Northeast England

One of my favourite parts of the country. My parents lived in Whitley Bay for a while and I loved my visits to the area. The coastline going north is beautiful. http://www.visitnorthumberland.com/ http://www.northumberland-coast.co.uk/ Why not hire a car, say from Newcastle, and drive up the coast to Edinburgh. Interesting and historic towns/sights to visit/stay at on the way, inland as well as on the coast. And of course the beautiful countryside up to the Scottish borders. You can drive for miles and see very little traffic on the way. Not sure about the location of your cousins. There are three separate places called North Shields, South Shields and Tynemouth.

Not from England but will comment anyway. Stunningly beautiful.

Hi Cindy, my great grandfather went to Durham University so I visited Durham. It's a great place to visit. The Cathedral is magnificent. The Venerable Bede, "father of history" is buried there. Of course, you're not far from the Yorkshire Moor and the Dales. I spent some time there before heading to Durham. On the way to Durham I stopped off at beautiful little Saxon church in Escomb. http://www.qlhs.org.uk/oracle/escomb/escomb.htm I also stayed in Hexham and explored Hadrian's Wall and the Border area which is a very interesting area. As you head north on the east coast you might want to explore Lindisfarne. I've not been because I've explored more in the west. In the Scottish Borders check out the Abbey's and Floors Castle. Pam

Thanks everyone for your helpful hints. Linda, our relatives live in Tynemouth North Shields NE30 3RX. I googled and found the 3 areas you are talking about. I think it would be a lovely drive also. We have never driven in England, but could perhaps manage if there wasn't a lot of traffic. If we do drive through that area, we would consider going all the way north to Edinburgh. What about driving in that city?

Cindy: We have driven thru this area a couple of times...once you get used to the roundabouts...driving is easy in the countryside. Even Edinburgh was not that bad...it's a small town by USA standards. When we stayed there near the University we parked the car at the b & b and walked most everywhere. Durham was one of the highlights of our trip because of the cathedral...read Bede's history of St Cuthbert...it's really funny. Walking Hadrian's wall is a blast.

Thanks so much! I'm getting more and more excited for this trip. I hope we can make it happen.