As well as information about the area, here are some tourist attractions and places of interest to visit with direct links to their websites. Useful websites for a full selection are:
THE NATIONAL TRUST HISTORIC HOUSES ASSOCIATION
ENGLISH HERITAGE HERITAGE TRAIL THE NATIONAL GARDEN SCHEME
Or for more specific places:
CASTLES AND HISTORIC HOMESBack to top
ALNWICK CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND - Home to the Dukes of Northumberland. Second to Windsor Castle in size of the largest inhabited castle in England. The Harry Potter films were filmed here
BAMBURGH CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND - On a rocky plateau high above the Northumberland coastline, Bamburgh is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country
BELSAY HALL, CASTLE & GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - A grand medieval castle, an architectural masterpiece inspired by the temples of ancient Greece which is the hall and gardens packed with an impressive array of shrubs and flowers
BRONTE PARSONAGE, WEST YORKSHIRE - Home of the Bronte sisters, of literary fame
CASTLE HOWARD, NORTH YORKSHIRE - One of Britain’s finest stately homes set in spectacular grounds
CHILLINGHAM CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND - An ancient fortress with dungeons and torture chambers!
CRAGSIDE, NORTHUMBERLAND - The revolutionary home of Lord Armstrong, Victorian inventor and landscape genius
DURHAM CATHEDRAL - The greatest Norman building in England and known not only for its architecture but also for its incomparable setting
HOLKER HALL & GARDENS, CUMBRIA - A magnificent stately home with formal gardens and a woodland walk
HUTTON IN THE FOREST, CUMBRIA - This ancient house has a rich variety of architecture, furnishings and beautiful gardens and grounds
LEVENS HALL, CUMBRIA - Magnificent Elizabethan house and world famous Topiary Gardens
LINDISFARNE CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND - Dramatically perched on a rocky crag and accessible via a three-mile causeway at low tide
MUNCASTER CASTLE, CUMBRIA - Located in one of Europe’s most remote and dramatic landscapes
RYDAL MOUNT & GARDENS, CUMBRIA - William Wordsworth lived here for 40 years of his creative literary life
SIZERGH CASTLE & GARDEN, CUMBRIA - This imposing house is at the gateway to the Lake District and stands proud in a beautiful garden
YORK MINSTER - One of the world’s great cathedrals, the Minster is a glorious medieval architectural achievement with one of the finest collections of stained glass in existence
ALNWICK GARDEN, NORTHUMBERLAND - An exciting, contemporary design with beautiful and unique gardens, features and structures, brought to life with water
BIDE A WEE GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - Created out of a small sandstone quarry into a garden gem covering two acres
CONSTABLE BURTON HALL GARDENS, WEST YORKSHIRE - At the entrance to Wensleydale, this extensive romantic garden is surrounded by 18th century parkland
CROOK HALL GARDENS, DURHAM - A beautiful medieval manor house, surrounded by ten romantic gardens
DALEMAIN HOUSE & GARDENS, CUMBRIA - Just two miles from Ullswater, these gardens are a haven of tranquillity
HELMSLEY WALLED GARDEN, NORTH YORKSHIRE - A beautiful five acre walled garden
HERTERTEN GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - A one acre elegant country garden with a formal topiary, winter, flower and fancy gardens
HOLEHIRD GARDENS, CUMBRIA - Voted to be one of the Nation´s Favourite Gardens, its 10 acres above Windermere it is truly a garden for all seasons
HOWICK HALL GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - Extensive grounds with year-round gardens and a 65 acre arboretum
LONG FRAMLINGTON GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - A 12 acre inspirational garden
PARCEVAL HALL GARDENS, NORTH YORKSHIRE - Situated in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, with twenty four acres of formal and woodland gardens
WENTWORTH CASTLE GARDENS, SOUTH YORKSHIRE – 50 acres of Grade 1 listed gardens which are, historically, some of the most important gardens in the country
WHALTON MANOR GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - Three acres of beautiful walled garden containing a number of architectural gems, including a vast stone courtyard, summer houses and pergolas
ARBEIA ROMAN FORT & MUSEUM, NORTHUMBERLAND - Built to guard the entrance to the river Tyne, this is an unique insight into life in Roman Britain
BLACKPOOL PLEASURE BEACH, LANCASHIRE - An amusement park full of breathtaking rides and family shows including one of Europe’s tallest rollercoasters at 235 feet high
BLACKPOOL SEALIFE CENTRE, LANCASHIRE - Discover an underwater world, learn about our oceans and interact with the creatures
BLACKPOOL ZOO, LANCASHIRE - Set in 32 acres of parkland, the zoo is home to more than 1500 animals
CAMELOT THEME PARK, LANCASHIRE - Fantastic rides, medieval shows and an animal farm
CARS OF THE STARS, CUMBRIA - Vehicles from television and film, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Batmobile, Herbie, Back to the Future, Knightrider KITT and James Bond´s Aston Martins
DIGGER LAND, WEST YORKSHIRE & CO. DURHAM - An adventure park with rides and attractions where everyone can drive real diggers!
JORVIK VIKING CENTRE, NORTH YORKSHIRE - One of the most popular tourist attractions in the UK outside London. Discover what life was really like over 1000 years ago and come face-to-face with a Viking!
NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS RAILWAY - A thrilling journey through beautiful countryside in either a full size steam locomotive or a diesel. The railway was also used in numerous movies, including Harry Potter
STOCKLEY FARM, LANCASHIRE - Experience a hands-on day full of fun activities at this organic farm – tractor rides, feeding the animals and enjoying the fantastic play facilities
Marvel at the awesome beauty of The Lakes and the austere magic of the moors. Tramp the dales with their lush meadows and wooded valleys. Stroll the sweeping beaches and look in on the castles, cathedrals and country houses.
Let’s start our journey at Liverpool, the birthplace of The Beatles…John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. In the 1960s, their music put the city at the centre of the music world. Thousands of visitors still take the bus and walking tours of places linked to the ‘Fab Four’.
In the 18th and 19th centuries Liverpool became Britain’s largest port, exploiting the lucrative slave trade. The restored Albert Dock with its museums, restaurants and shops, harks back to the great seafaring days.
Watching over the port, from 250ft, are the Liver Birds on the Royal Liver Building, one of Britain’s most easily recognised buildings.
The enormous Gothic-style red sandstone Anglican Liverpool Cathedral is a complete contrast to the circular Roman Catholic Cathedral with its coloured glass tower.
The Tate Liverpool has one of the best contemporary art collections outside London.
A stroll along the prom at Blackpool gives an insight to the great days of the British seaside resort. The world famous Blackpool Tower – 518ft – was painted gold for its centenary in 1994.
Inland, explore the hills and moors of the Forest of Bowland..
On to Lancaster, established by the Romans on a bend in the River Lune. The Normans built a castle here, extended by King John and Queen Elizabeth I. It was another port that thrived on the slave trade.
We’ll skirt the glistening tidal flats of Morecambe Bay to its towering backcloth… The Lake District.
The national park is just 900 square miles but boasts 100 peaks more than 2,000 feet high – four are over 3,000 feet – 16 lakes and 10 spectacular waterfalls. More simply, it has the highest peaks, deepest valleys and longest lakes in the country. That highest mountain is Scafell Pike at 3,210 feet.
The landscape has changed little since the end of the Ice Age, 10,000 years ago.
Windermere is the largest and busiest of the lakes, Ullswater is scenically the most impressive, the oval Derwentwater is one of the prettiest and Wast Water is the deepest and most mysterious.
Northeast to the spectacular Kielder Water – Europe’s largest man-made lake – and into the Pennines and the wilderness of the Northumberland National Park. Then through the high grassy domes of The Cheviots before descending to Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the town changed hands 14 times in the wars between the Scots and English.
South to Lindisfarne, or Holy Island. It was a centre of Christianity from the earliest times when St Aidan founded a monastery in AD 635. Visitors can cross the causeway to the island at low tide.
Bamburgh, with its clifftop castle, is home to the Grace Darling Museum. In 1838, Grace and her father – the keeper of the Longstone lighthouse – rowed through a storm to rescue nine people from a wrecked steamship.
Offshore are the wildlife rich Farne Islands. Boat tours leave from Seahouses.
Two castles – Alnwick and Warkworth – lead on to another great defensive work…Hadrian’s Wall.
It was built on the orders of Emperor Hadrian to mark the northwest border of the Roman Empire. It runs for 73 miles (80 Roman miles) from Wallsend, on the Tyne, to Bowness, west of Carlisle. Housesteads Fort, which housed 1,000 troops, is the best preserved of the wall’s 17 forts.
The ‘Geordies’ are fiercely proud of their city, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The Romans first bridged the Tyne and built a fort there. In the 19th century it was the hub of the world’s shipbuilding industry. Its legacy is some fine public buildings and the iconic Tyne Bridge. The Gateshead Millennium Bridge reflects the city’s rebirth.
To the Beamish Open Air Museum to see life in the northeast in the 19th century. Over 300 acres are spread a colliery village and drift mine, a High Street, a school and chapel and a railway station.
Durham Cathedral, built as a shrine for the body of St Cuthbert, is probably Europe’s finest Norman building. The magnificent city stands on a rocky peninsular on the River Wear. It’s home to Britain’s third university, founded in 1832.
Barnard Castle grew up around its castle and is now best known for its extraordinary French-style chateau. What is now the Bowes Museum is a monument to the wealth and extravagance of John Bowes and his French wife, Josephine.
On to the North Yorkshire Moors after looking in on Whitby, a still busy harbour town where explorer, Captain James Cook, was apprenticed to a shipping company. And it was on a visit here that Bram Stoker gleaned much of his material for his novel, Dracula.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway offers a first rate perspective on this bleakly beautiful area with its lush, green valleys. The steam train runs 18 miles from Pickering to Goathland.
Rievaulx Abbey, near Helmsley, is set in the steep wooded valley of the River Rye. Founded in 1132, it’s considered one of Yorkshire’s finest treasures.
The huge and splendid Castle Howard, still owned and lived in by the Howard family, was commissioned in 1699 by Charles, 3rd Earl of Carlisle. The domed and columned Great Hall rises 66 feet.
Into the Yorkshire Dales…a walker’s paradise of meadows, wooded ravines and heather clad slopes. Three principal dales make up this national park…Swaledale, Wharfdale and Wensleydale. Each has its own character within the farming landscape and is a contrast to the moors. Malham Cove is a limestone amphitheatre with 300 feet high cliffs. Further up the valley is Malham Tarn…a favourite with bird watchers.
The ruins of Fountains Abbey are among the largest in Europe. Founded just a year after Rievaulx, it is the best preserved Cistercian abbey in Britain. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1986.
York has been described as a living museum. So much of its medieval heritage remains around its narrow streets, where cars are banned.
The Minster – England’s largest medieval church – stands over this treasure house. The wooden-vaulted Chapter House and the 15th century choir screen are marvels, along with its collection of stained glass. The Great East Window is the size of a tennis court.
The city’s museums, which include York Castle, Jorvik – the Viking City and the National Railway Museum are among England’s finest.
Yorkshire’s coastline is sometimes called the ‘forgotten coast’, though it was at Scarborough that the craze for sea bathing started.
Robin Hood’s Bay vies with Staithes for title of the county’s prettiest fishing village. In both communities cottages cling to the cliffs.
This part of the world is an adventure to be lived.
NORTHERN ENGLAND
FIND A B&B IN THIS AREA
As well as information about the area, here are some tourist attractions and places of interest to visit with direct links to their websites. Useful websites for a full selection are:
THE NATIONAL TRUST HISTORIC HOUSES ASSOCIATION
ENGLISH HERITAGE HERITAGE TRAIL THE NATIONAL GARDEN SCHEME
Or for more specific places:
CASTLES AND HISTORIC HOMESBack to top
ALNWICK CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND - Home to the Dukes of Northumberland. Second to Windsor Castle in size of the largest inhabited castle in England. The Harry Potter films were filmed here
BAMBURGH CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND - On a rocky plateau high above the Northumberland coastline, Bamburgh is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country
BELSAY HALL, CASTLE & GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - A grand medieval castle, an architectural masterpiece inspired by the temples of ancient Greece which is the hall and gardens packed with an impressive array of shrubs and flowers
BRONTE PARSONAGE, WEST YORKSHIRE - Home of the Bronte sisters, of literary fame
CASTLE HOWARD, NORTH YORKSHIRE - One of Britain’s finest stately homes set in spectacular grounds
CHILLINGHAM CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND - An ancient fortress with dungeons and torture chambers!
CRAGSIDE, NORTHUMBERLAND - The revolutionary home of Lord Armstrong, Victorian inventor and landscape genius
DURHAM CATHEDRAL - The greatest Norman building in England and known not only for its architecture but also for its incomparable setting
HOLKER HALL & GARDENS, CUMBRIA - A magnificent stately home with formal gardens and a woodland walk
HUTTON IN THE FOREST, CUMBRIA - This ancient house has a rich variety of architecture, furnishings and beautiful gardens and grounds
LEVENS HALL, CUMBRIA - Magnificent Elizabethan house and world famous Topiary Gardens
LINDISFARNE CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND - Dramatically perched on a rocky crag and accessible via a three-mile causeway at low tide
MUNCASTER CASTLE, CUMBRIA - Located in one of Europe’s most remote and dramatic landscapes
RYDAL MOUNT & GARDENS, CUMBRIA - William Wordsworth lived here for 40 years of his creative literary life
SIZERGH CASTLE & GARDEN, CUMBRIA - This imposing house is at the gateway to the Lake District and stands proud in a beautiful garden
YORK MINSTER - One of the world’s great cathedrals, the Minster is a glorious medieval architectural achievement with one of the finest collections of stained glass in existence
GARDENSBack to top
ALNWICK GARDEN, NORTHUMBERLAND - An exciting, contemporary design with beautiful and unique gardens, features and structures, brought to life with water
BIDE A WEE GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - Created out of a small sandstone quarry into a garden gem covering two acres
CONSTABLE BURTON HALL GARDENS, WEST YORKSHIRE - At the entrance to Wensleydale, this extensive romantic garden is surrounded by 18th century parkland
CROOK HALL GARDENS, DURHAM - A beautiful medieval manor house, surrounded by ten romantic gardens
DALEMAIN HOUSE & GARDENS, CUMBRIA - Just two miles from Ullswater, these gardens are a haven of tranquillity
HELMSLEY WALLED GARDEN, NORTH YORKSHIRE - A beautiful five acre walled garden
HERTERTEN GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - A one acre elegant country garden with a formal topiary, winter, flower and fancy gardens
HOLEHIRD GARDENS, CUMBRIA - Voted to be one of the Nation´s Favourite Gardens, its 10 acres above Windermere it is truly a garden for all seasons
HOWICK HALL GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - Extensive grounds with year-round gardens and a 65 acre arboretum
LONG FRAMLINGTON GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - A 12 acre inspirational garden
PARCEVAL HALL GARDENS, NORTH YORKSHIRE - Situated in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, with twenty four acres of formal and woodland gardens
WENTWORTH CASTLE GARDENS, SOUTH YORKSHIRE – 50 acres of Grade 1 listed gardens which are, historically, some of the most important gardens in the country
WHALTON MANOR GARDENS, NORTHUMBERLAND - Three acres of beautiful walled garden containing a number of architectural gems, including a vast stone courtyard, summer houses and pergolas
FAMILY ATTRACTIONSBack to top
ARBEIA ROMAN FORT & MUSEUM, NORTHUMBERLAND - Built to guard the entrance to the river Tyne, this is an unique insight into life in Roman Britain
BLACKPOOL PLEASURE BEACH, LANCASHIRE - An amusement park full of breathtaking rides and family shows including one of Europe’s tallest rollercoasters at 235 feet high
BLACKPOOL SEALIFE CENTRE, LANCASHIRE - Discover an underwater world, learn about our oceans and interact with the creatures
BLACKPOOL ZOO, LANCASHIRE - Set in 32 acres of parkland, the zoo is home to more than 1500 animals
CAMELOT THEME PARK, LANCASHIRE - Fantastic rides, medieval shows and an animal farm
CARS OF THE STARS, CUMBRIA - Vehicles from television and film, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Batmobile, Herbie, Back to the Future, Knightrider KITT and James Bond´s Aston Martins
DIGGER LAND, WEST YORKSHIRE & CO. DURHAM - An adventure park with rides and attractions where everyone can drive real diggers!
JORVIK VIKING CENTRE, NORTH YORKSHIRE - One of the most popular tourist attractions in the UK outside London. Discover what life was really like over 1000 years ago and come face-to-face with a Viking!
NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS RAILWAY - A thrilling journey through beautiful countryside in either a full size steam locomotive or a diesel. The railway was also used in numerous movies, including Harry Potter
STOCKLEY FARM, LANCASHIRE - Experience a hands-on day full of fun activities at this organic farm – tractor rides, feeding the animals and enjoying the fantastic play facilities
INFORMATION ABOUT THE AREABack to top
Marvel at the awesome beauty of The Lakes and the austere magic of the moors. Tramp the dales with their lush meadows and wooded valleys. Stroll the sweeping beaches and look in on the castles, cathedrals and country houses.
Let’s start our journey at Liverpool, the birthplace of The Beatles…John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. In the 1960s, their music put the city at the centre of the music world. Thousands of visitors still take the bus and walking tours of places linked to the ‘Fab Four’.
In the 18th and 19th centuries Liverpool became Britain’s largest port, exploiting the lucrative slave trade. The restored Albert Dock with its museums, restaurants and shops, harks back to the great seafaring days.
Watching over the port, from 250ft, are the Liver Birds on the Royal Liver Building, one of Britain’s most easily recognised buildings.
The enormous Gothic-style red sandstone Anglican Liverpool Cathedral is a complete contrast to the circular Roman Catholic Cathedral with its coloured glass tower.
The Tate Liverpool has one of the best contemporary art collections outside London.
A stroll along the prom at Blackpool gives an insight to the great days of the British seaside resort. The world famous Blackpool Tower – 518ft – was painted gold for its centenary in 1994.
Inland, explore the hills and moors of the Forest of Bowland..
On to Lancaster, established by the Romans on a bend in the River Lune. The Normans built a castle here, extended by King John and Queen Elizabeth I. It was another port that thrived on the slave trade.
We’ll skirt the glistening tidal flats of Morecambe Bay to its towering backcloth… The Lake District.
The national park is just 900 square miles but boasts 100 peaks more than 2,000 feet high – four are over 3,000 feet – 16 lakes and 10 spectacular waterfalls. More simply, it has the highest peaks, deepest valleys and longest lakes in the country. That highest mountain is Scafell Pike at 3,210 feet.
The landscape has changed little since the end of the Ice Age, 10,000 years ago.
Windermere is the largest and busiest of the lakes, Ullswater is scenically the most impressive, the oval Derwentwater is one of the prettiest and Wast Water is the deepest and most mysterious.
Northeast to the spectacular Kielder Water – Europe’s largest man-made lake – and into the Pennines and the wilderness of the Northumberland National Park. Then through the high grassy domes of The Cheviots before descending to Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the town changed hands 14 times in the wars between the Scots and English.
South to Lindisfarne, or Holy Island. It was a centre of Christianity from the earliest times when St Aidan founded a monastery in AD 635. Visitors can cross the causeway to the island at low tide.
Bamburgh, with its clifftop castle, is home to the Grace Darling Museum. In 1838, Grace and her father – the keeper of the Longstone lighthouse – rowed through a storm to rescue nine people from a wrecked steamship.
Offshore are the wildlife rich Farne Islands. Boat tours leave from Seahouses.
Two castles – Alnwick and Warkworth – lead on to another great defensive work…Hadrian’s Wall.
It was built on the orders of Emperor Hadrian to mark the northwest border of the Roman Empire. It runs for 73 miles (80 Roman miles) from Wallsend, on the Tyne, to Bowness, west of Carlisle. Housesteads Fort, which housed 1,000 troops, is the best preserved of the wall’s 17 forts.
The ‘Geordies’ are fiercely proud of their city, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The Romans first bridged the Tyne and built a fort there. In the 19th century it was the hub of the world’s shipbuilding industry. Its legacy is some fine public buildings and the iconic Tyne Bridge. The Gateshead Millennium Bridge reflects the city’s rebirth.
To the Beamish Open Air Museum to see life in the northeast in the 19th century. Over 300 acres are spread a colliery village and drift mine, a High Street, a school and chapel and a railway station.
Durham Cathedral, built as a shrine for the body of St Cuthbert, is probably Europe’s finest Norman building. The magnificent city stands on a rocky peninsular on the River Wear. It’s home to Britain’s third university, founded in 1832.
Barnard Castle grew up around its castle and is now best known for its extraordinary French-style chateau. What is now the Bowes Museum is a monument to the wealth and extravagance of John Bowes and his French wife, Josephine.
On to the North Yorkshire Moors after looking in on Whitby, a still busy harbour town where explorer, Captain James Cook, was apprenticed to a shipping company. And it was on a visit here that Bram Stoker gleaned much of his material for his novel, Dracula.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway offers a first rate perspective on this bleakly beautiful area with its lush, green valleys. The steam train runs 18 miles from Pickering to Goathland.
Rievaulx Abbey, near Helmsley, is set in the steep wooded valley of the River Rye. Founded in 1132, it’s considered one of Yorkshire’s finest treasures.
The huge and splendid Castle Howard, still owned and lived in by the Howard family, was commissioned in 1699 by Charles, 3rd Earl of Carlisle. The domed and columned Great Hall rises 66 feet.
Into the Yorkshire Dales…a walker’s paradise of meadows, wooded ravines and heather clad slopes. Three principal dales make up this national park…Swaledale, Wharfdale and Wensleydale. Each has its own character within the farming landscape and is a contrast to the moors. Malham Cove is a limestone amphitheatre with 300 feet high cliffs. Further up the valley is Malham Tarn…a favourite with bird watchers.
The ruins of Fountains Abbey are among the largest in Europe. Founded just a year after Rievaulx, it is the best preserved Cistercian abbey in Britain. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1986.
York has been described as a living museum. So much of its medieval heritage remains around its narrow streets, where cars are banned.
The Minster – England’s largest medieval church – stands over this treasure house. The wooden-vaulted Chapter House and the 15th century choir screen are marvels, along with its collection of stained glass. The Great East Window is the size of a tennis court.
The city’s museums, which include York Castle, Jorvik – the Viking City and the National Railway Museum are among England’s finest.
Yorkshire’s coastline is sometimes called the ‘forgotten coast’, though it was at Scarborough that the craze for sea bathing started.
Robin Hood’s Bay vies with Staithes for title of the county’s prettiest fishing village. In both communities cottages cling to the cliffs.
This part of the world is an adventure to be lived.