Visitors turned away as car parks reach capacity

A MUCH-LOVED local attraction became a victim of its own success when it was inundated with visitors to the point it had to turn people away.

- BARBARA HODGSON

Christmas tree at Cragside

Cragside in Northumberland was forced to act when all its car parks filled up on Saturday - and among those who left disappointed at being unable to visit was one who had apparently travelled 75 miles to get there.

Cragside - home of Victorian inventor and innovator Lord Armstrong and famous for being the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity - is currently dressed for Christmas.

The National Trust property added another string to its bow this month by becoming a world record-holder.

A 50-year-old redwood in its grounds is now the holder of a Guinness World Record as the tallest Christmas tree in the world. And it has just featured on TV in BBC2 programme Christmas Treasures of the National Trust.