Out and about

One of the advantages of Firwood Bed and Breakfast is that if you are walking the Cheviot in Northumberland, you can leave your car here and walk up the road into Harthope Valley and on to the Cheviot. Or meander round the many circular walks from the valley bottom to the higher ground alongside, taking in the popular beauty spot of Happy Valley. If you are a keen bird watcher (or even if you are not!) you won’t be disappointed at the diversity, from the Northumberland National Park emblem of the curlew to woodpeckers and red legged partridge. Birdwatch Northumbria introduces the birds of Northumberland with a programme of guided events throughout the year that include day tours of the Cheviots, Holy Island and the north Northumberland coast. See their website for details. www.birdwatchnorthumbria.co.uk

A word about the Attractions

300 years of border warfare left this part of England with a legacy of fortified houses and castles. Bamburgh, perched on a craggy outcrop of rock, is dramatic whilst Alnwick Castle remains home to the Duke of Northumberland. The famous Alnwick Garden is an easy drive away as is the Holy Island of Lindisfarne - a beautiful and remote place. Then there are the Farne Isles, what can one say? Puffins, birds galore, seals........ It is also safe to say that Wooler is an ideal central base for visiting any of the places mentioned and a lot more not!

What to find in the local towns and villages

The main market towns nearby are Berwick and Alnwick. Berwick is the only remaining town in Britain to have a complete circle of Elizabethan town walls - do walk around the embankments. Visit the Barracks, England's first purpose-built army accommodation - and home to the King's Own Scottish Borderers until 1963.

Alnwick is a charming Northumberland town of sandstone buildings dominated by the castle, some of which dates from the 12th century. Along the Northumberland Heritage coast, much of which is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, there are the small towns of Seahouses, a bustling busy place, where you catch the boat trip to the Farnes and Craster, still famous for kippers and the starting point for a walk to the haunting ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle.

Further down the coast, Alnmouth is a pretty and interesting little village, resting on the estuary of the River Aln. Coming a little further inland, Warkworth Castle is an English Heritage site and Warkworth is one of the jewels in the Northumberland crown. Dominated by the massive medieval keep, the view along Main Street is one of the finest in the country. Four things stand out at Warkworth above all others, the Castle, the Norman bridge, the Church and the Hermitage.

Just a few miles away there is Ford & Etal Estates - home to a steam railway, working corn-mill and stone-age henge reconstruction...

To find out loads more about the Northumberland area try this link.