Northumberland Historical Facts

The county of Northumberland is the least densely populated county in England, with just 62 people per square kilometre.

Legend has it, that during the Anglo-Scots wars, Scottish raiders were in the area of Blanchland Abbey, Northumberland, and so the monks of the abbey decided to pray that the abbey would be spared. After doing so a thick mist soon descended on the valley, hiding the monastry from the Scottish raiding party.

The Lord Crewe Arms Hotel in the village of Blanchland, Northumberland, has a vast fireplace where General Tom Forster hid during the Jacobite rising of 1715. His sister reputably haunts the hotel to this day.

The pretty village of Blanchland in Northumberland is mostly built from the stone of Blanchland Abbey, which was dissolved in 1539.

The county of Northumberland has more castles than any other county in England, with over 70 castle sites.

The English county of Northumberland has Europe's largest area of protected night sky - The Northumberland International Dark Sky Park, which is 572 sq miles in size. With such low levels of light pollution it is officially the best place to stargaze in England, on a clear night allowing you to see 2,000 night time objects at any one time, including the Andromeda galaxy, which is over 2.5 million light years from earth.

The famous British Landscape Architect 'Capability Brown' who is known as England's greatest gardener, was born in Kirkharle, Northumberland, in 1716. He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure today.