County Durham

County Durham is a varied (and underrated) place. There is wonderfully wild and open moorland, often silent except for the distant calls of curlew and lapwings. The coastline is dramatic and geologically fascinating. And of course there is Durham itself, where university students live in a castle in the shadow of one of the finest cathedrals in Europe.

| Where to go?

I’m a landscape photographer by preference, but it’s Beamish Open Air Museum that gets my vote in County Durham. The museum is a wonderful collection of northern buildings and artefacts from the past two hundred years. The latest addition is the 1950s town, complete with cinema, hairdressers and fish and chip shop. Photographically it’s a delight, with lots of interesting things to shoot – including people in period dress.

If I had to pick a landscape, it would have to be Teesdale. The moors are wild and compelling, and there are waterfalls to shoot including the mighty Cauldron Snout and spectacular High Force.