Right at the very top of England, where the land finally throws up its hands and says that is quite enough, you find Northumberland. It is a place stuffed with castles, kings, old battles and the sort of legends that usually involve someone getting hit over the head. Once, rather ambitiously, it was a kingdom of its own stretching from the Humber to Edinburgh. Since then it has kept busy with Romans, invading Angles, quarrelling Celts and Norman lords who thought the best way to decorate the place was to build towering castles everywhere.
The most castles you can squeeze into one county
If you are a fan of castles, you are very much in luck. Northumberland has more of them than anywhere else in Britain, plus more official battlefields too. Even now you can stand on a hilltop and imagine the thunder of hooves and the wail of the Northumbrian pipes as the Border Reivers galloped about making trouble.
Later on, when swords were swapped for shovels, Northumberland’s coalfields helped fuel the Industrial Revolution. The men who got very rich from this built themselves grand houses which are now open to visitors keen to admire someone else’s money.
Whether you are here for a weekend or wandering for weeks, Northumberland is packed with sights that quietly amaze and occasionally leave you wondering why more people do not come here.
The wall that still refuses to fall down
Hadrian’s Wall is probably the county’s most famous leftover. Built by the Romans starting in AD 122 to keep the northern tribes at bay, it still snakes across the hills today. Much of it can be walked, giving you plenty of time to wonder just how much rain those poor Roman soldiers endured.
Centuries later, kings, bishops and anyone else feeling a little nervous built yet more castles to protect this northern edge of England. That is why there are 39 of them dotted about like giant stone mushrooms.
Castles, wizards and a bit of Hollywood
Alnwick Castle is hard to beat. Long home to the Dukes of Northumberland, it also moonlighted as Hogwarts in the early Harry Potter films. Whether you are here for the architecture, the gardens, or to pretend you are flying a broomstick, it is an excellent day out.
The town itself used to be a key stop on the old Great North Road from London to Edinburgh, and is still a handy base for exploring the rest of Northumberland. Not far away lies Lindisfarne, home to monks, the beautiful Lindisfarne Gospels and the odd Viking raid. Just be sure to check the tide times or you may find yourself temporarily marooned.
Brave rowers and border skirmishes
Inland again, Bamburgh sits beneath one of the most photogenic castles in Britain. It was from here that Grace Darling and her father rowed heroically through crashing waves in 1838 to rescue shipwrecked sailors from the HMS Forfarshire. Further north still lies Berwick, a town that has been passed between England and Scotland 13 times before finally staying put in 1482.
History hiding in the hills
And yet for all the castles and historic towns, it is often in Northumberland’s lonelier spots that its past feels most alive. Stand on an empty hillside with nothing but sheep for company and you can sense the centuries rolling away like morning mist. It is that sort of place.
