Corbridge, Northumberland With its ancient stone houses, market cross, shops, pubs and banks, this Northumberland village, should surely be reclassified as a town. The fact it has so much infrastructure is thanks to its past as a crossroads on busy north-south and east-west routes, from coaching days to the later half of the 20th century. Though the busiest roads now bypass its heart, Corbridge (see visitcorbridge.co.uk) is very well-connected: half an hour by car (or train) from Newcastle, 50 minutes from Carlisle and two hours from Edinburgh and Leeds. Following serious flooding last winter, much repair work has been done to restore the village’s spirit as well as its bones. There’s good walking along the banks of the Tyne, and trips back in time at Coria, the remains of Corbridge Roman Town just south of Hadrian’s Wall. Medieval Aydon Castle is also worth seeing on summer visits (it closes October-April).
