Wooler

Half-forgotten hilltop settlements and ancient rock carvings dot the moorland around this small Northumberland market town. Wooler sits at the foot of the Cheviot Hills, close enough to the Scottish border that you can almost feel the weight of centuries-old feuds in the bracken-covered slopes. The town itself is unpretentious - a proper working place rather than a tourist honey trap.

Ad Gefrin Museum tells the story of the Anglo-Saxon royal palace that once stood nearby, bringing to life a time when kings ruled from these windswept hills. Beyond the town, Weetwood Moor Stone Age Rock Art offers a glimpse even further back - mysterious cup and ring marks carved into stone by people who lived here 4,000 years ago. It's a bit of a trek across the moor, but well worth it for anyone interested in our prehistoric past.

Climbing Heddon Hill or Dod Law rewards you with cracking views across the Cheviot range and down towards the coast. On clear days you can see all the way to the Northumberland beaches. The countryside here feels vast and empty - just sheep, stone walls, and the occasional walker following the ancient drove roads.

Getting here means driving, really. Berwick-upon-Tweed is the nearest proper town with a railway station, about 20 miles north. From there it's a scenic drive through rolling farmland and past small villages that time seems to have passed by.

Staying at one of the nearby holiday parks like Riverside Wooler Holiday Park puts you right on the doorstep of this walking country. You're perfectly placed to explore both the Cheviot Hills and make day trips to the magnificent Northumberland coast, which is only half an hour's drive east.