3 – Visited Branton Community First School, just down the road,  to talk to the children about changes over the years in BrantonVillage. There are 20 pupils – a small school with a very big heart, and very dear to our local, scattered community.

5 – Sunshine all day.

Moved ewes and lambs from Bridge Field to Haugh. The field is needed for silage so it is not grazed and the grass allowed to grow. Everywhere is very dry. Johnny wants to turn the cows and calves out of the shed, where they have lived all winter, but there is little grass.

13 – Clay pigeon shoot at Linhope in aid of Branton School’s swimming fund. The children swim every week at Alnwick and travel by bus. The shoot drew fantastic support from near and far and raised more than £3,000 – an amazing amount which guarantees the future of swimming lessons for the next year. 

14 – Met at Hethpool in the College Valley, north of Wooler, for our Friends walk. (see Place of Interest on the website). The College Valley Estate is owned by the Sir James Knott Trust, Sir James being a North East industrialist, MP and philanthropist who died in 1934.

Visitors are most welcome – and it is well worth a visit – but if you wish to go beyond Hethpool you will need a permit because access is limited to 12 cars per day.

Our circular route took us past the waterfall at Hethpool Linn and around the lower slopes of Easter Tor where we had several sightings of the wild goats, some with young kids at foot, so difficult to photograph. At this time of year the lower ground in the valley is a mass of bright yellow gorse providing a very colourful display.

Climbing up towards the Tor we crossed St Cuthbert’s Way, a 60-mile long distance path between Melrose in the Scottish Borders and Holy Island, off the Northumberland coast.   Here we chatted to a Canadian couple walking towards Wooler and shortly afterwards, seeing a frantic waving of arms, re-directed two different, very lost walkers back to St Cuthbert’s Way.

An adder sliding away into the heather provoked a sudden shriek – and a deft turn of foot by Ian as we followed the path from Wester Tor back down to Southernknowe, once the local school for College Valley children. At one time many shepherds and their families lived here, now there are very few. The sheep are herded on quad bikes and the shepherds’ homes have new uses as holiday lets and, at Mounthooly, a bunkhouse recently refurbished with 20 beds and modern facilities.

Paused at Cuddystone Hall – the venue for many a memorable party – to look at the simple circular stone memorial, the same shape as a sheep stell, in memory of the allied airmen who lost their lives in the Cheviots during WW2.

We then followed the road back down the valley to Hethpool, having done an enjoyable nine miles.

20 – Back from a short break in the Scottish Borders (so much to see) to the great spectacle of a search and rescue exercise happening on our doorstep.

Based in the field behind the cottages great views were had of the two big yellow Sea King helicopters from RAF Boulmer flying to and fro the hill picking up the ‘casualties’ of a plane crash, aided by 40 personell from the Northumbria Search and Rescue Service including four search and rescue dog handlers.

Towards the end of the month gathered the hill sheep to castrate, dose and mark the lambs. It was the first opportunity we’d had to count them and we were pleased. Despite the awful weather in March the ewes lambed out at just over 120% on both hills.

29 – Church Fete at Ingram. Chilly afternoon, fewer people than last year, but still managed to raise a very good £1300.

Top of the sightings list, which really had the “twitchers” twitching, was a Black Stork spotted near Branton by walking friends Ian and Keith, who are also keen ornithologists. Reliant on wind and thermals, it had probably got blown off course on its journey from Africa, where it overwinters, to its nesting grounds in Poland. Reports indicate it was in the area for three days but at different places so influx of bird watchers never happened.