Perched high among the hills of the North Pennines, Allenheads today is a quiet village that belies its busy industrial past as a lead-mining centre. Reminders of this thriving industry, which was of worldwide importance until the end of the 19th century, can be viewed at the Allenheads Heritage Centre, which has restored and revitalised a number of old buildings in the village for visitors to see. The village itself straggles down the East Allen Valley in small groups of settlements around the former mine, and round Allenheads Hall, a hunting lodge for Lord Allendale. Allenheads stands as an example of what local people can achieve to revive a community. Much of the initiatives that can be seen today have arisen as a result of reports in the 1980s that the village, robbed of its traditional industries, was dying. Today Allenheads is a popular stopover for visitors, and for cyclists on the C2C Cycle Route.