Alston rests in the heart of the North Pennines which has now been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - 50 square miles of superb open landscape surrounded by breaktaking fells and river valleys. It has a wide variety of attractions, including the South Tynedale Railway where you can buy your ticket at the restored Victorian Station to take a leisurely ride through the beautiful scenery of the South Tyne Valley.

 

Alston sits at the crossroads of five historic trans-pennine routes and four of these roads climb to around 2,000ft passing through breathtaking scenery. It is an ideal starting point from which to explore the Lake District, rural Northumberland, Hadrians Wall, The Scottish Borders and the Durham Dales. It is the ideal walking country, with many footpaths criss-crossing the area, the most famous being the Pennine Way. The Sustrans PW 68 and C2C 7 cycle ways pass within 400 yards of Greycroft. The views from the top of Hartside Pass on the A686 are said to be the best in Britain.

 

Step into the past - walk around the cobbled streets of Alston - the Market Square has been the setting for both the Jane Eyre Oliver Twist films and the area has also been used for a number of Catherine Cookson films.

 

For more information about Alston see the Visit Cumbria website or our Cybermoor community website.

 

For help on local transport, please telephone our local bus company Wright Brothers, Tel. 01434 381200 or Henderson's Garage for a day time taxi service, Tel. 01434 381204.

 

sunrise at Greycroft