Rothbury

Known as the Capital of Coquetdale, Rothbury is a traditional market town built of the same mellow sandstone as the rolling hills that surround it. Sitting at the heart of Northumberland’s countryside just a short drive from Percy Wood, it is one of those small towns that has more to offer than you might expect.

The most immediate pleasure it offers is the riverside walk along the banks of the River Coquet. This gentle route is suitable for a wide variety of users including pushchairs and wheelchairs, making it a great choice for families and those looking for an easy, accessible walk with beautiful views. The riverside setting is rich in wildlife, with ducks and herons along the water and songbirds in the hedgerows. Return to Rothbury afterwards for a pub or café stop, with a number of eateries serving hot drinks, hearty meals and Sunday lunches, many of which welcome dogs.
The undisputed jewel of the area is Cragside, a National Trust property just a mile north of the town. Cragside was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectric power, using man-made lakes and underground piping. Built for Sir William Armstrong, the Newcastle inventor and armaments manufacturer, hydraulic machinery supplied water to the house, powered the lifts and rotated the spit in the kitchen, while an internal telephone system provided room-to-room communications. The house boasts some of the finest surviving Victorian interiors in the country, featuring designs by William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Philip Webb and Burne-Jones Armstrong laid out five lakes on the estate and planted over seven million trees and shrubs. Man-made lakes, tumbling waterfalls and swathes of rhododendron combine to form a fantasy mountain landscape, with towering trees in the Pinetum, weaving paths and cascades in the Rock Garden, and a formal walled garden overlooking the Coquet Valley. The gardens are at their most spectacular in late spring when tens of thousands of rhododendrons are in full bloom.

There are waymarked walks throughout the estate, a six-mile carriage drive, a café and shop at the visitor centre, and an adventure play area for children. Allow at least half a day, and a full day if you want to do justice to both the house and the grounds. National Trust members enter free.