Allendale Cricket Club

The cricket pitch at Allendale sits in proper Northumberland countryside, a few miles south of Hexham. It's not a county ground or anything grand - just a well-maintained local club where you'll find matches on summer weekends, the kind of place that still feels like cricket belonged here before it became a televised sport.

If you're staying at one of the nearby glamping spots like Panoramic Pods or Langley Dam, and you fancy catching a game on a Saturday afternoon, this is exactly the sort of thing that makes a countryside break feel authentic rather than staged. The pavilion's basic but friendly, and there's genuine village atmosphere. Bring a deckchair, a flask of tea, and you could easily lose three hours here on a decent day.

It's worth knowing that this is genuinely local - you won't find much infrastructure or facilities beyond what the club members have built themselves over years. No café, no shop, no grandstand seating. If you turn up hoping for polished facilities, you'll be disappointed. But if you want to watch proper community cricket in the Tyne Valley, with the Pennines in the distance and about seventeen other spectators who actually know what's happening, that's exactly what you get.

Best bet is to check the club's fixture list online before you visit - there's no point driving out unless there's a match on. Summer weekends are when it matters most.