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ON-LINE GUIDE TO NORTHUMBERLAND
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This brief guide provides
summary information on towns, villages and places to visit
in Northumberland as well as some interesting facts and
anecdotes on the local area. To find a specific place either
scroll down the page or use the find facility on your
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In the far north, beyond the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland has one of the
least populated and least well known of the
country's 11 National Parks. An area of remote, wild
and haunting landscapes, the most famous features
of Northumberland National Park are the Cheviot Hills and Kielder Forest. Elsewhere in
the county there are stretches of Hadrian's Wall
and also border towns that were constantly under
the threat of Scottish raids. However, two of the county's most dramatic castles lie on the coast
- Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh. Along this coastline is also Lindisfarne, or Holy Island,
that is home to one of the most famous and most evocative ecclesiastical ruins.
Hexham
Founded in AD 674 by St Wilfrid, Hexham
Abbey was once described as `the largest and
most magnificent church this side of the Alps'. Only the crypt of
the original building survives, but the 13th century church that
now occupies the site has many outstanding features,
including marvellous carved stonework and a superb 16th century rood screen.
The nearby early 14th century Moot Hall, built of Roman
stone and once used as the courtroom of the Archbishop of York,
now houses the Border History Library. The
Border History Museum, housed in the
14th century gaol, tells the story of the border struggles between
Scotland and England. Hexham is on the Hadrian's Wall
Path, which runs the entire length of the Wall.
Around Hexham
Bardon Mill
10 miles W of Hexham on the A69
This former mining village is a convenient starting point for
walks along Hadrian's Wall, particularly to the two Roman forts
of Vindolanda and Housesteads nearby. Both have
extensive Roman remains and accompanying exhibitions.
Haltwhistle
15 miles W of Hexham on the A69
The origins of the name Haltwhistle are unknown but
two
suggestions are the watch "wessel" on the high "alt" mound, or
the high "haut" fork of two streams "twysell". It is difficult to
imagine that this pleasant little town with its grey terraces was once a
mining area, but evidence of the local industries remain. An old
pele tower is incorporated into the Centre of Britain Hotel in the
town centre.
Three miles northwest of Haltwhistle, off the B6318,
is Walltown Quarry, a recreation area on the site of an old quarry.
Today part of the Northumberland National Park, it contains laid
out trails and it is possible to spot oystercatchers, curlews,
sandpipers and lapwings.
Kielder
20 miles NW of Hexham off the B6357
Kielder village was built in the 1950s to house workers in the
man-made Kielder Forest, which
covers 200 square miles of spectacularly beautiful scenery to the west of
the Northumberland National Park. The forest is one of the few
areas in Britain that contains more red squirrels than greys and is
also home to deer and rare birds and plants. Within the forest is
Kielder Water, the largest man-made lake in northern Europe. A
pleasure cruise stops at several points of interest on the Lake, and an art
and sculpture trail laid out around its shores and in the trees. To
the northwest is Kielder Castle, once a hunting lodge for the Duke
of Northumberland and now a fascinating visitor centre.
Chollerford
4 miles N of Hexham on the B6318
The remains of the Roman fort of
Chesters, on Hadrian's Wall, include a well-preserved
bathhouse and barracks and the museum houses a remarkable collection
of Roman antiquities.
Otterburn
19 miles N of Hexham on the A696
Almost in the centre of what is now the Northumberland
National Park, on a site marked by 18th century
Percy Cross, the Battle of Otterburn took place in
1388 between the English and the Scots. This
was a ferocious encounter, described by a contemporary
as `one of the sorest and best fought, without cowards or faint
hearts'. Otterburn Mill dates from the 18th century, and on display
are Europe's only original working
`tenterhooks', where newly woven cloth was stretched and dried.
North of the village are the remains of the Roman fort built
by Julius Agricola in the 1st century.
Prudhoe
10 miles E of Hexham on the A695
When Prudhoe Castle was built in the 12th century it was one of
the finest in Northumberland, and a Georgian manor house in
the courtyard tells its interesting story. To the west, at Mickley Square,
is Cherryburn, the birthplace in 1753 of Thomas Bewick,
the renowned illustrator and engraver.
Wallsend
3 miles E of Newcastle on the A193
Wallsend, on the eastern edge of Newcastle, is the site of
mighty shipyards and of the reconstructed Segedunum Roman
Fort, the last outpost on Hadrian's Wall.
Whitley Bay
8 miles E of Newcastle on the A193
A resort at the mouth of the River Tyne, with
safe beaches and spectacular views from the top of
St Mary's Lighthouse.
Seaton Sluice
8 miles NE of Newcastle on the A193
Inland from Seaton Sluice is Seaton Delaval
Hall, a superb Vanbrugh mansion.
Blyth
12 miles NE of Newcastle on the A193
This small industrial town at the mouth of the River Blyth claims
its own piece of railway history with one of the
country's earliest wagonways, the 17th century Plessey
Wagonway, built to carry coal from the pits to the riverside.
The building, now the headquarters of the Royal
Northumberland Yacht Club, was a submarine
base during the Second World War.
Morpeth
28 miles NE of Hexham on the A192
Northumberland's county town has some distinguished buildings:
its Town Hall was built to designs by Vanbrugh and the handsome
bridge over the River Wansbeck was designed by Telford. The
13th century Morpeth Chantry has been over the centuries a
cholera hospital, a mineral water factory and a school where the
famous Tudor botanist William Turner was educated. Today, it houses
a Museum of the Northumbrian Bagpipes, a musical
instrument that is unique to the county. The 14th century Church of St
Mary has some of the finest stained glass in Northumberland, and in
its cemetery is the grave of suffragette Emily Davison, who died under
the hooves of the King's horse Anmer at the 1913 Epsom Derby meeting.
To the east is Ashington and the Wansbeck Riverside
Park, which has been developed along the embankment and offers
sailing and angling facilities, plus a four-mile walk along the mouth of
the River Wansbeck. The famous footballing brothers Bobby
and
Jackie Charlton and the England cricketer Steve Harmison are
sons of Ashington.
Alnwick
This impressive Northumberland town is dominated by the
massive Alnwick Castle, which began as a Norman motte and bailey and
was replaced in the 12th century by a stone castle. In the mid
19th century, the 4th Duke of Northumberland transformed
the castle into a great country house which, still the home of the
Dukes of Northumberland, contains many treasures, including paintings
by Canaletto, Titian and Van Dyck. The Museum of
the Northumberland Fusiliers is housed in the Abbot's Tower. The Castle
is a favourite location for films, most famously doubling as
Hogwart's School in the Harry Potter films.
The only surviving part of the town's fortifications is 15th
century Hotspur Tower, while all that is left of Alnwick Abbey is its
15th century gatehouse. Hulne Park, landscaped by
Northumbria-born Capability Brown, encompasses the ruins of Hulne Priory, the
earliest Carmelite foundation in England (1242).
Around Alnwick
Warkworth
6 miles S of Alnwick on the A1068
At the southern end of Alnmouth Bay, on the River Coquet,
lies Warkworth Castle. The site has been fortified since the Iron
Age, though what can be seen now is mainly late 12th and 13th
century, including the great Carrickfergus Tower and the West
Postern Towers. An unusual and interesting walk is signposted to
The Hermitage, along the riverside footpath below the castle, where
a ferry takes you across the river to visit the tiny chapel hewn out
of solid rock. It dates from medieval times and was in use until late
in the 16th century.
St Lawrence's Church is almost entirely Norman, though
its spire - an unusual feature on medieval churches
in Northumberland - dates from the 14th century.
Amble
7 miles SE of Alnwick on the A1068
Amble is a small port situated at the mouth of the River Coquet,
once important for the export of coal, but now enjoying new prosperity
as a marina and sea-fishing centre.
A mile offshore lies Coquet Island, where St Cuthbert
landed in AD 684. The Island had a reputation in former times
for causing shipwrecks, but is now a celebrated bird sanctuary, noted
for colonies of terns, puffins and eider ducks. Managed by the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the island can be visited by
boat trips departing from Amble quayside throughout the summer.
Rothbury
10½ miles SW of Alnwick on the B6341
This attractive town is a natural focal point from which to
explore the valley of the River Coquet. The best-known of many
delightful walks leads to the Rothbury
Terraces, a series of parallel tracks along the hillside above the
town. Just outside Rothbury is the house and estate of
Cragside, whose owner, the industrialist
and engineer Sir William Armstrong, devised a system with
man-made lakes, streams and underground piping that made his home the
first to be lit by hydroelectricity.
Craster
7 miles NE of Alnwick off the B1339
To the northeast of Alnwick is Craster, a small,
unpretentious fishing village that is nationally known for its oak-smoked
kippers. During the curing season visitors can sniff around the sheds
where the herring are hung over smoking piles of oak chips.
Embleton
7 miles NE of Alnwick on the B1339
The dramatic ruins of Dunstanburgh
Castle stand on a cliff top east of the village, on
a site that was originally an Iron Age fort. The castle, by far the
largest in Northumberland, was built in 1313 by Thomas, Earl of
Lancaster, and in the Wars of the Roses it withstood a siege from troops
led by Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI's Queen.
Bamburgh
13½ miles N of Alnwick on the B1340
Built on an epic scale and dominating the village,
Bamburgh Castle dates back to the 6th century although the
mighty fortress seen today was originally built in the 12th century. The
tour of the Castle takes in the magnificent King's Hall, the
Cross Hall, the Bakehouse, the Scullery, the Armoury and the
Dungeons. The village was the birthplace of Grace Darling, the
Victorian heroine, who, in 1838, rowed out with her father from
the Longstone Lighthouse in a ferocious storm to rescue
five survivors from the wreck of the steam ship
Forfarshire which had foundered on the Farne
Islands rocks. She died of tuberculosis only four years later, still in
her twenties, and is buried in a canopied tomb in St
Aidan's churchyard. The Grace Darling
Museum, in Radcliffe Road, contains memorabilia of the
famous rescue.
The Farne Islands are a group of 28 little islands that provide
a sanctuary for many species of sea birds,
including kittiwake, fulmar, puffin, and tern.
They are also home to a large colony
of Atlantic Grey seals which can often be seen from the beach
of the mainland. Boat trips to the islands leave from the harbour
at Seahouses, down the coast from Bamburgh. It was on Inner
Farne that St Cuthbert landed in AD687, and a little chapel was built in
his memory.
Chillingham
11½ miles NW of Alnwick off the B6348
Chillingham is a pleasant estate village best known for the herd
of wild, horned white cattle that roam the parkland of
Chillingham Castle. They are perhaps the
purest surviving specimens of the wild cattle that once roamed the
hills and forests of Britain.
Lindisfarne
18 miles NW of Alnwick off the A1
Northumberland's northern coastline is dominated by
one outstanding feature - Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island.
Reached by a three-mile causeway, the island was settled in the 7th century by
St Aidan and his small community of Irish monks from Iona. It
was these monks who produced some of the finest surviving examples
of Celtic art, the richly decorated Lindisfarne
Gospels. St Cuthbert also came here, living on a tiny
islet as a hermit before seeking further solitude on the Farne Islands.
Benedictine monks renamed Lindisfarne Holy
Island when they came here in the 11th century
and established Lindisfarne Priory.
Lindisfarne Castle was established in Tudor times as
yet
another fortification to protect the exposed flank of
Northumbria from invasion by the Scots. In 1902 it was bought by
Edward Hudson, the owner of Country Life, who employed the great
Edwardian architect Sir Edward Lutyens to rebuild and restore it as a
private house. It is now in the care of the National Trust and is open to
the public in the summer.
Berwick-upon-Tweed
For centuries, this former Royal burgh of Scotland was fought
over by the Scots and the English, and changed hands no fewer than
14 times until it finally became part of England in 1482. But even
now, Scotland exerts a great influence. The local football team,
Berwick Rangers, plays in the Scottish League, and in 1958 the Lord
Lyon, who decides on all matters armorial in Scotland, granted the town
a coat-of-arms - the only instance of armorial bearings being granted
in Scotland for use in England.
Berwick's original medieval walls, built in the 13th century
by Edward I, are regarded as being the finest preserved fortifications
of their age in Europe. The walk around the walls (about 1.5
miles) provides fine views of the town and the Northumberland coastline.
Housed in the clock tower of the Hawksmoor-designed
barracks is the Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Museum and
Art Gallery, which explores the history
of the town, and the King's Own Scottish Borderers
Museum.
The Berwick skyline is dominated by the imposing
Town Hall with its clock tower and steeple that rise to 150 feet,
and which is often mistaken for a church. Guided tours in
the summer enable visitors to explore the upper storeys, where there
are civic rooms and the former town gaol as well as a small
Cell Block Museum.
Around Berwick-upon-Tweed
Horncliffe
4 miles W of Berwick off the A698
The village of Horncliffe, five miles upstream of Berwick, can only
be reached by one road that leads into and out of the village, making
it feel rather remote. Many visitors are unaware of the existence of
the river, but there is nothing more pleasant than wandering down
one of the paths leading to the banks to watch the salmon fishermen on
a summer's evening.
Duddo
7 miles SW of Berwick on the B6354
Close to the village are the Duddo
Stones, one of Northumberland's most important
ancient monuments. This ancient stone circle, which now consists of
five upright stones over seven feet high, dates back to around 2000 BC,
and can only be reached from the village by foot.
Ford & Etal
13 miles SW of Berwick off the B6354
The twin estate villages of Ford and Etal were built in the late
19th century. Etal is an attractive village, within which are the ruins of
the 14th century castle, destroyed in 1497 by King James IV of
Scotland on his way to Flodden.
Ford is a `model' village with many beautiful stone buildings
and well-tended gardens. Dating originally from the 14th
century, but heavily restored in the 19th century,
Ford Castle was the home of Louisa Ann, Marchioness
of Waterford. In 1860 she built the village school and from 1862
until 1883 spent her time decorating it with murals depicting
biblical scenes. As models she used local families and their children
thus creating a pictorial gallery of life and work in the area at that
time. Now known as Lady Waterford Hall, it is open to the public.
Tillmouth
9 miles SW of Berwick on the A698
The village of Tillmouth lies along the banks of the River Till,
a tributary of the Tweed which is crossed by the imposing
15th-century Twizel Bridge, although a more modern structure now
carries the A698 over the river. There are some lovely walks here and a
well-signed footpath leads to the ruins of Twizel
Castle and the remains of St Cuthbert's Chapel
on the opposite bank.
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