Regional Guide
A Weekend in the North East
The beauty of a North East weekend is the contrast. In two days you can pair a genuinely great city on the Tyne with one of the most dramatic castle coastlines in Britain, and never spend more than an hour getting between them. Here is our suggested two-day itinerary for first-timers, built around a base in Newcastle, with easy ways to swap in Roman history, the outdoors or a family angle. Treat it as a starting point and bend it to suit; always check opening times and book ahead for the big attractions.
Day one
Newcastle & Gateshead: culture on the Tyne
Morning
Start on the Quayside, where the tilting Gateshead Millennium Bridge links Newcastle to the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (free, with a top-floor river view) and The Glasshouse music centre. Walk the historic Quayside and up into Grainger Town to see some of the finest Georgian streets in England.
Afternoon
Choose your culture: the Great North Museum and the city's galleries, or head just out of town to stand beneath Antony Gormley's Angel of the North. Families should point straight at the Life Science Centre.
Day two
The Northumberland coast & castles
Morning
Head north to Alnwick for Alnwick Castle and The Alnwick Garden, a castle-and-garden double bill that easily fills a morning (and a full day with children). Alnmouth station is on the main line if you are travelling by train.
Afternoon
Carry on to the coast for Bamburgh Castle rising above its vast beach, or the walk from the fishing village of Craster out to romantic, ruined Dunstanburgh. This is the heart of the Northumberland coast, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty of huge empty sands.
Evening
Watch the light go from the coast, then head back. If you are not rushing home, the villages around Seahouses and Bamburgh make a lovely overnight, or return to the buzz of the Tyne. Closer to the city, the coast at Tynemouth and Whitley Bay is a short Metro ride and full of good places to eat.
Swap it out
Same city base, a different day two to suit your group.
Make it a history weekend
Hadrian's Wall & Hexham
Swap the coast for the Roman frontier. Base yourself around Hexham and spend day two at Housesteads and Vindolanda, the best-preserved forts on the wildest stretch of Hadrian's Wall, with a walk along the crags in between.
Our Hadrian's Wall guide→Make it an outdoors weekend
Kielder & the Cheviots
Trade the city for big country. Head into Northumberland National Park, or out to Kielder Water & Forest Park for cycling and watersports by day and world-class dark-sky stargazing after dark.
Best walks in the region→Make it a family weekend
Across the region
Pitch it younger with beaches, farm parks, Beamish living museum and the Life Science Centre. Our family guide rounds up the days out that keep all ages happy.
Family days out guide→Make it a long weekend
Three days? Add one of these.
Durham
County Durham
A compact, beautiful city built around its UNESCO-listed cathedral and castle on a wooded bend of the Wear. Easy to add on the way in or out from the south.
Beamish
County Durham
Give a full day to the Living Museum of the North, where costumed streets, working trams and period shops recreate the region across the 1820s, 1900s and 1950s.
More big days out→A Farne Islands boat trip
Seahouses, Northumberland
From Seahouses, sail out to the Farnes' seabird city of puffins and terns and its grey seal colony. Best from late spring through summer for the breeding birds.
Practical tips
Getting around.The Tyne and Wear Metro links Newcastle, Gateshead and the coast, so you can do the city and a coastal day car-free. For the castle coast, Hadrian's Wall and the countryside, a car is far more practical. Trains run up the coast to Alnmouth (for Alnwick) and Berwick.
Where to stay.Newcastle makes the best all-round base for a weekend, with the coast a short ride away. For a coast-and-castles focus, stay near Alnwick, Bamburgh or Seahouses; for Hadrian's Wall, base yourself around Hexham.
When to go. Late spring to early autumn brings the best weather, long light evenings and the Farne Islands seabird season. Winter is quieter and wonderfully atmospheric on the coast; just wrap up for the wind.
Plan & book your visit
- Find places to stay in the North East→— Newcastle bases, coastal boltholes & more
- Book tours & attraction tickets→— castles, boat trips, Beamish & more
Plan the rest of your trip
See the full picture in our guide to things to do in the North East, or dig into the castles, beaches and best days out, and check what is on this weekend.