Northumberland National Parkis the most northerly park in England and covers 1030 km2. It is entirely within the county of Northumberland.
There are two main geographical areas within the park. The Cheviot hills to the north and Kielder Forest to the South West. The park is generally very quiet, it gets very few visitors compared to some of its more famous neighbours like the Lake District National Park.
The park was designated in 1956 and since then has steadily become more and more user friendly with visitor centres and programs to involve and educate visitors.
The landscape is typically moorland, heather and conifer plantations. The Kielder reservoir is the largest body of water. Just over 70% of the area is open moorland. Heather is very common and approximately 20% of the park is heather moorland which gives beautiful autumn displays.This heather moorland is largely unique to the United Kingdom and recently there has been considerable habitat improvement with grouse moor management schemes.
The park has red and roe deer, foxes, and badgers, while small mammals are very common. However the bird population is truly amazing. The open habitats host many different species including black grouse, curlew, merlin, and red grouse. Along the valleys are heron and kingfisher.
Generally wet and windy. The north easterly gales sweeping in off the Atlantic are a common feature of the area.
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- Hadrian's Wall, UNESCO site from Roman times.
- Cheviot Hills and surrounding area with Hill forts and wide open moorland.
- Redesdale Valley and Border reiver history.
- Visit the many medieval castles.
- Walking
- Riding
- Visit markets and fairs
- Bird watching
- Shooting and hunting
- Cycling
There are many craft shops and some woolen mills converted to sell clothing and related items.
Local food as expected centres around the rich landscape and game. So you get meat and fish dishes.
Northumberland brewery provides local ale.
The official national park details are here .