Haydon Bridge in Northumberland(Image: TimMcGuinness/ChronicleLive)
Lovely villages near Newcastle offering escape from city life within minutes
From popular country idylls to tucked-away surprises, these 15 spots, just a short distance from Newcastle, have attractions to surprise Geordies and visitors alike
With links ranging from historic rebellions to industrial heritage and from smugglers to famous authors, there are fascinating local villages to explore within just a short distance from Newcastle.
And many of them may well hold surprises for North East residents, never mind visitors from further afield. We have rounded up just a selection of villages which offer an easy escape to those who live in the heart of the city as well as a change of scene - and often a change of pace too - away from the urban buzz.
Among them are some more familiar visitor destinations, such as Craster in Northumberland - famed for its kippers - and Blanchland, with that link to the Jacobite rebellion, but also some lesser-known 'hidden gem' suggestions which have some unique charms for visitors to explore. They include villages around County Durham, Gateshead and South Tyneside too.
For instance - for those interested in history - there are signs of the old Bowes Railway to be noted in Springwell village in Gateshead while coastal spots of Whitburn and Marsden have stories to tell about - respectively - Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll and the ghostly aftermath of a brandy and tobacco smuggling trade. Check out villages with links to famous poets and artists too as well as those with stunning surroundings perfect for longer walks.
Blanchland - Northumberland. Within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the picturesque village was apparently named after the white habits of the monks who founded Blanchland Abbey. St Mary's Church is picture-postcard perfect while its pub The Lord Crewe Arms has a well-known reputation for being haunted. Dating back to the 12th Century, the pub is said to have been a hiding place for Jacobite rebellion leader Tom Foster who sneaked behind the inn’s great fireplace in 1715. Now fireside cooking is more its thing with a focus upon seasonal offerings from its North Pennines vegetable garden and chef’s smokehouse
Haydon Bridge - Northumberland. With the world heritage site of Hadrian's Wall and a National Park on its doorstep, you know you're in for some beautiful scenery at the very least if you take a drive out to this village in the South Tyne valley. Besides its day-out attractions of village pubs and river walks - and there's an Anchor Hotel inn on the riverside which combines both - there are such quirky venues as Mr George's Museum of Time, featuring timepieces, keys, tools and parts dating from the 18th to the 20th century, in Ratcliffe Road - which is where poet Philip Larkin is said to have holidayed with his girlfriend. John Martin, the Victorian artist of apocalyptic scenes - which you may well have seen at Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle - was born at a cottage at East Land Ends in the village in 1789 and the community centre has some reproductions of his paintings. For more about the village, which is just four miles away from The Sill: The National Landscape Discovery Centre, see here
Bothal - Northumberland. This pretty little village between Morpeth and Ashington seems steeped in time, boasting a castle and the ancient 12th Century Church of St Andrew. Also worth seeing are the remains of a watermill whose waterwheel was in use until the First World War while there are plenty of scenic walks to be enjoyed in the woods and around stepping stones over the River Wansbeck(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)