The only problem with Northumberland (my neck of the woods) is that most of it is fairly inaccessible without a car. If going by train you would have to disembark at either Newcastle or Berwick (although there are limited services to Morpeth and Alnmouth). If, for example, you wished to visit the little church at Throckmorton where Emily Davison (she who flung herself under the king's horse) is buried, it would be impossible without a car. Actually it is sometimes impossible even with a car, as the last time I went there half way up the track my path was blocked by a herd of cows who looked suspiciously at me and refused to move, no matter how many times I blasted my horn.