Welcome to Northumberland!
Northumberland is a rural county in North East England, on the England-Scotland border. It contains one of the most picturesque and untouched stretches of coastline in the United Kingdom and contains rolling hills and low mountains in the sparsely populated interior.
Northumberland feels a world away from London and the south of England in terms of its ruggedness, sense of remoteness, its culture and its geography. It has a distinctly more Scottish feel to it than English and at its closest point is a mere 45 minutes from the Scottish capital.
Northumberland is a ceremonial county, historic county, and unitary authority in North East England. The latter has a headquarters at Morpeth. Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south, Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside to the south and southeast, and the Scottish Borders to the north. The historic county town is Alnwick. Northumberland is a predominantly rural county, with the lowest population density of any county in England. The largest settlement in the county is the town of Blyth.
The North Sea to the east of the county runs 103 kilometres (64 mi) along its coastline. Lying south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Northumberland has been the site of a number of historic battles. The county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, now largely protected as the Northumberland National Park.
County administration included Newcastle upon Tyne until 1400. The city became a county corporate, the early system was similar to the present system of unitary authorities which later became ceremonial. The historic county expanded in the Tudor period, annexing Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482, Tynedale in 1495, Tynemouth in 1536, Redesdale around 1542 and Hexhamshire in 1572. Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire were incorporated into the historic county in 1844. The Borough of North Tyneside and City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne were created with ceremonial and administrative duties transferred to Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. Northumberland County Hall officially moved from the city to Morpeth on 21 April 1981. The North of Tyne Combined Authority was established on 2 November 2018, covering the county's historic borders.