Discover Northumberland

The Old Rectory is located in the quiet village of Howick. The village is part of the Howick Estate, which also features Howick Hall Gardens and Arboretum, a short walk away. Explore the gardens and view the church where the first Earl Grey, reformer and creator of the eponymous Earl Grey tea is buried. Take the long walk from the Hall gardens down through the arboretum, past the garden pond to the Coast.

Howick Haven is a beautiful calm beach just 400 yards walk away. From there you can follow the coast path south past wide white sand beaches to Boulmer, or north along the crags to Craster.

Craster is a quaint fishing village famous for its smoked kippers and the start of a lovely walk north along the coast to the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle.

Inland you can visit Alnwick, home to Alnwick Castle, of Downton Abbey and Harry Potter fame, and the wonderful contemporary Alnwick Garden featuring the Treehouse restaurant. In the town is also Bailiffgate Museum and one of the country’s largest second-hand book shops, Barter Books.

A slightly longer drive away you can explore the seaside village of Alnmouth, Warkworth Castle, and Amble to the South, and Seahouses, gateway to the Farne Islands, Chillingham Castle and Bamburgh Castle to the North. Visitors also shouldn’t miss Holy Island and the Elizabethan fortifications of Berwick –upon-Tweed.

Our night skies at Howick are spectacular and the aurora borealis can sometimes be seen to the north along the coast. For the ultimate star-gazing experience visit the Kielder Observatory, set within the Northumberland International Dark Sky Park.

From the gardens at Howick we often see pheasants and grouse, red squirrels, deer, barn owls and other birds of prey, woodpeckers and hare. Northumberland as a whole is a wild-life watcher’s paradise, especially the Farne Islands with puffins and rare roseate terns, and Northumberland National Park and Kielder Water and Forest Park, where Ospreys nest, otters play and water voles are being reintroduced.

Information about all of these attractions and activities, and a lot more, can be found at www.visitnorthumberland.com