The rugged coastline with holy Lindisfarne, the Farne Islands, Bamburgh Castle, fine beaches and the spirit of lifeboat heroine Grace Darling; the Cheviot Hills; Northumberland National Park; the stunning grounds of Alnwick Castle; the fairytale setting of Warkworth Castle; Chesters Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall; the three bridges of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the tiny but teeming Coquet Island nature reserve.
Liverpool – the Liver Building, Pier Head, Albert Dock, The Walker Gallery and the Beatles; Crosby’s beach-bound sculptures, Another Place; Speke Hall Garden and Estate; the Southport Flower Show; Knowsley Safari Park; Port Sunlight Village and Heritage Centre and Freshfields Nature Reserve and its red squirrels.
Mighty Morecambe Bay – take the railway from Ulverston to Arnside; birds of prey and antiques at Leighton Hall; Lancaster Castle and Maritime Museum; the Ribble Valley with Ribchester’s Roman Museum and Whalley Abbey; Manchester – the Town Hall, Urbis, Salford Quays and The Lowry; Crosby’s beach-bound sculptures; Liverpool – Royal Liver Building, Albert Dock, Tate Liverpool, The Walker gallery and The Beatles; Speke Hall; Port Sunlight Village…and Blackpool, still going strong.
The Lake District – England’s highest peaks, deepest valleys and longest lakes and Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter; Elizabethan Levens Hall and its topiary; the architectural puzzle of Dalemain; Eden Valley and Ravenglass and Eskdale railways; the Sea to Sea Cycle Route; St Bees Head Nature Reserve; Solway Aviation Museum…and the World’s Biggest Liar Competition.
The ecclesiastical and academic wonderland of Durham with its magnificent cathedral and Norman fortress; Barnard Castle and its amazing French-style chateau housing the Bowes Museum; Newcastle upon Tyne – its bridges, including the Tyne and Gateshead Millennium, The Sage Gateshead, The Baltic, St Nicholas Cathedral and The Castle; step back into the 17th and 18th centuries at Beamish Open Air Museum; the first permanent working railway – the Stockton and Darlington; the Pennine Way with the River Tees dropping spectacularly at [...]
The Solway Coast is a mosaic of habitats and history set on 40 miles of low-lying Cumbrian coastline. The England Coast Path takes you past the spectacular dunes and salt marsh to seaward and grazing pastures and peatbogs inland. Explore one of the ten nature reserves, including the Solway Wetlands Centre with boardwalks to keep your feet dry.The Senhouse Roman Museum has one of the most important Roman collections in the UK, reminding us that the Hadrian’s Wall Path runs through [...]
Sweeping sandy beaches, rocky headlands, flower rich dunes and wild islands, steeped in 7,000 years of human history. The Holy Island of Lindisfarne – to give it its full name – is the jewel in the crown of this part of the world. Visit the Castle and Priory and explore the national nature reserve, home to 50,000 birds. Bamburgh has a stunning castle overlooking family friendly sands, while Warkworth’s ancient fortress stands guard over the beautiful River Coquet estuary. The pretty [...]
Step this way to High Force, at 75 feet England’s highest waterfall…and centrepiece of the North Pennines AONB. It’s a stunning landscape of moors and dales, rivers and woods, wildlife and heritage. Explore Hamsterley Forest, County Durham’s largest, on foot, cycle or horseback then navigate the Milky Way at one of the Dark Sky Discovery Sites. Relax at Garden Station, woods and gardens set around a Victorian railway station. Then it’s “all aboard” for trips into the heart of the Pennines [...]
Set on the eastern flanks of the Pennines, in the heart of Yorkshire, the Nidderdale AONB is a land of wild moorland, secluded dales, spectacular wildlife and cultural heritage. Go back 320 million years to appreciate the bizarre Brimham Rocks. Then underground into the Stumps Cross Caverns with their colourful stalactite and stalagmite formations before plenty of fresh air at Yorke’s Folly, with its amazing views over Pateley Bridge and Lower Nidderdale. More fine views at Coldstones Cut and ‘The Ruin’ [...]
The intriguingly named Howardian Hills are a treasure house of scenic villages, classic parkland and history set between the North York Moors National Park, the Yorkshire Wolds and the Vale of York. Wooded rolling countryside has the majestic Castle Howard, Nunnington Hall and Ampleforth Abbey. Peace reigns in the ruins of Kirkham Abbey, overlooking the River Derwent, and the Yorkshire Arboretum. And there are the classic market towns of Malton, Pickering, Helmsley and Easingwold.
Speeding up the M6, in Lancashire, it’s too easy to miss the magical Forest of Bowland, with its steep, wooded valleys, high moorland and grit stone fells. It’s wild. From Beacon Fell Country Park, see across Morecambe Bay, then marvel at the Trough of Bowland, the most iconic stretch of countryside in Lancashire. Visit the ancient castles of the Lune Valley on your way to the grand houses of Browsholme and Leagram. The wilderness wins during the day. At night, navigate [...]
Arnside and Silverdale is a special place. Sitting on the Cumbria and Lancashire borders, overlooking the shimmering sands of Morecambe Bay, its landscapes and wildlife are awe-inspiring. From the heights of Arnside Knott see the Lakeland Fells, the Yorkshire Dales and, on a clear day, Blackpool Tower. The limestone hills lead down to villages, including Silverdale and Arnside itself, on the shores of Morecambe Bay, where the tidal bore roars in “at the speed of a galloping horse”. At the village [...]
