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You are here > Home > Things to Do > North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

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Add North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to your Itinerary

Autumn hills at North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
  • Autumn hills at North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
  • North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty  Guided Walk: Two Hills
  • The purple heather in the Durham Dales North Pennines
  • Spring in the North Pennines

About

The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), incorporates much of the Durham Dales, and is a stunning landscape of open heather moors, dramatic dales, tumbling upland rivers, wonderful woods, close-knit communities, glorious waterfalls, fantastic birds, colourful hay meadows, stone-built villages, intriguing imprints of a mining and industrial past, distinctive plants and much, much more.

As well as being an AONB the North Pennines is also a UNESCO Global Geopark – an accolade awarded to areas across the world with outstanding geology. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are recognised as the equal of our National Parks and were established with the purpose of conserving and enhancing natural beauty so you'll be sure of finding some spectacular landscapes with plenty of opportunities to explore on foot and on bikes.

The Bowlees Visitor Centre is run by the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership. Nestled within the North Pennines it's a great place for finding out more about the area's history, its people, its landscape and the wonderful wildlife found here.

The centre's knowledgeable staff, including botanists and archaeologists, can explain just what makes this landscape so special.

Whatever your interest, we can find a walk to suit you. And with the legendary Pennine Way, and the stunning High and Low Force waterfalls as its neighbours, there's plenty of choice.

So welcome to the North Pennines, a place where you can stretch your legs, spread your wings and explore one of the finest landscapes in England. This place has inspired many of Britain's most famous artists, writers and people of ideas for centuries. Come and let it inspire you too!

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Awards

  • Green AwardsGreen Tourism Business Scheme - Gold Green Tourism Business Scheme - Gold 2014

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Access Information

Opening Times

Open all year (1 Jan 2021 - 31 Dec 2022)

Map & Directions

Map Link

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Highlights...

Waterfall at Gibson's Cave, situated nearby to Bowlees Visitor CentreBowlees Picnic Area, NewbigginThe picnic area is in a sheltered side valley of Teesdale. There are 4 waterfalls in the site and more falls alongside a footpath to Gibson's Cave.

Bowlees Bowlees Visitor Centre, NewbigginSituated amidst stunning woodland, near to Low and High Force waterfalls and surrounded by rolling fields that boast some of the best hay meadows in England, Bowlees Visitor Centre has all you need to make your visit to the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty a memorable one.

Stargazing in the North Pennines, StanhopeSome of the darkest skies in England are found in the North Pennines. Much of the area is remote, wild countryside with little development and the views of the night sky are second to none.

Hexham AbbeyThe Way of Light, HexhamWelcome to a breath-taking trail that transports you from the dawn of Christianity through to contemporary pilgrimage via Dark Ages battles that changed a region’s faith, abbeys that matched Rome for majesty and a stunning seminary that taught England ’s leading ecclesiastics.

Waterfall at Gibson's Cave, situated nearby to Bowlees Visitor CentreBowlees Visitor Centre to Gibsons Cave, NewbigginCenturies ago Viking invaders and settlers left their mark in the local dialect words of the Durham Dales. The Old Norse word “foss” referred to a waterfall and still it echoes down the ages in the modern word “force”. Close to Bowlees Visitor Centre a short walk leads to the local beauty spot of…

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