The birthplace of English Christianity, Holy Island, sits just off the Northumberland coast and attracts 21st Century pilgrims in their thousands determined to beat the tide (making the island inaccessible for 11 out of every 24 hours) to visit the home to St Cuthbert, whose remains now rest in Durham cathedral. A tiny place stuffed with treasures, Holy Island's size belies its international stature in the Christian faith.
Cuthbert's most famous protege, the Venerable Bede, is also the catalyst for the UK's bid to achieve world heritage site status in 2009 for the twin Anglo-Saxon monasteries of Wearmouth-Jarrow - the seventh century scholar's home and then one of the most influential learning and cultural institutions in the western world.
Pilgrims of another sort come to digest the amazing civil engineering feat that is Hadrian's Wall. The remains of this 2000-year-old barrier (and also a world heritage site) which defined the northern frontier of Rome's huge empire is dotted with hardened sheep and ancient settlements and forts, the most well-preserved being open to the public. It often gives a fascinating peep into a bygone way of life.
Protection and vulnerability has been the key to some of the region's treasures: the coastline seems so littered with castles that one can become almost blasé - that is, until you visit them. Atmospheric, often chilly (and many in ruins), but always spectacular, the views will make your heart soar and your blood run faster.
Highlights include Bamburgh Castle, with views over the Farne Islands and Holy Island and often a game of cricket at its feet; Alnwick Castle, home of Alnwick Garden and its ramparts and swathes of green that is forever encapsulated on the big screen as its alter-ego, Hogwarts; and the 900-year-old Durham castle and cathedral. All of these are landmarks that dominate the region's skyline and make an indelible impression on anyone who has the good fortune of visiting them.
The north-east's industrial past will never be forgotten, and while that past is made permanent in the form of museums, its indelible mark can be seen simply by taking a closer look at the landscape that has shaped the region's identity and its people. The railways, coal and lead mining, and the maritime industries (a replica of HM Bark Endeavour, the ship of Middlesbrough's famous son, seafarer Captain James Cook, is moored in Stockton on Tees) have etched themselves into the history of the area.
The Darlington Railway Centre and Museum brings to life the age when George Stephenson guided his worldchanging invention, the Locomotion, along the nine-mile track - in just under two hours - at the official opening of the Stockton and Darlington line in 1825. Visit Killhope, The North of England Lead Mining Museum or the newly opened £16m Woodhorn Colliery Museum - a stunning building, designed by RMJM Architects housing 800-year-old archives celebrating the heritage of coal-mining in Northumberland.
Whether taking a gentle stroll through the region's many stately homes and gardens (including Cragside, the first house to be fitted with hydroelectricity) or donning a hard hat and going underground, the diversity of the north-east's heritage is as profound as it is interesting.
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