Our favourite North East and Cumbria Instagram pictures of 2023

Brian Matthews' perfect picture of a puffin from November was our top photo of the year with more than 32,000 likes

The BBC's North East and Cumbria Instagram page shares amazing pictures taken by people across the region.

The page has thousands of followers and one of our biggest joys is showing the remarkable photos people send to us capturing the area's beauty.

We also post about the region's news, such as the visit of a walrus in January and the sad destruction of the tree at Sycamore Gap in September.

As 2023 comes to an end, here are some of our favourite images of the year.

Graham O'Dwyer got to meet the Lake District's famous locals he had 'herd' about when he visited in January

Ian Sproat caught this amazing moment of a human face appearing in a breaking wave in Sunderland in February

King Charles III made a surprise appearance at Bamburgh beach for his coronation in May...

...with the Northumberland castle also posing for a picture with the blue supermoon in August for Dan Monk

All roads lead to Penshaw Monument (well this one does at least) as pictured by Darren Cheverton

Scott Keenleyside saw the whole of the super moon in July at Whitley Bay

Wil Cheung took this stunning picture of the Northern Lights at Sycamore Gap in September shortly before the tree was chopped down

Nicky Hunter shared this uplifting picture from Saltburn in September after the town's famous cliff Tramway won an award

Sam Binding's beautiful picture from Grasmere really catches the eye

Steve Seddon caught the Northern Lights on Holy Island

The year ended with snow in Durham, as caught in this breath-taking shot by Ross Johnston in Durham