It is situated approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) to the east of Wooler, south of Chatton.

Detailed information is included in the parish of Bewick.

Chillingham is famous for its castle, which is said to be haunted, and the Chillingham Cattle, a wild herd of roughly 90 individuals which has been kept in an enclosure since the Middle Ages and strictly inbreeding for at least 300 years.

[2] HMS Chillingham, a Ham class minesweeper, was named after the village.

The civil parish, along with those for Chatton and Lilburn, has been served by Tillside Parish Council since 2003, under a grouping order by the former Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed.