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Could raucous Newcastle, the hen-party capital of Britain with its showboat casino, vodka bars and famously scantily-clad ladettes, really be a serious venue for a romantic honeymoon? Seriously, yes, now Jesmond Dene House has opened on the edge of an enchanted forest in the suburbs.

This striking renovation of a Georgian mansion is the work of Terry Laybourne, who helped sophisticate Newcastle with his Michelin-starred cuisine. Cafe 21 is still a fixture on the quayside, and it can’t be long before this new enterprise, in a beautiful leafy neighbourhood enhanced by handsome 18th and 19th century houses, brings the city a second star.

Developed by a chef rather than a hotelier, the rooms in this former home of a shipbuilding magnate who entertained the likes of Rudyard Kipling and Baden-Powell on the premises, have their quirks - robes are skimpy, and you need deft footing to make a safe exit from the deep Japanese-style bathtubs. But honeymooners would love those tubs - and what may be the largest, most comfortable hotel beds in Britain.

We were soothed to sleep by the sound of running water in our room overlooking the Dene, but had to enter what was once a fantastical private garden to find the source of it - a gentle waterfall framed by huge, curly-rooted trees straight out of Harry Potter. The park is framed by walls of mellow golden stone, and other delights include stepping stones, picturesque bridges and a pedestrian tunnel beneath the forest. An arts and crafts market every Sunday morning completes the picture.

Many a couple marrying here must proceed to Holy Island, one of the most romantic spots in Britain with its castle and ruined priory. Cut off daily from the mainland, it’s reached via a causeway at low tide, and offers much more than monuments. What monuments they are, though - the imposing 16th century castle on the headland was refurbished by Lutyens as an Edwardian holiday home, and is now set up for visits by the National Trust. A hike up its walls, followed by a wander round the haunting grounds of the even more ancient priory, build an appetite which won’t be disappointed, at least by day. The elegant Bean Goose cafe, its handsome tables laden with fresh-baked scones and cakes, deserves the title of best cafe in Britain; all-organic lunches are served here as well as teas, and the two sisters who run it have a passionate commitment to fair-trade ingredients.

Holy Island is easily reached from Newcastle; you can head straight up the A1, perhaps stopping at Alnwick to view its own castle and famous garden, but it would be a shame not to take the longer coastal route on a nice day. Bamburgh Castle, the most famous landmark, is a forbidding beast of a fort, but the surrounding town is green and pleasant, and prettier still is Warkworth, just a mile inland from the coast, whose own 14th century castle was the setting for Shakespeare’s Henry IV. These fortresses are a legacy of the Border wars; one of the most attractive in Dunstanburgh Castle, whose ruins sit atop a 100-foot cliff near the village of Craster of justifiable kipper fame. Nearby is what must be the most romantic fish and chip shop in Britain, On the Beach at Beadnell, which enjoys a stunning sea view. Award-winning Beach Court, right on tiny Beadnell Harbour, is a pretty romantic place to stay for those not irritated by whimsy.

Considering it has won an award for best large hotel in England, Matfen Hall seems too large and institutional on the surface to have any potential for romance - until you get into the VIP suite at the spa, that is. Here couples can enjoy simultaneous hot stone massage and the like in candle-lit privacy, and the romantic mood is continued in a womb-like library restaurant where the food is very good indeed, strong on fabulously fresh fish from the nearby Northumberland coast. A spacious room overlooking the golf cause was equipped with robes whose fluffiness could not be faulted - and the bathtub had a non-slip mat!

Matfen actually sits to the west of Newcastle in Hadrian’s Wall country, near Hexham, which has just won its own award as Britain’s favourite market town. It’s easy to see why, given the magnificent 7th-century abbey, handsome buildings and wonderful park worthy of a large city. Quirky shops worth a visit include the one serving violin players who come from all over the world to have their instruments repaired, and there are at least two antiquarian booksellers. A good place to offload children allergic to browsing the shops would be the restored Old Gaol, England’s first purpose-built prison, its 14th-century stones now viewable from a 21st century glass lift.

The Exchange, in the central Queens Hall civic building, is the kind of buzzy neighbourhood cafe every town deserves, and serves much better food than might be expected, strong on local produce including local ice-cream. Much of the considerable bounty of Northumberland can be bought in Hexham’s twice-monthly farmers’ market, or at the weekly Tuesday market.

Then there’s Brocksbushes farm shop, a reason in its own right to explore the next-door town of Corbridge. The town itself is exceedingly pretty; the shop on its outskirts - which, surprise, surprise, has won its own awards - is particularly strong on Northumberland cheeses, and also has its own asparagus and berry fields.

It can be easy in such rolling green and gentle country to forget that just a few miles away sits one of Britain’s most famous attractions, the great wall built by the Romans in the second century to protect their empire from the unvanquishable Picts. Stretching virtually the whole of northern England from west to east, the Northumberland section contains the Roman Army Museum and nearby Vindolanda, which has a full-size reconstruction of part of the Wall, and some rare Roman objects and documents found in recent excavations.

Even Hadrian’s Wall Country has its romantic side, despite the military connotations. Keilder Water and Forest Park comprise a delightful wilderness with a sculpture trail featuring the latest work of American artist James Turrell, who specialises in creating bunkers from which to watch the changing sky through a hole in the roof. It’s no wonder Turrell chose Northumberland, with the biggest skies in England and an incredibly luminous quality of light. And it’s no wonder lovers are drawn here, even if most come before their wedding; it can only be a matter of time before this award-laden county bags a “Most Romantic” title to add to its well-deserved stash of glittering prizes.

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