North East England is a place of contrast. The right-hand side is seaside and the left-hand side heathery hills and moody mountains with the famous World Heritage Site Hadrian's Wall running right through the middle.

The result? There’s lots to do, both indoors and out. Sparkling cities like NewcastleGateshead and Durham are thriving with lots of shopping and plenty of nightlife. Bustling market towns and pretty villages are scattered around the region.

 

North East England can lay claim to being The Cradle of English Christianity - St Aidan came to Holy Island in AD635 and English history was first written by Bede, at Jarrow. There’s also Durham, with "the finest Norman Cathedral in the world".

It has been home to pioneers across the centuries. The world’s first public railway steamed into lifehere and the award-winning Gateshead Millennium Bridge is one of the world’s most celebrated pieces of architecture. Characters! The North East is filled with them! Naturally friendly, people will make time to tell you about the place that fills them with pride. Enjoy a taste of British life here and you can be guaranteed of a truly passionate experience in North East England.

 

County Durham - rich, varied and full of surprises

The Land of the Prince Bishops has it all, from World Heritage Sites to world-class cricket - and a vibrant café culture too. Upper Teesdale in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is home to England's highest waterfall, High Force. Or you can go underground in Killhope Museum's leadmines, in Upper Weardale. High House Chapel is the oldest in the world to hold continuous weekly services, and the whole area offers wonderful walking: part of the Pennine Way passes through Teesdale, or you can spot wildflowers and sculptures on Durham Heritage Coast

At Barnard Castle on the banks of the Tees, you can explore the romantic ruins which gave the town its name as well as the sumptuous Bowes Museum and the medieval Raby Castle with its majestic deer park. Durham Cathedral - considered by Bill Bryson to be 'the best cathedral on Planet Earth', is a World Heritage Site together with the nearby Durham Castle. Durham City has fascinatingly individual shops and restaurants, as well as the Gala Theatre and Cinema and a unique Oriental Museum.

You can catch a tram and eat old-fashioned sweets at Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum. There's world-class cricket at Durham County Cricket Ground, and rail enthusiasts can see over 60 vehicles at Locomotion in Shildon. Not far away, Harperley POW Camp, once home to 1500 WWII prisoners, is now an amazing museum with a restaurant, farm shop and play area.

Unwind in wide, wide spaces and on long, long beaches; explore grand castles and charming market towns, hear echoes of Roman legionaries and the silence of green forests. Northumberland's peaceful nature belies a turbulent past: there more castles here than anywhere else in England. Some are still lived in, such as Alnwick, familiar as Harry Potter's Hogwarts School, while others are romantic ruins. Much of the 1900-year-old Hadrian's Wall still stands, and its route is now a World Heritage Site and National Trail.

Walkers and picnickers can enjoy Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty at the North Pennines and Northumberland Coast, and the rolling Cheviot Hills in the Northumberland National Park. You can also sit in a Skyspace and get lost in a maze, two of the fascinating sculptures around Kielder Water and Forest - Ford and Etal are delightful villages linked by a miniature railway, while Blanchland is one of England's oldest and prettiest villages. Hexham has a lively market and Corbridge is a must for unique gifts. Morpeth has a bagpipe museum, and you must see the wonderful views of the coastline from Berwick's magnificent Elizabethan walls.

Holy Island is cut off by the tide twice a day, and in its Heritage Centre you can 'turn the pages' of the Lindisfarne Gospels on computer. Go puffin and seal spotting around the Farne Islands on a boat trip from Amble or Seahouses. or escape to the coastal retreats of Beadnell, Alnmouth and Druridge Bay. Add them to your itinerary - and don't leave without sampling a fresh crab sandwich!

Tees Valley - seaside and countryside in perfect combination

Prepare yourself for a day at the coast, a day in the country and a day at the shops, as well as tales of smugglers, explorers and wild adventure! Master seafarer Captain James Cook was born in Middlesbrough in 1728. You can learn about his adventures at his birthplace museum in Stewart Park, and visit a full-size replica of HM Bark Endeavour - the ship in which he sailed the South Seas - at nearby Stockton.

At Hartlepool Maritime Experience, an 18th century seaport recreates life at the time of the Battle of Trafalgar. Step aboard HMS Trincomalee, Britain's oldest warship still afloat - you'll wonder how 200 men lived in such a small space! For the darker exploits of maritime life, visit Saltburn Smugglers Heritage Centre - if you dare! There are golden sands at Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea (take a ride on Saltburn's Victorian cliff lift, the only water-balanced one in Britain), while Boulby Cliffs rise almost 700 feet, the highest on England's East Coast.

Darlington Railway Centre and Museum houses Stephenson's iconic Locomotion No.1 and you can try white water rafting at Teesside White Water Course - beginners are welcome and very safe! Or get away from it all amidst lush green fields and meandering streams - climb Roseberry Topping for fabulous views of Tees Valley Need any excuse to dress to impress? Hit the boutiques of Yarm and take in a show at Darlington's Civic Theatre or live music on a summer evening at the National Trust's Ormesby Hall.

This is the place for dazzling city life, vibrant culture and great shopping as well as the fun of the coast.

NewcastleGateshead has enough museums, shops and galleries to keep you busy all week - not to mention café-bars to entertain you into the night. Book accommodation online and you won't have far to go afterwards! Stroll down elegant Georgian Grey Street to the Quayside and the Norman castle keep which gave the city its name. Opposite, on Gateshead Quays, are the billowing curves of The Sage Gateshead international music venue, and BALTIC, the Centre for Contemporary Art. Reach them on foot via the spectacular Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

Award-winning beaches and peaceful countryside are surprisingly close. Gibside estate has riverside walks and a beautiful Palladian Chapel, and there are great family attractions - in the Blue Reef Aquarium you can walk under sharks! - and the dramatic ruins of Tynemouth Priory and Castle. Take a picnic courtesy of our many farmers' markets.

Catherine Cookson fans will find an exhibition of her life and times at South Shields Museum and Art Gallery. Children can try archaeology at Arbeia Roman Fort or meet the animals on Bede's World's Anglo-Saxon farm, beside the site of the monastery where the saint lived.

Love glass and shopping? Sunderland's National Glass Centre stocks pieces by Europe's finest contemporary glassmakers. Exotic plants thrive in the city's Winter Gardens, centrepiece of the Victorian Mowbray Park, and you can book West End show tickets online for the Sunderland Empire, a classic Edwardian theatre.