We were surprised, and very pleased, to find it sunny and warm when we
arrived at Newcastle airport for our annual summer visit. Rothbury is a lovely area, but we are not used
to such good weather when we are there
It
is a very popular walking area and after ten years we know most of the local
walks. However today we were doing a
new walk, at least new to us. We were
amused by the sign on the gate, which I suspect is an example of “northern
humour”.
The
river Coquet runs through the valley and follows the same route as the road
from Rothbury to Thropton. For some
time we have tried to find a cross country path between the two. The local tourist information confirmed that
there was none, but last Christmas I discovered an unofficial path on my own.
The
faint path follows the river through four or five fields. There are no sign posts, but nor are there
any “no entry” signs. The path is not
much used, though on the sunny Saturday that we did this walk we did pass two
other couples.
There
may not have been many people, but there were a lot of sheep, including this
lamb who does not seem to understand that they are supposed to eat out of the
bucket – not stand in it!
There
were also a couple of bulls, including this chap. There was a small herd, including a couple of
calves, so we gave them a wide berth.
The
stiles looked pretty old and battered, which together with the lack of sign
posts suggested that walkers might not be encouraged. The sign refers to the local fishing club,
who apparently have fishing rights along the river up to this point.
We
saw this large bird in the distance, but we could not get very close for a
photograph. And when he was in flight he
was difficult to follow. But I did
manage to get this one shot from a distance.
Jan thinks he is a heron. With
my extreme lack of knowledge of birds and nature I don’t have an opinion.
The
final approach to the village is along this attractive track, which leads to
the pub. Unfortunately there was a
wedding reception when we got there, so we could not use the river side
garden. But we did manage a drink in the
bar before making our way back to Rothbury.
This
is a very welcome addition to our range of local walks. The path was quite easy to follow, and most
of the time we walked along the river.
According to my satnav the total distance from the house was 7.63 miles,
and it took us four hours to complete, including half an hour in the pub. I am sure that this will become a regular
and favourite walk when we are in Rothbury.
