This week we round up some of our stories about the beauty and heritage of Northumberland.
The imposing Bamburgh castle could well be Britain's most-photographed, due to its stunning location on the wild Northumberland coast. With the stretch of sand in the foreground, it has been used in many films and television programmes as a backdrop for stories of invasion or battle.
Great stately homes in Britain generally have impressive gardens around them. Alnwick Castle, seat of the Duke of Northumberland, between Newcastle and the Scottish Border, has something distinctively extra in that regard - a poison garden, dedicated entirely to flora which are deadly and/or narcotic.
The Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum in Morpeth, Northumberland is the very first bagpipe museum in the UK - featuring over 120 sets of bagpipes from Spain, France, and several other countries.
Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, just off the Northumberland coast, is a tidal island - with a causeway that is cut off at high tide. This beauty spot boasts an ancient priory, a castle, various pubs and cafes, and fantastic views.
Jimmy Allen (or Allan) (1734–1810) was a Gypsy player of the Northumbrian smallpipes, who was born near Rothbury in Northumberland, and became famous for his musical skill amongst a chequered life of thieving and cheating, which left him to die in jail.
The Lindisfarne Gospels is an illuminated manuscript created around 700 AD at the famous religious community of Holy Island off the Northumberland coast. It is regarded as a historical marvel representing Anglo-Saxon art, culture and religion, and is now kept in the British Library in London.
