Four North East walks among some of the best in the country, research shows

The North East has performed very strongly in a recent poll of the UK's favourite walks by Which?, with one in the top ten and four in the top fifteen nationally.

Sycamore Gap in Northumberland was rated best in the region, coming in at eighth for the whole of the UK, while the walk between Craster, Dunstanburgh and Low Newton Circuit and Housesteads to Steel Rigg ranked eleventh and twelfth respectively. The walk from Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay came thirteenth.

Meanwhile the High Force and Low Force walk in the Durham Dales was placed nineteenth in the overall rankings.

The walks are amongst more than fifty of the UK's most popular which can be completed in less than a day - meaning they're thirteen miles or shorter.

All of the contenders were given rankings for several different factors, including difficulty, scenery and wildlife by the more than 1800 people who took part in December of last year.

The best in the North East, Sycamore Gap - famous for a single sycamore tree standing between two hills and its route along Hadrians Wall - got a five-out-of-five for scenery and four stars for interest.

It also has a longer, eight-mile route, for people wanting more of a challenge but the shorter option still takes in the ancient wall and goes past the Housesteads Roman Fort.

Slightly further afield, Malham Cove and Gordale Scar in Yorkshire and the Humber was voted best in the country.