Northumberland

The population of this county is around 300,600 and it has an area of 2,019 square mile (5,229 sq km). Located in the North East of England it is the northernmost of the English counties. It is separated from Scotland by the Cheviot Hills and the Tweed River, and borders the North Sea. The county town is Alnwick.

In Northumberland there are the popular towns of Bamburgh and Blyth.

 

Geography

The terrain is level along the rugged coastline and hilly in the centre, where high moor lands alternate with fertile valleys. The major rivers are the Tyne, the Derwent, the Wansbeck, the Till, the Alno, and the Coquet.

 

Industry

Previously the major economy was coal mining, shipping, shipbuilding and repairing, and the production of heavy electrical machinery, but these have suffered a heavy decline. Tourism is now a major part of the local economy. Agriculture, especially, sheep and cattle are an important agricultural part of the area’s industry.

 

History

Hadrian's Wall was built in Roman times and runs for miles across the county. In the 6th century the Angles established the kingdom of Northumbria. This Kingdom, once the most cultured of the Island, destroyed itself with a vicious period of civil wars between the Kingdoms of Bernica and Northumbria, and was so weakened that it fell easily first, to the Kingdom of Mercia and later to the Viking invasions. The area suffered severely during the border wars between England and Scotland, being often invaded and destroyed by the Scots.