Northumberland

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Northumberland, famous for its unspoiled beauty, is probably one of the most picturesque areas of countryside in the whole of England. ` The population of this county is around 300,600 and it has an area of 2,019 square mile (5,229 sq km). Located in the North East of England it is the northernmost of the English counties. It is separated from Scotland by the Cheviot Hills and the Tweed River, and borders the North Sea. The county town is Alnwick.

In Northumberland there are the popular towns of Alnwick, Berwick, Hexham, Rothbury, Corbridge, Wooler, Bellingham, Bamburgh, Seahouses and Morpeth

Geography The terrain is level along the rugged coastline and hilly in the centre, where high moor lands alternate with fertile valleys. The major rivers are the Tyne, the Derwent, the Wansbeck, the Till, the Alno, and the Coquet.


The following description was contributed by Cath and Ian Mills, - Katerina's Guest House, Rothbury

"85% of the County never saw a Coal Mine or Engineering Works - mostly, Northumberland consists of lovely rolling hills and valleys, with very few people. It's great, totally unspoilt, hill-walking and touring country, studded with castles, hill forts, stately homes (like Cragside or Wallington Hall) and attractions like Alnwick Castle and Gardens. You can shop in Newcastle or the Gateshead Metrocentre, or drive to the Scots Borders (and even Edinburgh), walk along deserted beaches or around Berwick's Town Walls (they're still intact!) There are no traffic jams...you only need your lower gears to start and climb the hills. The coastline is so beautiful and unspoilt that, mostly, it has been awarded "heritage" status. We have Europe's largest man-made lake (Kielder Water), England's largest man-made forest and an enormous National Park covering most of the high hill country and Hadrian's Wall. We've also got Holy Island (Lindisfarne) complete with its tidal causeway, visited by many thousands of tourists every month and, of course, by many pilgrims (as it's where Christianity started in these parts) Yes, the South-East of the County was messed up during the Industrial Revolution - but now, mostly, you'd never know,as it's all been cleared up and restored. Even so, most of the "best bits" are in the Centre, North and West."

Industry

Previously the major economy was coal mining, shipping, shipbuilding and repairing, and the production of heavy electrical machinery. Tourism is now a major part of the local economy. Agriculture, especially, sheep and cattle are an important agricultural part of the area's industry.

History

Hadrian's Wall was built in Roman times and runs for miles across the county. In the 6th century the Angles established the kingdom of Northumbria. This Kingdom, once the most cultured of the Island, destroyed itself with a vicious period of civil wars between the Kingdoms of Bernica and Northumbria, and was so weakened that it fell easily first, to the Kingdom of Mercia and later to the Viking invasions. The area suffered severely during the border wars between England and Scotland, being often invaded and destroyed by the Scots.

The following was contributed by Cath and Ian Mills, - Katerina's Guest House, Rothbury
"More On the history: The civil wars were between Bernicia (from the Tees to the Forth) and Deira (Yorkshire). What largely ruined Anglo-Saxon Northumberland was firstly an awful defeat which resulted in the death of King Egfrith and the virtual annihilation of the army by the Picts in 685AD at Nectansmere (near Forfar) - the Kingdom never really recovered from that - and, from 793AD, a heck of a lot of trouble from the Vikings (now, they've settled in and learned to support Newcastle United and drink Brown Ale!)"

Places of Interest
Alnwick Castle, Ancroft Castle, Aydon Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Belsay Castle, Belsay Hall, Berwick Castle, Bitchfield Castle, Blenkinsop Castle, Bothal Castle, Bywell Castle, Callaly Castle, Cartington Castle, Cheviot Hills, Chillingham Castle, Chipchase Castle, Churnsike Lodge, Cocklepark Tower, Coquet Island, Corbridge Vicar's Pele, Coupland Castle, Cragside, Craster Castle, Cresswell Castle, Dilston, Dunstanburgh Castle, Edlingham Castle, Elsdon Castle, Embleton Tower, Etal Castle, Farne Islands, Featherstone Castle, Ford Castle, Hadrian's Wall, Halton Castle, Harbottle Castle, Haughton Castle, Hexham Abbey, Howick Hall, Kielder Water, Langley Castle, Lindisfarne, Lindisfarne Castle, Norham Castle, North Pennines AONB, Northumberland National Park, Prudhoe Castle, Seaton Delaval Hall, Thirlwall Castle, Wallington Hall, Warkworth Castle .

Local websites:

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Visit Alnwick click here

Northumberland County Flag