The Area

The stunning Borders region of Northumberland is a veritable gem waiting to be discovered. If you take the time to travel to this corner of the United Kingdom, you will be amply rewarded for your efforts.

Where once there was the bloody profusion of battlefields in the ancient grumblings between England and Scotland, there are now majestic castles, lavish stately homes, magnificent country estates, World Heritage Sites, long and lovely golden sandy beaches, great gardens, famous homes, and a wealth of outdoor sports to be enjoyed to the full in stunning verdant countryside. Try fishing in the Tweed, Golf at one of the many beautiful courses, clay pigeon shooting, bird and seal watching on the Farne Islands, horse riding across the sands at low tide to Holy Island, or quad biking at Scremerston.

The very lovely Paxton House, right next to the village of Paxton is elegant beyond measure and is known as the most beautiful Palladian house in the country. Designed and built by the Adam brothers, it combines stoic graciousness, with perfect form. This has become one of the most loved stately homes in the country, and is filled to the brim with priceless work by Chippendale, commissioned especially for it. Today Paxton House is alive again with wedding ceremonies, banquets, and many visitors, all eager to appreciate it's remarkable heritage.

Venture across the tidal causeway of the holy island of Lindisfarne, and you will be setting foot in the cradle of Christianity in England. The abbey and castle can be visited, and you may sample the traditional monks mead, made from honey. The Castle is visible for many miles up and down the coast, perched on a high volcanic bluff: It was owned and refurbished by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the famous architect and designer, and has a garden designed by his friend, the equally famous garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll.

The stunning Alnwick castle gardens are a superb modern example of vast proportions. Created by the present Duchess of Northumberland, the gardens include an enormous tree house and an elegant cascading fountain. The castle itself has been used in many movies, and is the setting for all the Harry Potter films.

Cragside, the home of Lord Armstrong the inventor, was the first house in the world to be lit using electricity from hydroelectric power. In 1870 Lord Armstrong created the worlds first hydroelectric power station for his home in Northumberland, and many more inventions which we now take for granted, such as under floor heating.

Berwick upon Tweed, the historic and noteworthy border market town has many areas of interest, not least of which are the beautiful, and well preserved Elizabethan ramparts and canons.