TOURISM bosses reckon they have pinpointed the most remote village in England.

Kielder, in Northumberland, which has about 200 residents, is being billed as the perfect place to get away from it all.

It has various claims to the title, being ten miles from the next nearest village, and surrounded by 155,000-acre Kielder Forest and 44bn gallon Kielder Water reservoir.

Visits to the cinema involve a round-trip of nearly 70 miles, and shopping trips can top more than 100 miles.

The title of most remote village was bestowed yesterday at the Royal Show, in Warwickshire, where Northumberland is the feature county.

After years of decline which saw numbers in the village school dwindle to a handful and the local garage shut, Kielder is enjoying a mini-revival on the back of a new youth hostel, a number of new businesses and tourist interest with unspoilt charms.

Phil Mayland, who has lived in Kielder for 38 years, said: "It's a beautiful place. If the weather's good and the midges aren't out, there's nowhere better.

"It's a bit remote, but it's not as if we're on the moon."