Hotels in Northumberland

Where you sleep in Northumberland matters more than in most counties, because distances are long and the roads are slow. The county measures around 70 miles top to bottom and the A1 is single carriageway for much of it, so a base chosen badly can mean two hours of driving on days you would rather be walking.

For a first visit, the stretch of coast between Alnmouth and Bamburgh is the safest bet. Bamburgh itself commands the highest prices on the coast — you are paying for the castle view and the short walk to the sand — and its handful of rooms sell out for school holidays six months ahead. Seahouses, a mile and a half south, is less pretty but cheaper and better set up for families, with the Farne Islands boats leaving from the harbour. Alnwick suits couples and anyone travelling without a car, since Alnmouth station is four miles away on the main line and the town itself has enough restaurants and pubs to fill several evenings.

Walkers heading for Hadrian's Wall should base themselves at Hexham, Haltwhistle or one of the villages on the Military Road rather than on the coast; the drive between the two is an hour and a half each way. Hexham has the widest choice and a station on the Tyne Valley line. For the Cheviots and Simonside, Rothbury and the Coquet valley put you at the trailheads.

Expect to pay from about £110 a night for a decent double inland and £140 upwards on the coast in summer, with country-house hotels and the better restored inns running £180 to £250. Rates drop sharply from November to March, when some coastal places close altogether. Book by January for July and August on the coast, and note that anywhere within sight of Bamburgh Castle or with a Holy Island view charges a premium for it. Midweek stays out of season are consistently the best value the county offers.