I’ve gone a bit off-piste for this week’s blog as I am away from my local area on a family break in beautiful Northumberland, it is also more of a ‘country diary’ entry as opposed to a blog celebrating a specific subject. I wanted to share my experiences of the wildlife and nature I am enjoying whilst staying here and also to give you a little history of the area where I am staying.
The cottage where we are staying is in the village of High Rochester, its few buildings built on the foundations of the Roman fort of Bremenium, which was the most important outpost north of Hadrian’s Wall. Our cottage is within the boundaries of the fort and there are good remains to be seen just beyond the garden and in the immediate vicinity. The hamlet also lies just off the A68 which is the main route into Scotland, the border being just a 15 minutes’ drive away.
The cottage is truly idyllic, with the perfect country garden full of flowers attracting bees and butterflies. Our dog loves it and he, like me spends many a happy time in there relaxing and enjoying the good weather we have been having recently. The view from the garden is across to the hills where the calls of the cuckoo and curlew can often be heard. There are also swallows a plenty, my favourite bird (and subject of a future blog!) and the local wooden bus shelter is home to four nests, one with resident chicks. A family of wrens have recently fledged from the conifer in the garden and it was great fun watching them all explore the garden beyond the nest for the first time. We also have a resident male chaffinch and a willow warbler occasionally calls.
As if the location was not special enough, it also lies within the Northumberland National Park and the designated Dark Sky Reserve, although it has been disappointingly cloudy of a night, including one particularly wet night, although this did not stop the resident pipistrelle bats from going about their business and flying right up to our lounge window.
This area really does have something for everyone, whether you are a nature lover, a history buff or simply want to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, I highly recommend a visit, if only to experience nature at its best where the resident wildlife is left to get on with their lives with the minimum of disturbance.
Northumberland is such a lovely place. Please get a pic of a baby wren if you can. You might need a microscope!