Heritage sites' summer opening hours cut

Prudhoe Castle in Northumberland is currently closed

The summer opening hours of three English Heritage sites have been cut.

Brinkburn Priory, in Morpeth, and Aydon Castle, in Corbridge, will open just once a month for guided tours during the summer, the charity said.

People would soon be able to visit Northumberland's Prudhoe Castle grounds for free, it added, but tours inside would be restricted.

As well as the tours, the charity said it would work "with the local community to open for special events [and] temporary exhibitions".

The three sites had all previously been open in the summer from Wednesday to Sunday.

English Heritage said the changes were for the "same" reasons as cuts it had made to the opening hours of some of its sites in Cumbria, including Furness Abbey.

A spokesperson previously said the charity was operating in a "challenging environment" and the plans would help it remain "financially resilient".

Guided tours to Brinkburn Priory, which was built in the 12th Century, will begin on Sunday.

The charity said it was unclear when guided tours to Aydon Castle, a fortified medieval manor house, would begin.

It added it was also "working through the finer details" of when guided tours for Prudhoe Castle would start and how often they would run.

The sites are all currently temporarily closed.