The Redesdale Goat Sculpture

There's a rather striking bronze goat standing near Otterburn that stops you dead in your tracks. The Redesdale Goat Sculpture is exactly what it sounds like - a substantial piece of public art that's become something of a talking point in this quiet corner of Northumberland.

It's the kind of thing you'll either love or find mildly baffling, but that's rather the point with good sculpture. The piece sits in an open setting where you can walk around it, examine the detail, and work out what the artist was getting at. No grand gallery walls here - just you, the goat, and whatever the Northumberland weather throws at you on the day.

Historically minded visitors and anyone interested in contemporary public art will find it worth a brief detour. It's not a full afternoon's attraction, but it's the sort of thing that works perfectly as a stop-off during a walk or drive through the hills. The setting itself - rolling moorland and quiet roads - is the real draw.

If you're staying at Border Forest Holiday Park, it's barely twenty minutes away, so easy to slot into a day exploring the Redesdale Valley. Don't expect visitor facilities or crowds. What you get is a moment of genuine quaintness in an otherwise utterly unspoilt landscape. The sculpture benefits from that isolation, actually.