North East England Area Guide

Split into seven counties, North East England comprises the four Yorkshires – South, North, West and the East Riding – as well as tiny Tyne and Wear, Durham and the remote wilds of rural Northumberland, bordering Scotland on its northern flank. 

Basically, North East England is Great Britain in a microcosm. It has everything from a dramatic North Sea coastline to diverse landscapes so spectacular that the region is home to three national parks and two national landscapes. Ancient or thoroughly contemporary, the area’s cities offer a millennia of inspiring architecture and a treasure trove of family-friendly attractions.

The Great Cities of North East England

Durham

Durham is best known for its Romanesque cathedral, sitting on a rocky peninsula hanging over a meander in the River Wear and completed in 1133. It’s the final resting place of St Cuthbert, bringer of Christianity in the UK; he lies under a marble slab in the Chapel of Nine Altars. Standing right opposite the cathedral, Durham Castle was commissioned and fortified in 1072 by William the Conqueror; it’s now part of prestigious Durham University and accessible by guided tour that whizzes through 15th-century kitchens and the Norman chapel with its carved pillars and vaulted ceiling. This UNESCO-listed triumvirate of historic institutions presides over Durham old town, a labyrinth of steep alleys crammed with Tudor and Georgian façades hiding teeming tea shops, cosy bistros and bars. 

Leeds

Leeds is the contemporary powerhouse of Yorkshire, a city second only to London in importance as a financial centre. Once a manufacturing hub, today it is awash with style and filled with sleek restaurants and hotels. A fortune has been poured into revitalising the city’s industrial heritage to great effect; splendid museums include the City Art Gallery, repository of works by locally born sculptors Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, and the Royal Armouries Museum, packed with ornate armour and weaponry, and with lots happening for kids. Elegant shops fill Victoria Quarter arcades, painstakingly restored to their former 19th-century radiance with mosaic floors, fountains and wrought-iron balconies, while Leeds Corn Exchange is a magnificent undercover Victorian market topped by a vast glass dome and filled with artisan jewellers, vintage stores and food and drink stalls. 

Newcastle upon Tyne

Watched over by Antony Gormley’s breathtakingly huge sculpture ‘Angel of the North’ since 1998, Newcastle is a city that blends its industrial past with modernity. Known for its seven signature bridges – the Tyne Bridge is a Geordie icon and the soaring Gateshead Millennium Bridge represents the city’s new-found cultural pzazz – and buzzing quayside nightlife, it offers fascinating museums and galleries, street art and a vibrant Sunday market along the banks of the Tyne. Landmarks along the river include the hulking glass-and-steel Glasshouse International Centre for Music, its pure acoustics drawing music stars from across the globe, and BALTIC contemporary art gallery, offering an ever-changing programme of shows from famous names and fledgling artists in a revamped 1940s’ grain warehouse.

York

Gorgeous York appears to exist in a time capsule guarded by its circular walls, largely built in the 14th century but with some sections dating back to Roman times; they are intersected by four massive stone ‘bars’ (toll gates), with elaborate Micklegate Bar marking the historic main entrance into the city. Inside the walls, labyrinthine cobbled streets like the 13th-century Shambles are lined with upmarket shops and global dining choices sitting alongside half-timbered houses, higgledy-piggledy pubs and smart Georgian mansions. Alongside the Gothic Minster, superb visitor attractions include York Castle Museum, full of Victorian street scenes and 20th-century ephemera, the National Railway Museum – a must for closet trainspotters – and the family-friendly displays at JORVIK Viking Centre, where visitors chug in carts through the sights, sounds and smells of 10th-century York.

Scenic Countryside and Coastlines of North East England

Northumberland National Park 

Hemmed in between Hadrian’s Wall, the Scottish border and the North Sea coast, the wild moors and forests of this national park were once territory of reivers, Scottish raiders who consistently plundered the land between the 13th and 16th centuries. Now it’s a peaceful region of rural towns, fishing rivers and family attractions in Kielder Water and Forest Park; stunning the landscapes may be but Northumberland is also one of the least populated of the UK’s national parks and visitors will revel in almost-deserted walking and cycling trails, quiet picnic spots and no queues at stately Cragside or The Sill discovery centre.

Yorkshire Dales National Park

Straddling uplands and peat moorlands across the Pennines, the Dales show off picture-perfect villages in shady valleys, the moody ruins of Bolton Priory’s soaring 13th-century nave, and the raw natural beauty of the spectacular limestone amphitheatre at Malham Cove or the ragged crags of Gordale Scar. The national park is nirvana for cycling, caving and climbing, while experienced hikers attempt the Yorkshire Three Peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside. Families will find plenty to do exploring pretty Grassington (location of filming for ‘All Creatures Great and Small’) and its tea rooms, or meeting and greeting the animals at Hesketh Farm Park. 

North York Moors National Park 

Running from the Cleveland Hills in the west to the east coast, the North York Moors is an area of heather-clad hills pockmarked with forest and scattered with medieval abbeys, historic houses and pretty market towns like Helmsley – a handy base for exploring the national park on foot or by car. One of the most popular times to visit is during late summer, when valleys and meadows are swathed in purple heather, but in other season visitors may well have the Cleveland Way, Shandy Hall – former home to ‘Tristram Shandy’ author Laurence Sterne – in photogenic Coxwold, and the ethereal ruins of Rievaulx Abbey almost to themselves. 

North Yorkshire Coastline

Stretching from Bridlington to Staithes in the north, the precipitous white-chalk headlands of the North Yorkshire coast incorporate sheltered sandy bays and invigorating cliff-top strolls to Flamborough Head – where cliffs soar up to 400 feet/122 metres in places. One of the most awesome birding spectacles in the UK takes place at RSPB Bempton Cliffs between April and July, when half a million puffins, guillemots and gannets gather to nest in crevices along the porous cliff face. Family resorts along the coast include Scarborough, Bridlington and Edwardian-era Filey; the sandy expanse at Cayton Bay is the province of surfers and the tiny cove at North Landing turns up treasures for rock poolers. 

Six Cultural Highlights in North East England

Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

Built after the Norman Conquest, gargantuan Alnwick has been in the hands of the aristocratic Percy family since 1309. It was refurbished in Gothic fashion in the 18th century by Robert Adams, and is today famed as a location for the ‘Harry Potter’ film franchise. The Labyrinth, Poison Garden and magical-themed Lilidorei playground were designed by the current duchess, and kids can also take part in jousting and archery sessions. 

Castle Howard, North Yorkshire 

An implausibly beautiful Vanbrugh-built Neo-Classical mansion in extensive grounds liberally scattered with rose gardens, follies, lakes and fountains, Castle Howard was 40 years in the building and completed in 1699. It is home to priceless decorative arts by Chippendale and Sheraton, Sèvres porcelain and paintings by Canaletto, Gainsborough and Reynolds. There are daily tours both inside and out, nature trails and a mini train to chug kids to Skelf Island Adventure Playground, plus pleasure cruises on the scenic North Lake.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 820-acre/332 hectare estate at Fountains includes the massive 12th-century Cistercian abbey, a stunning 18th-century water garden designed by John Aislabie and complete with classical follies, a deer park – visit in autumn to witness the rut – the Tudor-era Fountains Hall and St Mary’s Church, which dates from Victorian times. There are pop-up exhibitions throughout the year, and plenty of special activities to keep kids entertained too.

Hadrian’s Wall

Marching across the rugged landscapes of Northumberland, UNESCO-listed Hadrian’s Wall is 73 miles/117 km long and is one of Britain’s most famous ancient Roman relics. It was built to defend against ceaseless raids from what is now Scotland, and key sites include Housesteads Fort, Vindolanda and the Roman Army Museum. The main visitor centre is at Once Brewed, and you can follow Hadrian’s Wall Path from Wallsend in Tyne and Wear to Bowness-on-Solway on the Cumbrian east coast.

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne

This tiny islet is home of Christianity in the UK; a monastery was founded in 634 AD and the world-renowned Lindisfarne Gospels (they are now in the British Library) were created here in the early eighth century. Lindisfarne Castle – which perches on a vast volcanic plug – dates from the mid 1500s, but was given a thorough makeover by Edwardian architecture Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1902; the gardens were redesigned by Gertrude Jekyll a decade later.  

Good to know: check opening times of the causeway to the island before setting off: North Sea tide times change on a daily basis.

York Minster

Imposing, multi-buttressed and 250 years in the making, England’s largest Gothic cathedral was completed in 1480. Among its 128 stained-glass windows, the 17,000-piece Rose Window commemorates the union of the houses of York and Lancaster, ending the Wars of the Roses in 1486. Other masterpieces include the Choir Screen, with its stone sculptures of 15 English kings, and the ornate ribbed wooden roof in the octagonal chapter house. A traipse up 275 steps leads to the top of the tower for views over the cobbled streets of fascinating York. 

Rugged countryside and lively seaside resorts vie for your attention with vibrant cities, impressive cathedrals, medieval abbeys and world-class museums in North East England, so you’ll never be short of things to see and do. If you’re keen to stay in the open air – perhaps in one of the three national parks – Pitchup has a serious collection of camping and glamping options at your disposal.