An absolutely amazing holiday away with Mrs R,staying at Belford near to the Northumberland coast,just west of Bamburgh,saw us having a brilliant time seeing some beautiful scenery and some lovely birds and wildlife as well.
The following is going to be a summary of the holiday,with my favourite photos thrown in.
Friday 30th
Our trip began in not too great a fashion,with varying amounts of rain all day,but we did manage to visit St.Mary's Island and Lighthouse,walking from Seaton Sluice to the Lighthouse and back.
Some lovely views of the local Grey Seals were enjoyed and a nice flock of 18 Whimbrel were seen heading south overhead,with 47 Eider on the sea.
In the evening,a visit to Monks House Pool near Seahouses,saw a 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull being seen,along with a Common Sandpiper and afterwards an hour from Beadnell Harbour saw a single Bonxie fly north,with several Puffins,including a juvenile being seen.
Saturday 31st
A visit firstly to Beadnell in the morning saw a considerable amount of Gannets moving north,with 500+ being counted in just over an hour.
Also here,a single Dark Morph Arctic Skua flew north with some nice views of Arctic and Sandwich Terns in the bay.
Amble was our next destination and after some time,i managed to find the Adult Caspian Gull PKCS with the local Gull flock.This bird was orginally ringed as a chick in Poland at a reservoir north of Kozielno,Paczkow,Opolskie,Southern Poland on the 26th May 2011 and has been visiting here every winter since 2013.
Other birds here included,some distant views of Roseate Terns fishing off the Harbour towards Coquet Island and 2 Common Sandpiper and 37 Goosander on the River Coquet itself.
A visit to Howick,for a couple of hours,saw us visiting another fine piece of this stunning Northumberland coastline and enjoyed some fantastic views of the local Kittiwakes,by far the lowest nesting ones I've seen in the UK.
A quick look on the way back to the cottage on Monks House Pool,saw 2 Adult Med.Gulls and a Common Sandpiper being seen.
Sunday 1st
Today we planned to walk between Low Newton and Craster and back,taking in the impressive ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle.This,for us,is the best coastal walk we have done and we have visited many beautiful areas in the UK.
Apart from the impressive scenery,we managed some amazing views of at least 12 Roseate Terns fishing in Embleton Bay in the morning and later much closer views of birds roosting and fishing on the Emblestones and in the bay.
What a privilige to watch these fantastic Terns and here the distinctive contact calls between the adults and juveniles as they fished.
After visiting Low Newton,we popped over to Bamburgh and walked up to Stag Rocks and back,enjoying the amazing castle and more stunning coastal views.
A quick visit to Waren Mill on the way back to the cottage,saw 3 adult Med.Gulls being seen.
Monday 2nd
Today's destination was the fantastic island of Lindisfarne and we walked around the whole island in a big circle,seeing several areas we had not seen before,which included the impressive Coves haven and Sandham Bay on the northern part of the island..
Bird wise we didn't really come across that much out of the ordinary,but we did see a juvenile Cuckoo,and at least 6 whimbrel along with 30 Goosander a cracking full summer Med.Gull and the largest gathering of Grey Seals I've ever seen,with a minimum of 1500 animals.
Wildflowers abounded here and included some lovely species such as Goldenrod,Tansy,Grass Of Parnassus,Restharrow and Scarlet Pimpernel.
After beautiful Lindisfarne,we visited Etal and Ford,2 villages in the foothills of the Cheviots,with both villages having castles,the latter at Ford being particularly impressive and another beautiful area visited.
Tuesday 3rd
Sadly it was time to travel home,but all was not lost,as we had planned to visit and do a circular walk at Low and High Force.
This is the most impressive riverside walk we have done to date and the scenery is just breathtaking.
Birdwise we managed to see 2 Dipper,5 Spotted Flycatcher,several Siskins and Lesser Redpolls,with at least 4 Common Hawker also being seen.
wildflowers again featured,with Devil's Bit Scabious,Salad Burnet and the lovely Bog Asphodel being seen in abundance,with the best area of wild Juniper i have ever seen.
After completing the High and Lower Force Walk,we had some well earned lunch,before visiting the nearby Summerhill Force and Gibson's Cave.
Well what a fantastic and memorable trip it has been,Northumberland really is a special destination and i can't wait to visit again.
The Bathing House,Howick. 
Howick 
Kittiwake Family,Howick. 
The Bathing House,Howick. 
Dunstanburgh Castle Taken From Low Newton. 
Dunstanburgh Castle,Taken From Low Newton. 
Looking Towards Low Newton From Near Dunstanburgh Castle. 
Embleton Bay. 
Dunstanburgh Castle. 
Craster Harbour. 
Razorbill And Chick,Dunstanburgh Castle. 
Dunstanburgh Castle. 
Embleton Bay,Taken From Dunstanburgh Castle. 
Female Eider,Seahouses. 
Bamburgh Castle. 
Bamburgh Castle & Stag Rocks.
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| Dune Robber-fly,Lindisfarne. |
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| Grass Of Parnassus |
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| Coves Haven. |
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| Trace At Coves Haven. |
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| Selfie At Coves Haven. |
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| Sandham Bay. |
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| Lindisfarne Castle. |
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| Looking Across The Bay To The Harbour From Lindisfarne Castle. |
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| Lindisfarne Priory And Castle. |
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| Old Law Beacons. |
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| The River Till,Etal. |
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| Etal Castle. |
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| Ford Castle. |
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| Ford. |
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| Low Force,Upper Teesdale. |
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| Mayfly Sculpture,Low Force. |
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| Beautiful Views Of The River Tees. |
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| Stonefly Sculpture. |
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| Salad Burnet. |
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| Incredible Scenery. |
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| Wild Juniper,Moor House NNR. |
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| Bog Asphodel,Moor House NNR. |
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| High Force. |
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| Mrs R At High Force. |
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| Ettersgill. |
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| Summerhill Force. |
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| Bowlees Quarry. |
Lovely photos Steve, Ive just had the dog around by the first four of them! ;)
ReplyDeleteCheers Stew,a really enjoyable trip up to your neck of the woods,always a pleasure.
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