THIS year, it’s official – there’s no better village in all of England than Allendale!

A WARM welcome awaits visitors to Bellingham – the capital of the North Tyne Valley and the gateway to Northumberland National Park.

BLANCHLAND is within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

CHOLLERTON Parish, which comprises Barrasford, Barrasford Park, Chipchase, Colwell, Swinburne, Gunnerton, Little Swinburne, Tone and Cowden and Whiteside Law, lies seven miles north of Hexham, to the east of the picturesque River North Tyne.

FALSTONE village predates the Norman Conquest and has been a place of religious significance since Anglo-Saxon times.

GREAT WHITTINGTON is an excellent base for walking, just a mile north of the Hadrian’s Wall Path and two miles from the crossroads of the A68 and the B6318 (Military Road).

GREENHEAD nestles at the west end of the Military Road which runs alongside Hadrian's Wall and is close to the Roman sites of Housesteads and Vindolanda.

IT MAY not be the centre of the universe, but when it comes to making a claim as the centre of Britain, Haltwhistle is in pole position.

A CONSERVATION village in a beautiful riverside setting, Haydon Bridge is the ideal base for walkers, cyclists and motorists visiting the many attractions in this mid-Tynedale area.

HEDDON-ON-THE-WALL has a rightful claim as being the little village with the big history.

THE Henshaw and Bardon Mill parishes are located along the southern border of the Northumberland National Park.

THE parish of Horsley is situated in one of the most scenic parts of east Tynedale and forms part of a World Heritage Site.

KIRKWHELPINGTON is a quiet historic village, with stone houses grouped around the village green opposite the 13th century church of St. Bartholomew.

NEWBROUGH village lies on the old Roman road, the Stanegate, which was originally constructed to link the Roman forts at Corbridge and Carlisle in the first century AD.

THE villages of Newton and Bywell lie within the Parish of Bywell in the Tyne Valley, three miles east of Corbridge.

THE village of Otterburn is at the heart of Redesdale, a remote upland valley steeped in history and blessed with natural beauty.

OVINGHAM is situated on the River Tyne immediately north of Prudhoe.

IT is generally accepted that the name Prudhoe derives from Proud Heights. That name has varied over centuries – Prudhow and Pruddo are shown on old maps.

BROOMHAUGH and Riding Mill lie between Stocksfield and Corbridge on the River Tyne.

THERE have been references to a settlement at Slaley since the time of the Norman Conquest. Set on a ridge six miles south of Hexham the present village of Slaley provides an excellent starting point for visitors to this part of rural Northumberland.

STAMFORDHAM, a village of about 200 households, is situated halfway between Newcastle and Hexham.

SET in woodlands and fields and edged by the Tyne, the Stocksfield Burn and the A695, Stocksfield is perhaps not a typical tourist attraction.

CROWNED by an Iron Age hill fort, the ancient ‘Weard - dun’ or watch hill overlooks the confluence of the rivers North and South Tyne and the parish of Warden.

WARK lies on a particularly beautiful stretch of the river North Tyne 12 miles north of Hexham and 14 south of Kielder Water.

WHITFIELD, the hilly parish west of Allendale, was once sold for a hawk and a pound of pepper.

THE village of Wylam straddles the River Tyne, 12 miles east of Hexham and just above the tidal reach of the river at one of the best places in the country for salmon fishing.