It is approximately 37 miles (60 km) north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne on the A68, and is the last village in England before the A68 climbs the Cheviot Hills to cross Carter Bar into Scotland.

Situated on the Pennine Way, Byrness has an inn (Forest View), campsite and other accommodation offering rest and sustenance for weary walkers.

The first real evidence of attempts to create a permanent centre of settlement in this part of upper Redesdale came in the 1790s with the erection of the Church of St Francis and also a school by the Rector of Elsdon, the Rev Louis Dutens.

This population remained fairly stable throughout the 19th century, but was obviously given a huge increase with the construction of Catcleugh Reservoir and the introduction of several hundred workers and their families into this remote rural location.

One of these was built at Byrness as a summer extension camp for the facility at Kielder in North Tynedale and operated as a training centre from 1934 until the Second World War when it was closed down.