The Angel of the North - A symbol of North East England

From the Scottish borders to the counties of Yorkshire, North East England is a region often overlooked by tourists and natives from other parts of Great Britain. The region, often characterised by an industrial age long since past, has gone through immense change and regeneration.

To those that know the North East, there is a wealth of beauty unspoilt by large numbers of visitors. The county of Northumberland is dotted with beautiful historic towns such as Berwick on the Scottish border, Alnwick and Hexham.

It is a region of contrast. The wild beauty of the Northumberland National Park and the modern life of Newcastle. The quiet pit villages of County Durham and the historic grandeur of Durham Cathedral. The new, the old and the disused all reside in stark relief.

The real beauty of North East England is its secret. So few know what this area really has to offer.

Counties

The North East consists of the following counties:

North East England regions - Color-coded map

The county previously known as Cleveland Now unitary authorities.

County Durham

Tyne and Wear

Northumberland

Cities

Listed below are nine towns and cities that are of greatest interest to travellers:

Cities

• Durham
• Newcastle upon Tyne
• Sunderland

Towns

• Alnwick
• Darlington
• Gateshead
• Hexham
• Middlesbrough
• Stockton-on-Tees

Other destinations

• Hadrian's Wall [1] on the border with Scotland is an 80-mile long wall built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to keep the Scottish tribes out. A World Heritage site with an information centre situated at Housestead, north-west of Hexham.

• The Angel of the North - a giant copper-coloured metal angel sculpture. Next to the A1 south of Gateshead.

• Northumberland National Park [2]

• Lindisfarne - the "Holy Island"

• Captain Cook's Museum, Middlesbrough [3]

• The Metro Centre [4], one of Europe's largest shopping centres.

Understand

The North East is England's most northern and sparsely populated region. The area has a very long and bloody history, due to its proximity to Scotland and has fallen under Scottish hands at least once as the border shifted over time.

Get in

By Plane

Newcastle International Airport is a small to medium-sized airport offering both scheduled and charter flights to Europe, and domestic flights to cities such as London.

Durham Tees Valley Airport is a small airport offering scheduled and charter flights. The current scheduled flight destinations are between Amsterdam and Aberdeen.

By Road

The A1 is a major road that serves this region, running from London to Edinburgh. The A66 is a main road that connects the North-East to the North-West of England.

By Rail

The East Coast mainline passes through this region with major stations at both York, Darlington and Newcastle, there are other smaller stations which can all be viewed here.

Eat

Eating out in North East England is very much dependent on where you are. Fresh fish can be found at many of the coastal towns such as Redcar. Fast food chains, Italian, Indian and French restaurants are all common to most larger towns.

North Easterners pride themselves on serving what they argue is the best traditional English fish and chips. From the largest cities in the region to the smallest villages, the presence of a fish and chip shop and a pub are practically guaranteed.

Stay safe

Northerners are wonderfully friendly and can usually be counted on to look after those not familiar to the area. As in any large city, certain areas will not be as safe after dark . As a general rule of thumb, you should avoid travelling alone late at night.