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| Northumberland Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Black Gate Black Gate Karen Bryan Northumberland is England's most northerly county. This does need saying as Scotland's most northerly was Sutherland! The border between England and Scotland goes from south-west to north-east so that many points in Northmberland are farther north than many towns in south-west Scotland. |
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| In the south of the county is Newcastle upon Tyne with Gateshead, once a
poor and neglected neighbour but site of much recent development, the Baltic
Centre for Contemporary Art [http://www.balticmill.com/] and, from December
2004, the Sage [described as a new home for music] giving it a remarkable
place in the art world. [www.gateshead-quays.com/sage/] The Angel of the
North really is a sign of hope, a controversial sculpture entirely pleasing
from my own perspective. There are many attractions in the county and those shown here are only a sample. ____________Youth Hostels Youth Hostels are located at, among other places, Bellingham, Kielder, Newcastle, Nine Banks, Once Brewed and Wooler. Go to http://www.yha.org.uk/Stay_at_YHA/Regional/Northumberland_and_North_Pennines.html for these and others and click on the one you want. :::::::::Alnwick Castle and Gardens Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see The Water Feature at the Alnwick Garden The Water Feature at the Alnwick Garden Europe a la Carte Many readers or watchers of Shakespeare's King Hery IV will be familiar with the Percy family. Alnwick is their ancestral seat, though at times since it first came into the family's possession at the beginning of the 14th century, it has been derelict. Now the Percy family home again, it is possibly the finest non-royal inhabited castle in England. Its gardens have only recently been open to the public but have been widely commended. See www.alnwickcastle.com for both the castle and the gardens. The Alnwick Garden s billed as one of the most exciting contemporary gardens developed in the 20th century, a magical landscape created from unique ideas. I was disappointed by the gardens, it wasn?t very large and I didn?t observe much that was unique. It?s ?8 for an adult to enter and I don?t think it?s good value for money. :::::::::::Berwick on Tweed Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Berwick upon Tweed harbour Berwick upon Tweed harbour europealacarte Berwick upon Tweed is the most northerly town in England. It has changed hands between the English and Scots fourteen times. The debate continues over whether it should be in England and Scotland. The best known landscape of the town is the three bridges. The old bridge built in 1624, the Royal Tweed railway bridge constructed in the 1840s, and the new bridge built in 1928. It is a most beautiful town, on the banks of the River Tweed at the estuary where the river meets the sea. The estuary and river are full of birds: there is a large colony of mute swans, cormorants and herons. There are also several seals who swim between the pier and the old bridge. Berwick boasts the best preserved Elizabethan town walls in Europe. From almost any point in the town you can see the 150 foot steeple of the Georgian Guild Hall (townhall) built in 1754. Another distinctive building in the town is the Holy Trinity Parish Church, dating from 1652. It is unusual in that it does not have a steeple. The church was built during the Commonwealth of Cromwell and Cromwell did not approve of church steeples and towers. Berwick Barracks was completed in 1721 to provide accommodation for the soldiers of the garrison. It now houses the Regimental Museum, the Gymnasium Art Gallery and the town Museum and Art Gallery. You would imagine that such a historic town would have a castle. However Berwick Castle, built in the 12th century, was finally flattened by the Victorians in order to build the railway station. Stones from the Castle were used in the construction of the railway viaduct. There is only a small part of the castle wall left. The best way to see Berwick is to walk around the town walls. There is a lovely beach and promenade at Spittal, a couple of miles from the town centre. The English artist Lowry (1887 - 1976) often visited Berwick and there is now a Lowry Trail around the town. A few miles west of Berwick lies the Union Bridge, the oldest surviving suspension bridge in the world. Just up from the bridge is the Honey Farm. :::::::::::Chillingham Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Chillingham is tiny and yet it contains at leat three items of great interest. In ascending order these are the castle, the 15th century Grey family tombs in the church and the wild cattle. These last are a unique breed in the UK, supposedly evolved from our original native wild cattle. They are white and they live as wild animals. They are fierce and dangerous. They were once bred primarily for hunting but the last person to kill one in a hunt was the Queen's great-grandfather, King Edward VII. Even if you are not thinking of a visit, you can learn a lot enjoyably from http://www.chillingham-wildcattle.org.uk/LoadFrame.htm :::::::::Farne Islands Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Puffin Puffin John Simmons The Farne Islands, a Paradise for seabirds, particularly puffins and for seals, both common and grey, are reached by boat from the village of Seahouses on the Northumberland coast. The islands are owned by the National Trust and there are separate charges for the trip and [for non-members] for landing. There are restrictions in the nesting season but it is always [subject to the weather] possible to make some landing. For trips see www.farne-islands.com/boat-trips/ ::::::::: Ford, Etal and Millfield Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see This little collection of picturesque villages in the far north of England, further north than many southerners who see Newcastle as 'near the top' can imagine England to stretch, contain a number of points of real interest. One is the Heatherslaw Light Railway, a narrow gauge preserved steam railway. Close to this is the Heatherslaw Corn Mill, still producing flour by water power [though restored rather than original.] Next to Ford castle there is a lovely plant nursery which uses an old walled garden of the castle itself. One of the very best is Lady Waterford Hall, containing biblical portraits in which apparently all the characters had the features of local villagers who were brought in for painting. Further information from: http://www.secretkingdom.com/fordetal.htm :::::::::::Hadrian's Wall Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Hadrian's Wall was built by the Romans in the second century AD as protection against the northern British tribes and was manned until it was abandoned in the 4th century. It was an absolutely monumental feat at the time as the wall stretched all the way from Wallsend near Newcastle to Bowness-on-Solway near Entrance to Marti's. It was about 5 metres high with 2 metre barricades on topand anybody getting across was then faced with a ditch 9 metres wide and 3 deep! The wall snakes across the open hill country of the border and it is now possible to walk the whole length. Obviously you will only see the remains of its former glory but it is still a very major sight and it should stir the imagination. ::::::::Lindisfarne (Holy Island) Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Lindisfarne Castle Lindisfarne Castle j.l.pearce Lindisfarne, also known as the Holy Island, is a very moving place to visit. Site of a ruined abbey and a 15th century castle, this tiny village is of religious and historic signifigance. The abbey, an English Heritage site, is best understood after viewing the exhibit that is included in the ticket price. It details the history of the site, and shows what life in the abbey would have been like prior to Henry VIII's repression of the church. It is a very accessible museum, easy to understand, and has activities for children. After the abbey was abandoned, a castle was built using some of the stones. The abbey itself lies in ruins, with grass growing like a carpet between the remains. Visitors can walk through what's left, and small plaques identify some of the key spaces without detracting from the overall feeling of the site. The space has a very desolate and austere feeling to it. The wind is constantly blowing through the ruins, leaving one with a sense of why monks who wished a life of solitude would go there. Saint Mary's Parish Church is directly across from the ruined abbey, and one must walk through the graveyard of the church to reach it. The graveyard is very old, with many ancient and crumbling stones. Saint Mary's Church is also very beautiful, and in the process of being renovated. Visitors are encouraged to come in and see the stained glass windows and historic pamphlets about the area. Lindisfarne has several very small places to eat. Visitors should be aware that opening and closing times vary. There is also a hotel and several B&Bs. Reservations are strongly recommended, as there are few spots available on the island. For more information, see the Lindisfarne website mentioned below. The island is also home of the Lindisfarne Mead, made from local honey. It is highly recommended. There is an island shuttle from Berwick-Upon-Tweed. The shuttle runs twice a day, and times vary depending on the tide. The shuttle picks up from several stops in Berwick, beginning at the train station. Go up the hill and turn right, there is bus stop there. The bus stop is part of the local bus routes, and is not specifically marked as being to Lindisfarne. It is route 477. Visitors can also walk or drive across the causeway. Tidal times are clearly marked on either side. Please do give yourself enough time to get across, as tides can be very fast to come in. For more information about the island and its history, check out the official Lindisfarne website at www.lindisfarne.org.uk, or the English Heritage website at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.132. Admission to the abbey is 3.60 for adults, or free for English Heritage members. ::::::::::::Newcastle Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Gateshead Millennium Bridge Gateshead Millennium Bridge Matthew Planchant Newcastle Upon Tyne is located in the North East of England, its inhabitants are affectionately known as Geordies. The city has a number of good shopping centres in the Town Centre as well as the Metro Centre at Gateshead, which is not accessible by the city's Metro. The nightlife in the town is particularly frenzied with numerous clubs and several good restaurants, mostly located around the infamous Bigg Market and the rejuvenated Quayside. Newcastle was an important ship building centre but now concentrates mainly on work for the offshore oil industry. The port is still quite busy and services ferries to Scandanavia and the Netherlands. The coal industry has also departed the area. The Tyne with its landmark bridges is a popular attraction for visitors. |