'PASSIONATE people, passionate places,' says the current television advertisement for the North-East. And they don't get much more passionate about the region than Jan Williams.

Luckily she's in the perfect job. "The best job in the world, no doubt about it," she says.

Jan is a tourist guide. Based in Durham, she regularly takes people all over the North-East, from Berwick down to Saltburn and telling them about everything from Roman ruins to new business parks.

Born in Gateshead and brought up in Newcastle, with an accent to prove it, she trained as a secretary and worked in London and Vienna before training as a Blue Badge guide in the Lake District.

"You don't have to have the Blue Badge to be a tourist guide, but it sets the standard, a very high standard that is internationally recognised. There is a very through training..." - just to prove it, she produces booklets that are used as teaching aids. They cover everything from the monarchy, the church and the modern political scene - "...and you have to pass an exam before you are given the badge."

The exam includes such tests as doing commentary from the front seat of a coach, and, when doing walking tours round cities, making sure your group doesn't block the pavement. Not forgetting "appropriate" behaviour in our great churches and cathedrals.

(Actually, the test involves giving commentary "from a moving vehicle" - which is why Jan was on the first flight out of the re-named Durham Tees Valley Airport giving an airborne commentary on landmarks below. A colleague is currently in the South Pacific advising on Blue Badge standards. There the "moving vehicle" might mean the guide kneeling the front of a dug-out canoe. Versatile lot these Blue Badges.)

Then there are all those questions visitors ask - everything from Roman road building techniques to the price of houses and the average wage of a secretary.

Two months after Jan had mugged up on everything there was to know about the Lake District, her husband Jon was offered a job in Durham. "It was too good to refuse and I started here," says Jan. "I suppose my particular favourite topics are the Romans - everyone loves the Romans. And St Cuthbert, that comes from growing up in the region, I suppose."

Though she works closely with tourist agencies, hers is a one-woman, freelance business. Many of the visitors she shows around the region are from abroad. "It can range from businessmen on conferences, or press groups to holidaymakers on cruises, so we tailor the trip to each group.

"Above all, we have to make them feel welcome. I recently collected a group of businessmen who had flown from Cape Town to Birmingham, then transferred and arrived in Newcastle. As I took them to their hotel, I felt I just had those 25 minutes to make them feel glad they were in the North-East."

Jan spends much of her life on board a coach but there are walking tours too. "We often spend half a day walking round Newcastle, but I recently led an American study group along Hadrian's Wall. The oldest one was in his 90s, which was a bit of a responsibility, but he was great."

Jan is never short of words ("Do you ever run out of breath?" I ask. "Not often.") but the aim is not to bludgeon the visitor into submission under a welter of facts. "Boring, boring. What I try and do is present a mosaic of the region, its stories and people. Whether we're in Durham Cathedral, Killhope Wheel, Housesteads or Hartlepool, it's all about explaining what's in front of you, telling the stories of the people who lived there.

And sometimes it's a question of looking with new eyes. "I take local groups around too, or give talks. And it's amazing how often I show them something and they say "Eeh, I've lived here all my life and never noticed'."

But it's not all about history.

"Not a bit," says Jan. "The businesses, shops, galleries, restaurants and everything that's happening now make the North-East a great place to be. There's so much going on, so many new ideas. This has always been a creative region, full of energy and it's all very exciting."

Now it is as much about the possibilities for the future as of the past. In the 15 years since Jan has been a freelance guide, tourism in the region has changed dramatically.

"We are players on a world stage now, there's no doubt about that. One thing will inspire people to come up here - maybe the Angel of the North or Alnwick Garden or Hadrian's Wall. And then they'll ask 'is there anything else to see?' and before you know it, you've got three or four days planned in for them.."

The crossover between business and tourism is invaluable. "If we get businessmen up it's a chance to show them how the region will work for them, as well as the quality of life. And the impact visitors make is tremendous. Just ask the people who run B&Bs in Alnwick. It all has a spin-off effect.

"There is so much going on and yet at the same time we've got so much wild open space and a stunning coastline. We're not going to get crowded."

Always keen to put things in their best light, Jan is slightly anxious when visitors from warmer parts want to swim in the sea. "I don't tell them not to, just warn them it might be a bit bracing."

One of the next big things will be the number of cruise ships calling in the region's ports, all full of visitors who will want to sample the North-East, and maybe come back again.

"We're all ambassadors, every one of us. Shop assistants, hairdressers, taxi drivers. We can all do our bit."

Jan helps train new guides and is hoping to help establish a specific college course in the region. In the meantime she's leading the way by winning awards for her work, including the Tourist Ambassador of the Year.

There can't be many people who know so much about so many places and people, past and present, in the region. But when she's on holiday, it's a different matter.

"I just give the guidebook to Jon and say 'honey, if you want to know about something, then just you look it up."

Even tourist guides need a holiday .