North East England

NewcastleGateshead’s neighbours include Northumberland, County Durham, and Tees Valley. A visit to NewcastleGateshead provides the perfect opportunity to explore this whole area where you’ll find stunning natural beauty, awe-inspiring coastlines, thousands of years of history and heritage, rugged moorland, bustling cities and tranquil market towns.

The area is host to Hadrian’s Wall, a stunning ‘necklace’ of Roman wall and forts across the north of England, and along with Durham Castle and Cathedral forms a pair of World Heritage sites found on our doorstep.

The historic city of Durham, with its iconic ancient Cathedral and Castle, beautiful riverside and quaint cobbled streets which are home to a variety of markets, high-street and boutique shops, pubs and restaurants as well as special festivals and events, is well worth a visit. With excellent rail links to Newcastle you can be there in around quarter of an hour with plenty of time to explore the atmospheric cloister, stroll through the historic streets or go rowing on the river when the weather’s good.

Alnwick, a small market town in north Northumberland, is characterised by incredible beauty and local charm. The Alnwick Garden covers 40 acres and houses over 65,000 individual plants – one of the largest collections in Europe - with 10 miles of paths to explore. Alnwick Castle is a site you may already recognise as the iconic location where the Harry Potter films were shot, but don’t let this distract you too much from its own dramatic history and thriving role in the town today.

The town and port of Hartlepool in County Durham is also worth visiting to discover their maritime history, including the truth behind the legendary monkey-hanging story, and to enjoy the attractions of their new multi-million pound Marina complex. An old town steeped in thousands of years of history and mile after mile of golden sands, Hartlepool is a short drive from NewcastleGateshead and well worth a visit.

Visit the I like Musuems website for full details exhibitions and events at all museums across the North East of England.