My Favourite Places to Visit in The North East
You may already know this if you've been reading my blog for a while or follow me on Instagram but I am a proud Geordie girl. I grew up in a suburb of Newcastle called Jesmond which is about a 15 minute walk from the city centre. I now live in North London in an area that's as similar to Jesmond as I could find. If you've ever visited Newcastle I'm sure you'll understand just how fun and beautiful it is. However for many people it seems to have a bit of a bad reputation.
- Photo of Bamburgh castle by Adam Burton Photography -
I've met many many people in the past that haven't visited the North East and yet they see it as an uncultured and ugly area of the UK full of party goers. A middle aged male Londoner once said to me "urgh, you're from Newcastle? I have absolutely no desire to go there, there's no draw at all" I kept my mouth closed (for once) but I was pretty offended with what he said as there are so many wonderful sights to explore in the North East.
Well, I'm here today to prove just how stunning and interesting the North East is. With its many historical sites, traditional pubs, rugged countryside and friendly people (it's true we really are as friendly as people say!) I've picked out my favourite places to visit all around the North East, so hopefully there'll be something for everyone to enjoy.
For this post I've partnered with GoCarHire (I'm using one of their fleet for our drive to Wales in a few weeks) just in case you're planning a trip up to the North East soon and want to rent a car to enjoy the scenery. In my biased view you just can't beat a trip to the North East and it's even better if you can travel by car. It's a perfect area to drive around in, tootling through the cities and countryside really is the best way to explore the area. Right, on to my top picks...
The beach at Low Newton is one of my favourites in the North East. It's a beautiful sandy beach with lots of traditional beach huts as well as an absolutely fantastic pub called the Ship Inn, they do the best locally caught crab sandwiches and smoked kippers on toast.
Alnmouth is a really pretty costal town right on the beach. There are candy coloured houses and the drive up there from Newcastle is so stunning too. I recommend having a delicious lunch at Beaches and taking it down to the beach for a picnic.
Wallington Hall is my favourite stately home to visit, it has really stunning gardens which go on and on, 13,000 acres to be precise. The rooms themselves are also beautiful too and feature a lot of the original 14th and 16th Century interiors.
Bamburgh beach is hands down my favourite beach in the North East. I love the pale sandy dunes which are perfect for skidding down! You can also visit Bamburgh castle which has a very interesting history as one of the most important castles in the UK.
It may seem like an obvious choice but Hadrian's Wall really is a pretty magical place to visit. There are so many Roman forts and settlements along the way but even if you only have an hour to spare a short walk along the wall itself is brilliant. It's very high up so it can get windy though!
I always head down to Ouseburn when I'm home, it's become a very cool and creative area of Newcastle and it's also really near the city centre too. There are lots of pubs, bars, restaurants and a few galleries too. The Cook House and the Ernest are my favourite places to eat and drink.
Jesmond Dene is where I go for some alone time and to feel relaxed, I run there every single day when I'm at home. It's a huge public park that was built by Lord Armstrong during the 1860s. The design was intended to reflect a rural setting, with woodland, crags, waterfalls and pools. There is also a water mill, a small farm and lots of magical fairy like grottos.
I hope you enjoyed my list and I hope I've inspired you to take a trip to the North East very soon.
This post was sponsored by GoCarHire. Thank you for supporting the brands that help me work on Hello Nancy. I hope you'll consider using them the next time you need to rent a car!