Alston is the highest market town in England, set in an area of outstanding beauty overlooking Alston Moor in the North Pennines. The town has a good selection of shops, pubs and cafés set around the cobbled streets of the town centre.
It is ideally situated for visiting the Northern Lakes, Yorkshire dales and Northumbria, and is close to the Pennine Way for those who enjoy walking. Alston itself has pleasant walks which can be accessed from the town centre. A narrow gauge railway runs from the town.