The stone of the Cheviot, the granite, the 4,000-year-old Bronze Age burial cairn on the summit, the wind, the view of the Scotland to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Lake District to the south-west, and the 1,000 square kilometres of the Northumberland National Park that is the empty below, is the most isolated point in the England. The Northumberland National Park is the least visited of the 15 English National Parks (the 1.5 million visitors a year, the Lake District receives the 16 million), and the Northumberland is the wildest and the most beautiful: the Cheviot Hills (the 2,674 feet, the oldest rocks in the England, the border with the Scotland, and the best walking in the north-east), the Hadrian’s Wall (the central section, the Steel Rigg, the Housesteads, the Sycamore Gap, the most-walked section of the wall), and the Kielder Water and the Forest (the largest man-made lake in the northern Europe, the 11 km², the Dark Sky Park, the Gold Tier, the darkest skies in the England, and the best stargazing in the UK). Here is your guide.

The Northumberland National Park

• The Hadrian’s Wall, the essential Northumberland: The Hadrian’s Wall is the UNESCO World heritage site and the most important Roman monument in the UK: the 73 miles, the coast to the coast, the AD 122, the Emperor Hadrian, the northern frontier of the Roman Empire, and the best-preserved section is in the Northumberland National Park (the Steel Rigg to the Housesteads, the 4 miles, the crags, the wall, the milecastles, and the best section of the wall). The essential Hadrian’s Wall walk: the Steel Rigg car park (the £5 for the day), the walk to the Sycamore Gap (the 30 minutes, the sycamore tree in the dip, the most photographed tree in the UK until the felling in the September 2023. The stump remains, the sapling is the replanted, and the Sycamore Gap is the still the essential stop), the Housesteads Roman Fort (the Vercovicium, the best-preserved Roman fort on the wall, the granaries, the barracks, the latrine, the best-preserved Roman latrine in the UK, and the museum. ~£10), the return along the wall, the 2 hours total, the best 2 hours in the Northumberland. The essential pub: the Twice Brewed Inn (the Steel Rigg, the pie, the ale, and the best post-walk pub in the Northumberland. ~£15 for the pie and the pint). More UK →
• The Cheviot and the Kielder, the wild Northumberland: The Cheviot walk: the 14 km from the Harthope Burn, the 5–6 hours, the 700 metres of the ascent, the summit plateau (the peat, the boardwalk, the Bronze Age cairn, and the sense of the wilderness, the walk on the Cheviot is the weather-dependent: the mist is the common, the navigation is the essential, and the essential OS Explorer map the OL16, the £9), the Harthope Linn (the waterfall, the best in the Cheviot Hills), and the essential Cheviot pub: the Barrowburn Farm Tea Room (the soup, the sandwich, the cake, and the best tea room in the Northumberland. ~£8). The Kielder Water and the Dark Sky: the Kielder is the largest man-made lake in the northern Europe, the 27 km of the shoreline, the forest, the largest working forest in the England, and the best stargazing in the UK. The essential visitor centre: the Kielder Castle (the 1775, the hunting-lodge, the exhibition, the café). The essential Kielder experience: the Kielder Observatory (the 2008, the observatory, the telescopes, the astronomer-led stargazing event, the £25, the 2 hours, and the essential evening in the Kielder. The essential booking: the 2–3 months in advance, and the winter months are the best for the darkness, the events are the 7pm–9pm)