The insider guide to Northumberland – the UK’s most overlooked national park
If you asked a child to design a place of empty landscapes, big skies, hills and rivers, dotted with picturesque villages and an extinct volcano thrown in for good measure, they would end up with something that very much resembled Northumberland National Park.
Of the 13 national parks in England and Wales, Northumberland is the most northerly, most remote, and least visited. It’s the least populated of all the UK’s 15 protected landscapes.
Covering an area of 410 square miles between the Scottish border and Hadrian’s Wall Unesco World Heritage site, this is a land of unimpeded views. The stirring rivers Rede and Coquet rush south from Scotland creating desolate dales in their wake; the Tyne, the most northerly of the great English rivers that incise the Pennines, gathers its strength here.
It’s thrilling, often elemental, as befits a region that bumps up hard against the Scottish border. The hamlets of Harbottle and Alwinton, gateways to the Upper Coquetdale, can feel like frontier posts set against true wilderness.
The national park is also England’s Empty Quarter. Designated in 1956, a great deal of thought went into its boundaries: the county’s dramatic coast was excluded, as was most of Kielder Forest and any significantly-sized settlement. Consequently, Elsdon, a pretty stone-front village with a parish church and barely 50 homes, is the largest settlement – bigger villages such as Bellingham and the attractive town of Rothbury sit outside the boundary. Few other places in England have such dark skies.
Nevertheless, the park is popular with holidaymakers (1.27 million visits in 2021) and often held up as an exemplar of the value of empty places: a 2022 report found Northumberland National Park contributed ￡81million to the regional economy. Here’s how to make the most of a trip.
Where is Northumberland National Park?
Shaped a little like an uneven stack of books, the park covers an area running southwest to northeast in the west of its namesake county. It’s bordered to the south by the A69, to the east by the A697, while the A68 bisects it. To the west much of the park rubs shoulders with the England-Scotland border. The town of Hexham lies to the southeast but Newcastle is the nearest major city. In the middle of the park area – but technically outside the boundary – is Otterburn. The far northeast of the park is bordered by the town of Wooler, while Kelso and Coldstream sit to the north.
Although all major settlements are excluded from the park, six million people live within an hour’s drive.
What is Northumberland National Park known for?
Remoteness can be an overused word in England but travel around Upper Coquetdale and Redesdale, where twists and turns in single-track roads wind between high hills and open up views of hay meadows and landscapes devoid of human habitation and you feel a long way from anywhere.
Above all, it’s the atmosphere that can clutch you: it’s easy to get carried away with the clanking ghosts of Picts, Romans, Scots and English soldiers who have all passed this way, along with smugglers and other ne’er-do-wells.
The Romans left a hefty footprint here and Hadrian’s Wall, designed to protect the empire from the Barbarians further north, runs east-west along the southernmost boundary. Here, around Housesteads, is where you will find the most important remains, in the form of forts, milecastles, reinforced escarpments and museums.
The park is a place of huge, unimpeded views, perhaps most spectacularly of all from the top of the Cheviot, the highest point in the Northumberland National Park at 815 metres; 400million years ago the Cheviot was a volcano the size of Mount Etna and many of the surrounding hills are formed from ancient lava flows.
Wildlife is special too, with several national nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest to explore. Look out for red squirrels, lapwing, curlew and black and red grouse. Dippers bounce and bob their way along rivers and streams while hardy breeds of hill sheep, such as Blackface and Swaledale are at home here; the traditional Cheviot breed gravitates to more sheltered slopes. In the far north, the feral Cheviot goats of College Valley are said to descend from a herd released in the Middle Ages by the monks on Lindisfarne.
What do to in Northumberland National Park
Best for history lovers
Important Roman history includes Housesteads, the most complete Roman Fort in Britain, and Milecastle 42, a fortified outpost sited at one of the highest points of the surviving wall.
Nearby is Vindolana, an excellent museum on the site of another former key military post. Away to the north, the old Roman army camp of Chew Green is less substantial but enjoys a stunning location in wild, empty Upper Coquetdale. You can step back further in time in the Breamish valley and around the stone-built hamlet of Ingram, exploring an amazing concentration of prehistoric hillforts, such as Brough Law, Middle Dean and Wether Hill made of earth and stone ramparts, along with burial site of Turf Knowe.
Best for families
Linhope Spout waterfall is a chute 18m high in the Breamish valley and a delightful spot for a picnic. Children can look for red squirrels in the surrounding woods. Despite the vandalism that removed the Sycmore Gap tree, the walk to its rather forlorn stump remains beautifully, perhaps now mournfully so. Make sure you take them to the nearby The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre, an excellent historical and geological interpretation centre, and up and around the crags of Simonside (the woods here are also good for red squirrels).
Best for walkers
With more than 1,100km of footpaths and 72 per cent of the park classified as open access land, you are spoilt for choice. Walk up the Cheviot or walk the stiff three miles from Kindale Law up to the Border ridge in Upper Coquetdale. On a clear day, you can see as far as the Lake District and even, some claim, Edinburgh. Explore Whitelee Moor National Nature Reserve, a land of blanket bog and mires fed by the River Rede and its tributaries. The landscapes here are so desolate that the Wildlife Trusts describes walks here as “vigorous”.
Best for adventure seekers
Despite frequent pummelling from the army, Otterburn military training area is a land of great beauty, brimming with nature and 23 ancient, semi-natural woodlands. Access is restricted at certain times, though these are posted well in advance. Spend an exhilarating day cycling through the Otterburn ranges and Coquetdale. Hardier cyclists could tackle the 190km Sandstone Way from Berwick to Hexham, which frequently cuts through the park. Organised tours can assist with this, such as a three-night package with Pedal Power, from ￡445, including accommodation and luggage transfer.
Best for dark sky lovers
The largest protected area of dark sky in Europe, the park can be mesmerising when nightfall arrives and stargazing activities regularly take place. The park has several designated dark sky discovery sights, such as Ingram, accessible to the public and considered ideal for stargazing. Dark Sky events are held at the visitor centre at Walltown country park near Greenhead and at Cawfields car park near Milecastle 42 on Hadrian’s Wall.
How to get there
Driving
Newcastle is 30 miles to the southeast, Edinburgh is 55 miles to the north, Manchester is 155 miles south and London is a six-hour drive. Access from the south is generally by the A69, A98 and A696; from the north by the A68 and A697.
Bus
The Hadrian’s Wall Country bus runs between Carlisle and Newcastle along the south of the park and Go North East runs other services into the park from Newcastle. The 16A runs twice daily, Monday to Friday, from Rothbury to Alwinton in Coquetdale and the 808 runs daily from Newcastle to Otterburn, Monday to Saturday. Traveline is consistently the best means of planning a combined journey of rail and bus to the park.
Rail
There’s no rail line through the national park but the Carlisle-Newcastle service runs along its southern border linking Newcastle to gateway towns and villages including Hexham, Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle.
Where to stay
Although the raison d’être of the national park was to exclude areas of significant human habitation, there is plenty of choice within its boundaries or at the periphery.
An elegant baronial 19th century mansion, Matfen Hall is a luxurious option with fine dining, a spa and sensational country views from its luxurious balcony rooms. For an unforgettable dinner, enjoy local cuisine in the mezzanine are of the Great Hall overlooked by stained-glass windows. B&B from ￡239 per room; three courses around ￡70.
The Pheasant Inn is a 17th century former coaching inn that lies just south of Kielder Water. A low-slung, byre-like structure with an interior of oak timber beams and exposed stone walls, this is a wonderfully atmospheric pub that sells local ale, good wines and decent food. Rooms are of a similarly high standard, with a three-night-minimum stay in high season. From ￡510 including breakfast.
Elishaw Farm has two cosy barn conversion cottages near Otterburn suitable for families. Expect striking views across Redesdale, a pizza oven, hot tub and garden swing, (three nights from ￡480).
On a budget
YHA The Sill at Hadrian’s Wall is an excellent hostel with a mix of high-spec dormitories (￡30), private (￡125) and family rooms (￡114).
The Boe Rigg in the national park just north of Bellingham is a campsite with a difference – in addition to tent pitches (￡35 night/ family of four), there is a couple of family-friendly rooms (￡108 per night) and a café that turns into a licensed restaurant.
For the glamping, try PoSHHuts, two Shepherd’s huts in Kielder Forest, fitted with soft furnishings, bathroom, kitchen and fire pit (￡125 per night). Another good campsite is Hadrian’s Wall Campsite on the southern boundary at Melkridge with options for both campers (￡27.50 per night) and glampers (from ￡68-95 per night).
When to visit
In summer, rare upland hay meadows, such as those around Greenhaugh, are transformed into sparkling colour, bursting with wildflowers, such as yellow rattle, melancholy thistle and wood cranes-bill. Winter is best for night skies, and though snow is common the frost-tipped vast landscapes are unforgettable. Spring and autumn bring bird migrations. The national park runs guided seasonal walks throughout the year.
For further inspiration discover the UK’s greatest national park, according to science, here.
This story was first published in July 2023 and has been revised and updated.
