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Rothbury & Coquetdale region

The Rothbury and Coquetdale area is dominated by the harsh but beautiful landscape of the Northumberland National Park.

Nestled in this rolling moorland you'll find a selection of postcard-pretty villages like Longframlington, Thropton and Sharperton. Rothbury is the biggest of these communities and calls itself the capital of Coquetdale.

Step into Rothbury and remind yourself what most of rural England was like forty years ago. The High Street boasts a number of traditional independent shops, there is a quieter and gentler pace of life and a selection of country pubs where locals gather to exchange news and gossip.

But this quiet and respectable front masks a fairly violent past. In the 15th and 16th centuries the Coquet Valley was a pillaging ground for bands of Border Reivers who attacked and burned Rothbury.

The dale around the town is rich in other history, some of it too old to be explained fully today. The area is rich in the cup and ring marks that ancient Northumbrians carved into rocky outcrops for reasons that have been lost in time.

For a more recent historical experience, you'll find Cragside House, Gardens and Estate just two miles east of the town. An historic home and marvel of Victorian ingenuity - it was the first house in the world to be lit by hydro electricity - with miles of paths running through spectacular rocky and woodland scenery. Today it is managed by the National Trust.

Thrunton Woods, Edlingham Castle and Brinkburn Priory are wildlife-rich spots that are well worth visiting with a picnic. North of Coquetdale you will find the Breamish Valley with its cold Cheviot streams and gorse-covered hill country cradling the charming villages of Powburn and Ingram.