Cragside

William Armstrong, the Tyneside engineer who made his money in hydraulic cranes and later armaments, built Cragside from 1863 as a country retreat and turned it into a demonstration of what he could do with water. He dammed streams to make five lakes on the hillside, used the head to drive a Siemens dynamo, and in 1878 lit the gallery with an arc lamp, then in 1880 installed Joseph Swan's incandescent bulbs, making Cragside the first house in the world lit by hydroelectricity. Water also drove a hydraulic lift, a rotisserie, a dishwasher and the laundry. The house is a rambling Norman Shaw design in Tudor revival style with an inglenook of marble. Armstrong planted around seven million trees and shrubs on what had been bare moor, creating one of Europe's largest rock gardens.

What you actually see

• The first hydroelectric house - lit by water-driven dynamo from 1878.
• The hydraulic machinery - lift, rotisserie and laundry all driven by water.
• The rock garden - one of Europe's largest, built on former bare moor.
• The Shaw interiors - Tudor revival rooms with a marble inglenook.

When to go

April to October for house, gardens and the estate drive; rhododendrons in late spring are the planting at its peak and autumn colour is strong. The house closes for parts of winter while the grounds stay open.

Honest expectations

The estate is very large and the six-mile drive around it is the only practical way to see the outer parts. The house has narrow passages and many stairs. Rhododendron ponticum dominates in places and is being cleared, which leaves gaps.

Nearby

Rothbury is close; Alnwick and the Northumberland coast lie east.