Northumbria or Lake District?

Will you have a car?

I just got back in mid-May from a 2-week tour of Northern England starting in Harrogate and ending in York. We stayed 2 nights in Hexham and 4 nights in Alnwick. From the Hexham base we spent 2 and a half days on and around Hadrian's Wall. From the Alnwick base we did Alnwick Castle for 1.5 days, spent an afternoon walking from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle (ruins), and spent most of a day at Lindesfarne (the tidal Holy Island) and also took a boat trip out to the Farne Islands to see the bird colonies. We did not do Bamburgh Castle although we did drive by there. I have heard it is touristy BUT I've no experience visiting it!

I loved visiting Northumberland. It was not particularly crowded and most tourists seemed to be English, I heard very few American accents. I found the people awesome and so welcoming!

I've also spend a couple of nights on a Rick Steves tour in Keswick in the Lake District. This was a number of years ago, well pre-covid. It was much more touristy and crowded than Northumberland. Keswick is a center for walkers.

Both places were beautiful but honestly Northumberland would get the edge. I particularly took this small tour because it went to Lindesfarne. That might not be something of interest to you at all.

If you're traveling from York to Scotland, Northumbria is right on your way (unless you're headed to western Scotland?).

I had only brief experience with the Lake District, mostly just Keswick. I found it rather crowded and touristy -- not unbearably so, but a bit compared to Northumberland. Walking on Hadrian's Wall was for me the highlight of the trip, in fact a highlight of all the traveling I've done in my life. I don't know anything about visiting Bamburgh Castle, though.

I'm from the Lake District, but if you are travelling from York to Scotland I would say, unhesitatingly, Northumberland. Apart from anything else it's a more direct route.

Far less tourists, what I call "big sky country", stunning coastal scenery, empty beaches.
More castles than you can shake a fist at.
Grace Darling, the Farne Islands, Berwick on Tweed is another amazing place to visit with it's history of being in Scotland or England many times over the centuries. A big history of early Christianity to explore.
Yes you will find tourists but they are far fewer in number than in the Lakes, and concentrate in a few places. Much easier to lose them. If by car far easier travelling.
Lots of cheap, if not free parking. Lots of public toilets, which are in the main free. (in the lakes you need a mortgage to park when you can find a space, we have few public toilets left, all of which now charge you, often extortionate amounts).

Without knowing if you are travelling by car or train it's impossible to give a town to stay in.

For the Lake District the choice of town would again depend on your mode of transport. With a car you could get outside the hotspots.

I don't know what you mean by Bamburgh Castle being "just a tourist trap". It's a real and stunning castle, as good a castle as you'll find anywhere. An amazing history. Compared to say Edinburgh or Stirling Castles or the Tower of London there are relatively speaking far fewer tourists.
Even by train, by using the local buses, you could stay in Bamburgh if you wanted to.

Northumbria - and Bambrugh Castle - couldn’t be further from a “tourist trap” (whatever that is). It’s a glorious part of the UK that even most British people are entirely unfamiliar with.

Alnwick would make a good base. I’ve stayed there en route to Scotland and would go back. Although if you wanted the coast, Bambrugh or Alnmouth would be good.

Hi Michele -

I suppose it all depends on what you want to do. The Lakes are stunning, but are hill walking central and that would be the main reason to visit there (despite all the other reasons for going, all valid). That said, when the chief ‘honeypot’ towns are busy they are manic, the real solitude only to be found by taking to the hills on foot, although routes need to be selected carefully - the routes up Scafell Pike, Helvellyn, and a few others will feel like a human traffic jam on a good, clear day. All that said, I love the Lakes - you just have to choose where you go carefully to get the best out of it.

That said, if avoiding places rammed with tourists is what you are after, then Northumberland certainly fits the bill. As others have said it makes sense too if heading to Scotland from York. Brilliant, wild coastline, often deserted, lots of religious sites, castles etc. Alnwick is a decent base, but personally I would prefer to stay next to the sea in nearby Alnmouth. Craster and Beadnell further north up the coast are tiny villages, but maybe don’t have the facilities of somewhere ‘large’ (it’s a relative term) like Alnwick, or further south Warkworth (nice castle ruin, good walks by the river, beaches going north). Also if you are a fan of the Marvel ‘Avengers’ movies just by the Scottish border is St. Abb’s, is now twinned with New Asgard, it being the location for there in the films. Slightly larger fishing town at Eyemouth. The Scottish Borders, ie Melrose, are worth exploring and there are model villages, Ford and Etal, quite unexpectedly, on the English side.

The inland parts of Northumberland are wild and empty, so much so that there are large military firing ranges around Otterburn, but it’s big enough to swallow that and still leave plenty for us and pretty much undisturbed at that!

Wherever you choose I’m sure there will be more than enough to keep you occupied but in terms of sheer logistics, Northumberland makes most sense. Just let’s keep it ‘entre nous’, right!

Ian

Another vote for Northumberland.

Bamburgh Castle is the iconic picture that appears on all the tourist literature, but is definitely NOT a tourist trap. It is well worth a visit with a lot of history attached. Bamburgh also has links to Grace Darling - if you've not read about her, then do check out her story. She is buried in Bamburgh Churchyard (you can't miss her tomb as it is the biggest ) and there is also a very interesting museum about her in the village.

Northumberland has the lot from wonderful long sandy beaches to the tidal island of Lindisfarne (the centre of early Christianity) as well as the Farne Islands ( do a boat trip frrom Seahouses). There are ruined castles - Dunstanburgh is a wonderful walk along the shore from Craster and Warkworth is super too. If you have chance, visit the Hermitage whicjh is included in the cost of the ticket and reached by boat across the river...

Cragside, the home of wealthy industrialist William Armstrong is often described as the house where modern living began. He genenerated electricity in the grounds using water power and this was used not only to light the house but for all sorts of time saving equipment in the kitchens. It is surrounded by wonderful grounds and gardens.

I've also hearrd that Howick Hall Gardens are very good, although I've not visited them.

There is Berwick, with its Elizabethan town walls.

Alnwick Castle is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland and is well worth going round. The gardens designed by the Duchess are regarded as one of the best modern gardens in the world. The Castle also featured in the Harry Potter films. Barter Books in the old station buildings is the largest second hand book shop and very popular with visitors.

You also have the Cheviot with lots of walking, especially up the Coquet Valley

And then of course there is Hadrian's Wall with all the Roman stuff...

And I've hardly scrathed the surface. (Belsay Hall, Brinkburn Priory, Chillimgham castle - decidedly quirky, Wallington Hall, Norham Castle, Hexham Abbey with its crypt, as well as ruined peles and some small villages to explore like Wooler, Corbridge, Hexham...)

Northumberland is a place visitors rush through on their way to Scotland. Foreign visitors are only just discovering what we have known for a long time - it is one of the best places in the country to go on holiday. The locals are deliughtful too and so warm and welcoming.

This post has me intrigued. I was thinking about the lake district for a future trip, but I think I’ll look into Northumberland too. I like the idea of less crowds.

If at Chillingham Castle you should visit the comparatively little known Chillingham Wild cattle.

And if going to Etal there is the Heatherslaw Light Railway to visit.

Lots of such quirky places like that, which are almost unknown outside the area.

And at Alnwick there is the marvellous Barter Books second hand bookshop and Tea Shop to visit in the Old Railway Station. And the expanding Aln Valley preserved railway.

I hope this thread does encourage people to explore Northumberland.

Northumberland is fantastic. It’s the least populated county in England and the countryside is real country, not sort of commuter belt country like you mainly get in the South (yes even the Cotswolds. my partner’s last 3 senior bosses have all lived there).

The downside is the weather. It’s almost always a good few degrees colder than the south of the country and the wind of the North Sea can be vicious. The locals are notorious for not noticing this at all. Coats are for wimps!

Oohhhh...kind of reliving my wonderful trip in May with all the mentions here! Yep, we went to see the Chillingworth Cattle, SO interesting with their red ears!

I loved the gardens at Alnwick Castle. The Swing Garden is just awesome. Unfortunately they'd had hail and the blooms were off the cherry trees. The Poison Garden tour was interesting as well. This was probably the most crowded site we visited until we got to York but it still felt you had the space to enjoy what interested you.

I did have a latte at Barter Books in Alnwick and managed to pick up a Christmas gift for my brother from their WWII section. I could have spent hours in there but was hampered by lack of time and more importantly, lack of suitcase space, lol. What a cool bookstore and cafe.

We also visited Belsay Hall, Castle and Quarry Gardens. The Quarry Gardens there were just spectacular. We hit it when rhodies were in full bloom and it just pulled you in and made you want to spend time there. We did visit Preston Tower which is one of the ruined Pele Towers.

Someone upthread mentioned the possibility of staying on the coast instead of inland at Alnwick. I'd have to say this coast is just gorgeous. SO much history as well. On the walk from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle, Mark, my guide, mentioned a WWII pillbox just further on from the castle. TBH I've been to enough castle ruins in my visits to England, Wales and Scotland so I opted to continue walking past the castle on the Coastal Path. Standing in one spot I could look out to the North Sea toward where Viking Raiders would have sailed from, swing to the right to see the castle ruins which was started in 1313, continue to the right to see a modern links golf course, and finish my circle to see the remains of the WWII pillbox. Wow. This was a Sunday afternoon and the Coastal Path was busy with many dogs walking their owners. It was bright and sunny and everyone was in a jovial mood so a surprising amount of chatting and greetings going on among walkers.

You can tell I loved Northumberland! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous and everyone was so nice. I was on a small group tour and realized I needed to allow myself more time than I thought I needed to be on time for our meet ups because everyone wanted to stop and talk.

This is not to say the Lake District isn't also beautiful but there was just something about Northumberland that resonated with me.

Ok, you all have given me the Northumberland bug! We leave for London in a few days and I am already thinking this part of England is where I want to go next! A few years back I read a wonderful book, “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”, which included descriptions of this area in the story. My interest was piqued then and I thought I’d love to visit. With all these posts, and reading about how incredible it is, I’m really hoping to go there someday!!

Pam, you have definitely fallen under the spell of Northumberland and why it is just so special...

I can't believe that we all forgot to mention Flodden Field where on 9 September 1513 10,000 Scots were slaughtered by the English (repelling the Scottish invading army) and James VI of Scotland became the last British King to die on a battlefield.
There is a trail you can follow giving the full history.

And how did we not mention Lady Waterford Hall at the village of Ford. This is the former School room and has a collection of 21 life sized paintings by Louisa (Lady Waterford) of Bible scenes on the walls, which used local people as models. The project took 20 years to complete between 1860 and 1880. It is open daily, and is free, and is quite unique.
There is also the nearby Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre- where Clydesdale and Shire Horses can be seen, as well as French Percheron Horses- the world's oldest breed of heavy horse. Also pigs including the rare breed British Lop pig.

Just putting in another vote for Northumberland. One of the most beautiful and underrated parts of England. We got around mostly by bus, which required good planning but was doable. Bamburgh Castle is best appreciated from the beach, don’t skip that part. We enjoyed the walk from there to Seahouses and I couldn’t get over how beautiful (and empty!) the beaches were. Dunstanburgh castle was also a very scenic spot with nice walks. The Hadrian’s Wall area also offers plenty of walking in spectacular scenery and interesting historical sights.
As others have mentioned, Alnwick and Barter Books make a nice stop too.
If you’re heading up from York, the university city of Durham is also worth a visit. We also thought Newcastle was underrated - a city with lots of character and pride, definitely off the tourist trail! But the real star of the show is the countryside and seashore.

And how did we not mention.....

Problem is isn31c, there are so many good places in Northumberland, just where do you start (or stop)?

"Pam, you have definitely fallen under the spell of Northumberland and why it is just so special..."

@Wasleys....so true! I want to win a big lottery jackpot so I can come back and have a private driver so I don't have to negotiate driving on the left. I'd love to stay on Lindesfarne! Or in the Craster area....or....