An instagrammer has built up a huge army of followers after falling in love with the North East.
Chloe McGuirk met her Geordie husband Simon, 44, online while she was living in London. The 41-year-old, who grew up near Norwich in Norfolk, would travel up to Tyneside at least once a month to visit him.
Each time she made the 280 mile journey, she would visit as many places as she could. After around a year together, the couple considered living together in the capital. But by that point, Chloe had fallen for the North East charm and decided to relocate herself.
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When she first moved up from the south in May 2013, she started a blog called 'New Girl in Toon' in which she recorded her travels and days out in the North East. Nine years on, Chloe continues to run her blog on Instagram and has more than 15,000 followers.
Chloe, who now calls herself an honorary Geordie, said: "I fell in love with the area so quickly. I suppose I had a few preconceptions of what the North East would be like. I thought it would be dark and wet.
"After I came up here a couple of times I realised I would miss it so much. The reality set in that if Simon moved down to London we wouldn't have got up here as much as I wanted to. I made the decision to relocate in May 2013. We had been dating for a year when I moved up here so it was a bit of a risk, thankfully it worked out.
"I posted about getting out and doing things. I didn't even know who I thought was going to read it initially. I think initially it was to stay in touch with friends and family down south and encourage them to visit.
"I think my husband came up with the name. I have thought about changing it, because I have been here nine years, but it's kind of stuck!"
Chloe lives in the Great Park area of Newcastle with Simon and their 10-month-old Sprocker Spaniel Harley. She works full-time as a legal secretary and runs her Instagram account as a hobby.
She updates her newgirlintoon blog on a daily basis and documents her adventures in the North East. Chloe visits various cities, towns and villages across the region as well as attractions such as castles, cathedrals, theatres, cinemas and farms.
She also shows her followers around local shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels. She said she has recently visited The Bock in Ingram Valley and Eshott Airfield, both in Northumberland.
Chloe said she pays for most of the trips herself but will occasionally be asked to help out local businesses by visiting them and posting about it. She said: "There's so many amazing things which I have done up here. I feel it's a real honour when someone approaches me and wants me to help them out, it's a really nice feeling.
"I've met a lot of friends through it. When I moved up here I didn't know anybody apart from Simon. I have met people who have similar Instagram accounts and people who own local businesses. We have become friends and it's like a little community. Everyone is always chatting in the comments and sharing tips on where to go. It's a great way of sharing discoveries with other people."
Chloe said she travels all over the region to try new experiences and has introduced local people, including software tester Simon, to sights which are on their doorstep. She said her aim is to encourage others to explore the region rather than travelling elsewhere.
She said: "Simon loves it, he gets to go to lots of different places and experience different things. We spend most of our time in the North East. In the summer, we tend to stay here and get a holiday cottage in Northumberland.
"We tend to stay at home and do day trips. Especially with the cost of living crisis, it's nice to have so much already on your doorstep to do instead of spending money going away.
"I work full-time and I usually pack our weekends out. I tend to get up and go somewhere for a nice breakfast, take some pictures of that and then go out on a day trip. I'm still finding new things, you'd think I'd run out!
"We take Harley out and about with us. I've started featuring a lot more dog friendly stuff now. It's incredible how dog friendly the North East is. There's amazing places you can take dogs.
"I just want to inspire people to visit the region. I want to inspire people who have lived here, people who have grown up their whole lives here, and haven't discovered these things. I'm inspiring people to get up and see what's on their doorstep."
When asked if she would ever live anywhere else, Chloe replied: "Absolutely not no! I can't imagine ever going back to Norfolk. It makes me sad that I'm never going to have a Geordie accent though!"
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