Newcastle Chapter Explores Northumberland

 Travel Massive Newcastle chapter leader, Kate Brennan, headed to Northumberland National Park with a group of 8 travel industry professionals to explore the beautiful nature of Northumberland.

A group of eight Travel Massive members (bloggers and a member of Round Table Solutions PR) set off from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne for an adventure in Northumberland National Park. Our sponsor for the day was Northumberland National Park (NNP) who provided transportation, food and entry to all sites. Duncan, the tour guide of NNP briefed us at each part in our tour.

Our schedule for the day was fantastic. We were all buzzing with excitement as we reached our first stop in Rothbury.

Here we heard about the National Park and all of the amazing events and activities you can do. Its a famous cycle route so we tested electric bikes and went to see Tomlinson’s Bunkhouse; a hub for keen cyclists.

From there we went to Simonside Hills to see incredible landscapes and hear about mysterious prehistoric cup and ring marks.

We then ventured to the heart of Northumberland National Park. Greenhaugh was our stop for lunch after passing ancient castle ruins, bastles and an old lime kiln. Holly Bush Inn provided delicious heart warming food and the comfort of a log fire.

Next up, we headed to Mestival, a muddy assault course and festival village in the grounds of Hesleyside Hall. The rain came down and we did get a bit soggy at this point but the more mud, the better here. Our spirits were never dampened by the drizzle and we ended on a high at Battlesteads Observatory. We learned from a Physicist who runs the sessions there about the international dark sky status that Northumberland has and that there have even been aurora viewings in North East England. They are eco-friendly with solar power and have red LED lights to eliminate light pollution. They even own a big vegetable garden to supply the restaurant with fresh and local produce. The small businesses pride and the passion of the people we met definitely shined that day.

I think we all fell in love with Northumberland National Park and many of us have returned since.

To learn more about our wonderful visit to the Northumberland National Park, take a look at this photo packed post written by myself over at www.thiscouldleadtoanywhere.com. 

Overall, the event was a huge success with lots of social media posts on the day, blog posts afterwards and many of us falling in love with our region yet again!

Kate Brennan has a love for travel, people and cultures around the world, food, cocktails and laughter. She is a travel blogger and the Founder of Newcastle Travel Massive.