HEADING south along what was once The Great North Road connecting Edinburgh and London feels like a journey back through time. This area, just an hour's drive from the Scottish capital along the A1, is a borderland and it is not hard to imagine yourself being cast hundreds of years into the past. It is a barren landscape: large swathes of flat or undulating land only punctuated by the silhouette of a castle on the horizon.

Even the place names, Coldstream, Bamburgh and Berwick, speak of Border Reivers raids, kings and war.

It is little wonder then that tourist information leaflets in Northumberland, England’s most northerly county, are dominated by castles and fortifications – a legacy of its turbulent history.

Our destination is a case in point. Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland and while it is a leafy and picturesque hamlet on the River Wansbeck, the literal translation of its Old English name, Murder Path, points to a far darker past.

But while I could murder a pint of ale after the long drive, our lodgings for the night are anything but gruesome. St Mary’s Inn is just a short distance from Morpeth town centre and it is a welcome sight for any weary traveller.

This bed and breakfast establishment is warm and inviting with a pub and restaurant that offer ample opportunities to cosy up next to one of the many log fires.

A glance at the drinks menu reveals that St Mary’s has its very own ale, made locally at the nearby Wylam Brewery. I will admit that despite plans to head back out after check-in, this gastro-pub set-up is very difficult to tear myself away from.

But leave we must and after dropping off our bags in our room – a beautiful, large and airy deluxe suite that looks out on to the ruins of the old hospital from which St Mary’s gets its name – we head north again to Alnwick.

Like many of the towns and villages in the area, Alnwick is a picture-postcard affair with a centre that is a hive of activity, boasting shops and businesses that high streets north of the Border can, unfortunately, no longer sustain.

There is a thriving butcher, florist, fruit and veg shop and bakery, lending the town a community feel that is sadly lacking in many regions of the UK. However, the centrepiece, predictably, is the castle.

Alnwick Castle is a sight to behold and it is easy to understand how imposing it would have looked to anyone approaching from the north, the large turrets on the corners of the external walls are just one of the castle’s many lines of defence.

The castle itself dates back to 1096 and has witnessed raids by everyone from Scottish invaders to Yorkist armies during the War of the Roses. However, as our tour guide proudly boasts, the castle’s defences were so strong that no-one ever successfully broke through.

Nowadays the castle is more famous as a movie set and has provided the backdrop for many films and television series. Depending on your screen tastes the most notable of these is Harry Potter or Downton Abbey.

It wasn’t particularly hard to tell which one my wife preferred as she ran across the wide lawn to make it in time for the magical broomstick lessons that were about to get underway. It has to be said that the tour guides, dressed as wizardly professors from Hogwarts, were fantastic fun and made sure everyone left with a gravity-defying souvenir photograph.

Inside the castle proper, a truly decadent and stunning interior from another time, there are rooms set up as they were during filming for Downton Abbey. Most interesting of all, for me at least, is that this castle is still home to the Percy family, who have owned it since the 14th century. It is curious to see family wedding pictures sitting side by side with huge oil paintings dating back hundreds of years and the strange juxtaposition of a flat-screen television in the most ornate library I have ever laid eyes on.

Back at St Mary’s Inn we are ready to quench our thirst and sate our hunger and the food does not disappoint. It is excellent, and extraordinary value for money, from the rye sourdough bread to the delicious chicken pie and then the homemade ice cream.

The next morning we are heading south again, this time to Newcastle and Jesmond Dene House. This four-star hotel is owned by the same group as St Mary’s Inn, so we have high expectations.

A Grade ll listed Arts and Crafts mansion, Jesmond Dene House is nestled in the leafy and affluent suburb of Jesmond and it is immediately clear that this is a top-quality establishment.

Before we get comfortable, though, there is time to explore the city and so we enjoy a leisurely time walking around St James’s Park, home of the mighty Newcastle United football club. We also take a trip to the Angel of the North, Sir Antony Gormley’s towering contemporary sculpture that looks down on the city.

Closer to the hotel is Jesmond Dene, a steep-sided valley that is home to a public park, and we build up an appetite by talking a long stroll along the Ouseburn river.

Thankfully, Jesmond Dene House continues where St Mary’s Inn left off on the food front, with fresh homemade bread and seaweed butter to get things started – the seaweed is a salt replacement and is almost certainly a new fad in the making. A beautiful herring starter is followed by succulent steak. Be in no doubt, the food is fantastic, but expect to pay for it. While St Mary’s is honest and great value, Jesmond Dene with its three AA Rosettes is fine dining and, consequently, fairly pricey.

On this short break filled with castles and tales of feuding royalty, it is somehow fitting that we dine like kings.

Thomas Hawkins was a guest of St Mary's Inn, Morpeth and Jesmond Dene House, Newcastle. Visit http://stmarysinn.co.uk and http://jesmonddenehouse.co.uk for more information