Last week's poll on the Your Place Northumberland sites asked people to vote for their favourite natural beauty spot in the county. We celebrate the winner, the Farne Islands, with a gallery of photos showing some of the islands' inhabitants:

You've picked Northumberland's top castle and its top beauty spot, but now we're asking you for your views on the county's best building.

Our choice of 12 impressive structures ranges from the Royal Border Bridge in the north to Seaton Delaval Hall in the south, from the 12th century Hexham Abbey to modern buildings like Woodhorn and Alnwick Treehouse.

You can also pick from Morpeth Chantry, Howick Hall, Belsay Hall, Wallington, Brinkburn Priory, Cragside or Biddlestone Chapel - or add your own choice if we've missed it.

You can vote by clicking your choice on the Local Poll section at the bottom of this home page. The voting will be open for the next two weeks, with the winner announced on April 10.

A tree planting ceremony will take place next week to celebrate the inauguration of the new Northumberland County Council.

Council leader Jeff Reid and chief executive Steve Stewart will be planting an oak tree in the grounds of County Hall, Morpeth, on Wednesday at 1pm.

They will also be officially raising the new county council flag.

Meanwhile, residents across the county can still give their opinions on how they would like the new-look authority to tackle problems in their community

The Farne Islands have been voted Northumberland's top beauty spot.

In the latest poll on the Your Place community websites, the Farnes got 27% of the votes, ahead of Lindisfarne (22%) and the Cheviots (17%).

Votes also went to Bolam Lakes, Crag Lough, Allen Banks, Druridge Bay and Kielder Water.

Volunteers from across the region have been working together to help secure the future of some of Northumberland's rarest wildlife.

The People's Postcode Lottery provided the funding for volunteers to check for signs of hazel dormouse activity in the Allen Valley in Northumberland, as the creatures are close to extinction in the area due to the disappearance of their natural woodland habitat.

Schoolchildren from Allendale battled it out in a swimming competition while being cheered on by Olympic and Commonwealth medal winners.

Some of the winners at the event at Hexham, with stars Chris Cook, left, and Nick Gillingham adding support

The competition, held at the Wentworth Leisure Centre in Hexham, saw 80 children aged eight to 15 compete in a range of events, including team relays, individual front crawl, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke.

Tynedale Council has marked the end of its life by making 15 of its longest serving councillors - including two from the Allendale area - honorary aldermen.

The council gave the honour to members who had served for 18 years or more, with a special presentation to Bill Garrett, from Prudhoe, who was a councillor for the whole of Tynedale's 36-year history.

Allendale's Colin Horncastle and Nora Handcock were among those honoured.

Vital emergency cover in parts of Northumberland could be lost following a controversial EU ruling on working hours, fire chiefs warned last night.

The county currently has 155 retained firefighters on lifesaving duty from the end of a pager to attend call-outs in rural areas.

New restrictions under the EU Working Time Directive (WTD) seek to impose a strict 48-hour maximum working week on all British employees, a rule already adopted by many European countries.

Today marks a special day on the North East calendar as we celebrate the life of the patron saint of Northumberland, St Cuthbert.

Often regarded as the most popular saint of medieval times and one of the most important, March 20 sees people celebrate the anniversary of the death of the region's own patron saint.

Pilgrims make their way across the causeway to Holy Island on Good Friday, 2006

Born in 634 AD, Cuthbert was born in the Lammermuir Region where he grew to work as a young shepherd.

A Northumberland photographer who has helped camera enthusiasts from across the world to capture the region on film is to hold an exhibition of his work.

Since he started a photography tours company last year, Ross Beedle has shared the picturesque delights of the North East with visitors from as far away as France, Holland and America.

From his base on a farm just outside Allendale, he takes visitors to shoot locations such as the Northumberland coast, Newcastle's Quayside and the North Pennines.