Area covered by Coast and Country

Northumberland National Park is one of the most tranquil places in Britain, It ranges from Hadrian’s Wall in the south, to the Cheviot Hills in the north of Northumberland covering 400 square miles of wild open moor, beautiful river valleys, rolling hills and small villages.

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It was designated in 1956, set up to conserve a high quality landscape, rich in natural biodiversity, with good air quality to give healthy recreation to the workers of South East Northumberland coalfield and the industrial areas of Newcastle, Gateshead and Tyne and Wear.

The Park is owned by a variety of landowners including individual farmers, Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Defence. It is crossed by many miles of public rights of way and has large areas of Open Access. Two long distance footpaths, the Pennine Way and the Hadrian’s Wall Path go through Northumberland National Park.

Northumberland Coast Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty is famous for its beaches, birdlife and castles. Designated in 1958, it covers sweeping sandy bays, the famous over-wintering feeding grounds for thousands of birds at Budle Bay and Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve, castles on rocky promontories and the coastal villages of Seahouses, Beadnell, Newton, Boulmer, Alnmouth and Amble. It is managed by a partnership of private land-owners with a small core team of staff who work to deliver its objectives of conservation of landscape and biodiversity.