Must-see attractions in Northeast England

  • Durham Cathedral

    Northeast England

    Monumental Durham Cathedral is the definitive structure of the Anglo-Norman Romanesque style, a resplendent monument to the country’s ecclesiastical…

  • 27 May 2017: Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham - The Bowes Museum.  The museum owns a famous and renowned art collection and is built in a French style.; Shutterstock ID 657436690; your: Claire Naylor; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online ed; full: County Durham
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    Bowes Museum

    Northeast England

    A monumental chateau half a mile east of the centre contains the lavishly furnished Bowes Museum. Funded by 19th-century industrialist John Bowes, and…

  • Life Science Centre

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    Part of a sober-minded institute devoted to the study of genetic science, this centre lets you discover the secrets of life through a fascinating series…

  • Housesteads Roman Fort & Museum

    Northeast England

    The most dramatic site of Hadrian's Wall – and the best-preserved Roman fort in the whole country – is at Housesteads, 4 miles north of Bardon Mill on the…

  • Ruins at Vindolanda Roman fort in England
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    Vindolanda Roman Fort & Museum

    Northeast England

    The extensive site of Vindolanda offers a fascinating glimpse into the daily life of a Roman garrison town. The time-capsule museum is just one part of…

  • View from Palace Green to the Gatehouse of Durham Castle, Durham, County Durham, England, UK, Europe. The city of Durham, which lies on the River Wear a few miles south of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is best known for its Norman cathedral and castle, which together were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The city also boasts a prestigious university, said to be the oldest in England after Oxford and Cambridge, the castle having served as the home of University College since 1837.
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    Durham Castle

    Northeast England

    Built as a standard motte-and-bailey fort in 1072, Durham Castle was the prince bishops' home until 1837, when it became the University of Durham's first…

  • The BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Millennium Bridge, Tyne Bridge and Sage Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK

    BALTIC – Centre for Contemporary Art

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    Once a huge mustard-coloured grain store, BALTIC is now a huge mustard-coloured art gallery rivalling London's Tate Modern. There are no permanent…

  • Alnwick Castle

    Northumberland Coast

    Set in parklands designed by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, the imposing ancestral home of the Duke of Northumberland has changed little since the 14th…

  • Victoria Tunnel

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    Walking Newcastle's streets, you'd never know this extraordinary tunnel runs for 2.5 miles beneath your feet. Built between 1839 and 1842 as a coal-wagon…

  • Discovery Museum

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    Tyneside's rich history is explored at this unmissable museum. Exhibitions spread across three floors of the former Co-operative Wholesale Society…

  • Kielder Observatory

    Northeast England

    For the best views of the Northumberland International Dark Sky Park, attend a stargazing session at this state-of-the-art, 2008-built observatory. Its…

  • Berwick Walls

    Northumberland Coast

    You can walk almost the entire length of Berwick's hefty Elizabethan walls, begun in 1558 to reinforce an earlier set built during the reign of Edward II…

  • Great North Museum

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    The contents of Newcastle University's museums and the prestigious Hancock Museum's natural-history exhibits come together in the latter's neoclassical…

  • Bamburgh Castle

    Bamburgh Castle

    Northumberland Coast

    Northumberland's most dramatic castle was built around a powerful 11th-century Norman keep by Henry II. The castle played a key role in the border wars of…

  • Chillingham Castle

    Northeast England

    Steeped in history, warfare, torture and ghosts, 13th-century Chillingham is said to be one of the country's most haunted places, with spectres from a…

  • Farne Islands

    Northumberland Coast

    During breeding season (roughly May to July), you can see feeding chicks of 20 seabird species (including puffin, kittiwake, Arctic tern, eider duck,…

  • Beamish Open-Air Museum

    Northeast England

    County Durham's living, breathing, working museum offers an unflinching glimpse into industrial life in the northeast during the 19th and 20th centuries…

  • Birdoswald Roman Fort

    Northeast England

    The remains of this once-formidable fort (known as Banna to the Romans) are on an escarpment overlooking the beautiful Irthing Gorge along a minor road…

  • Corbridge Roman Site & Museum

    Northeast England

    What's left of the Roman garrison town of Corstopitum lies about half a mile west of Market Pl on Dere St, once the main road from York to Scotland. It's…

  • Alnwick Garden

    Northumberland Coast

    This 4.8-hectare walled garden incorporates a series of magnificent green spaces surrounding the breathtaking Grand Cascade – 120 separate jets spurting…

  • Raby Castle

    Northeast England

    Sprawling Raby Castle was a stronghold of the Catholic Neville family until it engaged in ill-judged plotting (the 'Rising of the North') against the…

  • Binchester Roman Fort

    Northeast England

    The ruins of Binchester Roman Fort, or Vinovia as it was originally called, lie 9.6 miles southwest of Durham. First built in wood around AD 80 and…

  • Escomb Church

    Northeast England

    The stones of the abandoned Binchester Roman Fort were often reused, and Roman inscriptions can be spotted in the walls of the hauntingly beautiful Escomb…

  • RNLI Grace Darling Museum

    Northumberland Coast

    Born in Bamburgh, Grace Darling was the lighthouse keeper's daughter on Outer Farne who rowed out to the grounded, flailing SS Forfarshire in 1838 and…

  • Dunstanburgh Castle

    Northumberland Coast

    The dramatic 1.5-mile walk along the coast from Craster (not accessible by car) is the most scenic path to this moody, weather-beaten castle. Its…

  • Segedunum

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    The last strong post of Hadrian's Wall was the fort of Segedunum, 5 miles east of Newcastle at the 'wall's end', now the Newcastle suburb of Wallsend…

  • Old Lifeboat House

    Northumberland Coast

    From the 1820s to the 1960s, Holy Island was a launching point for hundreds of dramatic lifeboat rescues. The island's last remaining lifeboat station is…

  • Warkworth Castle

    Northumberland Coast

    Looking like the ultimate sandcastle you'd see at the beach, this honey-stone edifice atop a hillock was built around 1200. From the 14th to 17th…

  • Cragside House, Garden & Woodland

    Northeast England

    Situated 1 mile northeast of Rothbury just off the B6341 is the astonishing country retreat of the first Lord Armstrong. In the 1880s the house had hot…

  • Lindisfarne Priory

    Northumberland Coast

    The skeletal, red and grey ruins of the priory are an eerie sight and give a glimpse into the isolated life of the Lindisfarne monks. The later 13th…

  • Roman Army Museum

    Northeast England

    On the site of the Carvoran Roman Fort a mile northeast of Greenhead, near Walltown Crags, this revamped museum has three galleries covering the Roman…

  • Chesters Roman Fort & Museum

    Northeast England

    This Roman cavalry fort's superbly preserved remains are set among idyllic green woods and meadows near the village of Chollerford. Originally constructed…

  • Heugh Gun Battery Museum

    Northeast England

    Atop the windswept Hartlepool Headland, about 2 miles west of the centre, you can visit the underground magazines, parade ground and panoramic observation…

  • Hexham Abbey

    Northeast England

    Dominating tiny Market Pl, Hexham's stately abbey is a marvellous example of Early English architecture. It cleverly escaped the Dissolution of 1537 by…

  • Biscuit Factory

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    No prizes for guessing what this commercial art gallery used to be. These days, it's the UK's biggest contemporary art, craft and design gallery/shop,…

  • The Sill

    Northeast England

    Built in 2017 to blend in with the landscape, with grasses and wildflowers growing on the roof, this state-of-the-art visitor centre has a permanent…

  • Newcastle Castle

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    The stronghold that put both the 'new' and 'castle' into Newcastle has been largely swallowed up by the train station, leaving only a few remaining…

  • Warkworth Hermitage

    Northumberland Coast

    Half-a-mile's walk west of Warkworth Castle (no car access), this tiny, magical 14th-century chapel is carved into the rock on the northern bank of the…

  • Angel of the North

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne

    Nicknamed the Gateshead Flasher, this extraordinary 200-tonne, rust-coloured, winged human frame has loomed over the A1 motorway some 6 miles south of…