Northumberlandia, on Blagdon Lane near Cramlington, is on the shortlist for Landmark of the Year in the BBC Countryfile Magazine awards, which recognises the best of the British countryside.

The female figure, also known as the Lady of the North, is 1,400ft long, 830ft wide, 100ft high and was fashioned from 1.5 million tonnes of material.

She reclines in a community parkland site with four miles of footpaths, and attracts around 100,000 visitors a year. The Land Trust site is managed on a daily basis by Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

The Lady will be seeking to maintain the region’s winning run in the awards. In the 2017 awards, the Northumberland Coast won the Holiday Destination of the Year category, while Embleton Bay was voted Beach of the Year.

The National Park category was won by Northumberland in the 2018 awards while in last year’s awards, Hadrian’s Wall came tops in the landmark contest.

Northumberlandia was built by the Banks Group and Blagdon Estate as part of the restoration of the adjacent Shotton surface coal mine.

The creation was the brainchild of landscape designer and architectural historian Charles Jencks, who died last year at the age of 80. The park was opened by the Princess Royal in 2012.

Work began in 2010 and once the major landscape works were complete the sculpture was blasted with hydro seed, which started to transform it into a living landscape.

Northumberlandia’s face, paths and viewing platforms were constructed with a hard stone surface.

Speaking about the inspiration behind Northumberlandia, Charles Jencks said: “Northumberlandia does not relate to a particular goddess or religion. The landform can be enjoyed in parts and within many different contexts including the distant landscape.”

The 2020 winners will be chosen by public vote with a closing date of February 28.

To vote, visit www.countryfile.com/awards.