The centre of administration of the borough is Morpeth, which lies in the Wansbeck Valley surrounded by wooded slopes, whilst the river provides a focal point and a setting for many of the town's most attractive features. Originally the A1 trunk road ran through the centre, but the town is now bypassed to the west. The Northumberland moors and the Cheviot Hills are less than an hour's drive away, whilst nearer at hand, in the rural areas of the borough, are delightful places for picnics, sight-seeing and walking. Morpeth is, therefore, an excellent centre and it has good bus and train services to and from the town. Surrounding Morpeth are areas of moorland, magnificent beaches, wooded valleys and unspoilt villages. The area was once a centre of fierce border warfare and remains of many fortified manors and pele towers bear witness to this. The coastline within the borough commences at Lynemouth and there are excellent caravan sites on the edge of Druridge Bay. The borough stretches from there southwestwards to the beautiful Tyne Valley and Hadrian's Wall.

Newcastle International Airport is situated at the southern end of the borough adjacent to the village of Ponteland, which lies 8 miles north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne and 12 miles south-west of Morpeth.