railway route. The highlight is Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1, a tiny wood-panelled steam engine, the first-ever steam train to carry fare-paying passengers. Other locomotives jostle for space alongside, including the shiny, racing-green Derwent, the oldest surviving Darlington-built steam train. These, along with a collection of station and line-side signs, uniforms, luggage, a reconstructed ticket office and carriages, successfully bring to life the most important era in Darlington’s existence.

Arrival and information: Darlington

By train The train station is on Bank Top, a 10min walk from the central marketplace: from the train station walk up Victoria Rd to the roundabout and turn right down Feethams.

Destinations Bishop Auckland (frequent; 25min); Durham (frequent; 20min); Newcastle (frequent; 35min).

By bus Most buses stop outside the Town Hall on Feethams.

Destinations Barnard Castle (Mon–Sat every 30min, Sun hourly; 45min); Bishop Auckland (Mon–Sat every 30min, Sun hourly; 1hr); Durham (every 20min; 1hr 10 min).

Information Leaflets on the region are available at the library on Crown St (Mon & Tues 9am–6pm, Thurs 10am–6pm, Wed & Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–4pm; 01325 462034).

Accommodation

Clow Beck House Croft-on-Tees, 2 miles south, DL2 2SP 01325 721075, clowbeckhouse.co.uk. Very welcoming B&B with thirteen individually decorated rooms named after flowers and set round a pretty landscaped garden. The owner is also an accomplished chef, creating delicious breakfasts – the Skipton sausage is very tasty – and evening meals (mains from £17). £140

Rockliffe Hall Hurworth-on-Tees, 5 miles south, DL2 2DU 01325 729999, rockliffehall.com. Swanky hotel in a red-brick Victorian Gothic pile between the villages of Croft-on-Tees and Hurworth, which lays claim to having the UK’s longest golf course. The rooms are cool and luxurious, and there’s a spa, as well as three restaurants. £175

Eating and drinking

Bay Horse 45 The Green, Hurworth, 5 miles south, DL2 2AA 01325 720663, thebayhorsehurworth.com. This exquisite pub has a roaring fire, exposed wooden beams, comfy bar stools and chalked-up menus. Tuck into delicious meals such as braised daube of beef (£22) and make sure that you leave room for their puds; the sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel sauce (£7) is fabulous. Mon–Sat 11am–11pm, Sun noon–10.30pm; kitchen Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 6–9.30pm, Sun noon–4pm & 6.30–8.30pm.

Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art

Centre Square Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ, 15 miles east of Darlington • Tues, Wed, Fri & Sat 10am–4.30pm, Thurs 10am–7pm, Sun noon–4pm • Free • 01642 726720, visitmima.com • 10min walk from the train station

The stunning Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) is one of the few tourist draws in the industrial town of Middlesbrough. Bringing together its municipal art collections, changing exhibitions concentrate on fine arts and crafts from the early twentieth century to the present day, with a heavy emphasis on ceramics and jewellery. The collection features work by David Hockney, L.S. Lowry and Tracey Emin, among others.

Saltburn

South of the Tees estuary along the coast, it’s not a difficult decision to bypass the kiss-me-quick tackiness of Redcar in favour of SALTBURN, twelve miles east of Middlesbrough, a graceful Victorian resort in a dramatic setting overlooking extensive sands and mottled red sea-cliffs. Soon after the railway arrived in 1861 to ferry Teessiders out to the seaside on high days and holidays, Saltburn became a rather fashionable spa town boasting a hydraulic inclined tramway, which still connects upper town to the pier and promenade, and ornate Italian Gardens that are laid out beneath the eastern side of town.

Arrival and information: Saltburn

By train There are regular train services from Newcastle (1hr 40min) and Durham (1hr 30min) via Darlington (50min) and Middlesbrough (25min).

By bus Frequent buses from Middlesbrough stop outside the train station (40min).

Information Some tourist information is available at the library on Windsor Rd (Mon & Wed–Fri 9am–12.30pm, 1.30–6.30pm, Tues 1.30–6.30pm, Sat 10am–12.30 & 1.30–4pm, Sun noon–4pm; 01287 622422)

Website redcar-cleveland.gov.uk.

< Back to The Northeast

Getting around: The northeast

Highlights

Newcastle Castle

St Nicholas Cathedral

Quayside

Newcastle orientation

BALTIC

Sage Gateshead

A weekend in Newcastle

Friday night

Saturday

Sunday

Ouseburn

Grainger Town

Centre for Life

Discovery Museum

Literary and Philosophical Society

Laing Art Gallery

Newcastle University

Great North Museum: Hancock

Hatton Gallery

Arrival and departure: Newcastle upon Tyne

The Geordie Nation

Getting around

Information and tours

Newcastle Art galleries

Accommodation

Eating

Drinking

Clubs

Live music venues

Entertainment

Shopping

Directory

Wallsend and Segedunum

Jarrow Hall

Angel of the North

Goddess of the North

Washington Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre

Sunderland

Sunderland Museum

Riverside

Arrival and information: Sunderland

Chesters Roman Fort

Housesteads Roman Fort

Along Hadrian’s Wall

Vindolanda

Roman Army Museum

Arrival and getting around: Hadrian’s Wall

Information and tours

Accommodation

Eating

Hexham

Hexham Abbey

The Old Gaol

Arrival and information: Hexham

Accommodation

Eating and drinking

Kielder Water and Forest

Kielder Waterside

Arrival and information: Kielder water and forest

Getting around

Accommodation and eating

Rothbury and around

Cragside

Wallington

Arrival and information: Rothbury and around

Accommodation

Wooler and around

Chillingham Castle

Chillingham Wild Cattle

Arrival and information: Wooler and around

Accommodation and eating

Warkworth

Warkworth Castle

Warkworth Hermitage

Arrival: Warkworth

Alnmouth

Arrival and departure: Alnmouth

Accommodation and eating