The area provides the perfect base to plan a visit to places like Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Hartlepool. Cities and towns that combine innovation, rich heritage and beautiful scenery, an area of unique contrasts just waiting to be explored. Daily flights from both Durham & Tees Valley and Newcastle Airport put London and Europe (Amsterdam, Dublin and Paris) only an hour away: high speed trains make possible daily return journeys to Scotland and the South of England, with the region's main train stations at Darlington and Newcastle, while the key regional commerce centres of Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle are easily commutable by car via the North of England's main arterial routes, the A19 and A1(M) is virtually on your doorstep.