It lies on the River Tyne 10 miles (16 km) east of Hexham with neighbours Prudhoe, Ovington, Wylam and Stocksfield.

Ovingham is in the parliamentary constituency of Hexham and forms part of the Bywell electoral ward for Northumberland County Council.

It was formerly the residence of the late Frank Atkinson, who did so much to establish the Beamish Museum in County Durham, and also the Bewick Trust at Cherryburn.

[2] The Ovingham 'pack-horse' bridge over the Whittle Burn consists of two segmental arches with a width of five feet between the parapets, so that it could not be used for wheeled traffic.

The adjacent ford was replaced by a concrete road bridge in the 1960s, although this is low lying and is overtopped by the Whittle Burn during times of flood.

Whittle dean is a deep woody dell which stretches southwards & joins the Tyne east of Ovington.

The waters of this dean (peculiarly soft & clear) are the most celebrated in the north of England for whitening linen cloth.

Mr. William Newton's bleach green, situated on this stream at the confluence of the Tyne is known and famed throughout all these northern parts.

[2] The Whittle Burn can be traced back to the present day Whittledean Water Works on either side of the line of Hadrian's Wall near Welton Hall.

The village lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the A69 road giving good links with Newcastle upon Tyne, Hexham, and Carlisle.