What are the pros and cons of living in Northumberland?

Question

My partner and I are looking to relocate this time next year from our current location in Birmingham, UK. His company has an office in Newcastle, and we came across some information for Morpeth, Alnwick, Hexham and Berwick-upon-Tweed in our searches. However, we haven't been able to find any practical information about living in Northumberland. The transport links seem decent to major cities, but what about getting around the villages? What are the people/area/shopping/restaurants/etc like? Are there good schools? Is it really that much colder in the winter? If you live in Northumberland, we'd love to hear what you think the best (and worst) things about living in your area are. Cheers!

Answer 1

Northumberland is the most sparsely populated county in England. That's either good or bad depending on your point of view! It's also a very big county, and Berwick to Newcastle is one heck of a commute (by car, at least - there is a frequent and very fast train service that takes less than 45 minutes).

The main north-south road, the A1, is single carriageway for much of the way and can get very congested at peak times.

Northumberland has some great scenery, and some lovely picturesque villages, but it can get very cold in winter.

Ultimately it comes down to whether you prefer city life or rural living. I don't think Northumberland is any cheaper than Newcastle from a cost of living point of view.

Answer 2

I don't live IN Northumberland (indeed, i live just south of county durham) but I visit a lot. If he's working in Newcastle, don't consider much further North of Alnwick - which is about 1hr from Newcastle. THe East Coast line runs Newcaslte-Morpeth-Alnmouth-BErwick-Edinb... through northumberland, buses are great too! (Thats how i get there).

Arriva run the main 501/505 service from Newcastle to Alnwick, then north to the Coast (Seahouses, Bamburgh), Belford & Berwick. Travelsure are the main provider of the smaller vilagey routes. The people are usually lovely (its the North East, so expected i suppose =D) The area is lovely, lovely scenery, mainly pretty villages and small towns. The shopping is OK. Morpeth has a Morrisons, Alnwick a Morrisons & Sainsburys. Berwick has Morrisons & Somerfield. Some of the villages like Belford & Seahouses have co-ops too. Never really eat up there (although pinnacles in Seahouses do nice chips!). The schools work on a Three-Tier system if i recall correctly, AND YES it can be cold in the winter (although February has some days where the temperature was more like 20 degrees).

The worst thing about Northumberland for me is how isolated you can be, however the scenery is fantastic - and for me without a car, the bus services are pretty good