The National Park’s biodiversity - the variety of life - makes it a very special place to be.
Find out more about the species and habitats, including our emblem, the curlew, the Border mires and the nationally threatened red squirrel. Special feature articles will focus on one particular aspect of our wildlife.Today, hill farming of cattle and sheep is a major influence on the landscape of the National Park. The characteristic heather moors are the product of management, either for grouse or for sheep. carefully managed for grouse shooting. Our farming pages will explain much more about the state of the countryside at the turn of the Millennium.
Northumberland National Park’s special qualities are a reflection of how the land has been used and managed by people over thousands of years. Its archaeology - from Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site in the south to a fabulous wealth of prehistoric settlements in the Cheviot Hills in the north - is unsurpassed. Unique historic buildings, like the bastles, or fortified farmhouses, are a testament to the Northumberland’s troubled border history. Many have been carefully restored in recent years by the National Park Authority and are now open for you to visit.
