Rothbury to Thropton along the Coquet

 

A couple of weeks ago I paid another visit to Rothbury for the Green Hairstreaks last visit I seemed to early and this visit to late as I saw no sign of any the weather was good enough but after an hour of searching I gave up and started to head towards Thropton for a walk along the river bank. This was an area I had not  been in before and I had not brought a map thinking I would be spending my time getting some photos of Butterflies, a chat with one of the locals soon put me on the right track he sent me on a slight detour but it was well worth it for the views . I ended up on the river edge crossed the footbridge to head along the south bank thinking I could get back into Rothbury that way you could years ago , well it turns out you can't the Golf Club has extended their course and now comes right to the river edge  so rather than just go along the edge of the course which I would have done one time I headed back about a mile to another footbridge and returned to Rothbury along the north shore . A very pleasant walk with some stunning views I would recommend it

 asses of these Moths on the wing and many even smaller so small I could not find them in the viewfinder when they landed

 These footprints in the mud as I looked over the road bridge at Thropton

 A few new flowers along the stream banks I suspect some where garden escapes from waste dumped

 I followed the stream till it came out in the Coquet

 Looking west along the Coquet the footbridge at Thropton in the distance

 The photos are not in order as some are from the phone and some the camera , a  Buzaard called as it flew low among the trees and then landed it was way off I could just make it out with bins, I gave it a go with the camera and was amazed with these photos it took some finding but lucky for me it sat around long enough which is unusual as they are usually gone long before you see them perched

 It even flew around and landed again this time giving slightly better views hence I used these two shots

 The following shots are all taken with the phone  this looking up the Valley

 and then down

 This is the sort of view the residents of WEST WESTHILL  get from their gardens and windows, I had a very pleasant chat with the Bungalow owner from this view taken from the road just outside , I must admit I would never have found the footpath as one stage you have to go up someone's drive which I did to find a couple sitting enjoying the sun and just on the corner of their garage is a yellow marker taking you through the garden and back up onto the hillside

 Much of the landscape is just fields of sheep or cattle

 This looks like the well worn path of an old drove road

 Which brings you over the top

 Through an old farm yard where I found this sandstone wheel long broken in two the other section visible in the grass it's got to be 6' across

 The views just go for miles and miles

 Looking down towards Thropton

 This was my lunch stop  as there was a park bench to make use of just got the coffee poured when it actually did pour and I had to take shelter under the bushes it did not last long thankfully the sun returned and I hung my fleece over the bench to dry. A Cuckoo calling with Reed Bunting, Sedge, Willow & Chiffchaff all singing with Linnets ,Yellowhammer and Goldfinches also dropping in nearby. The footpath actually heads down through the gorse  but there are so many sheep trails it's would be easy to get lost, so I headed down the Bridleway which the seat is located on and came into Thropton

 View from the footbridge ,  Lots and lots Swallows and Martins , Common Sandpipers , Ringed Plover , Oystercatchers, and a couple of Dippers

 The river was running very fast at some points and would be impossible and dangerous to cross

This old WW11 pillbox with the gun slits just visible is on the rougher part of the south bank and not far from here I had to turn around and go back to another footbridge

Rothbury - Blaeberry Hill

Monday 14th April

A visit to Rothbury  to go up on the hills and look for Green Hairstreak , a sunny day with a light cool breeze , the detour to the town is still in operation its over a year since the road was closed must have been some slip. It's a bit of a slog to get up to   Blaeberry Hill as  its a straight and direct climb from the main street via a tiny alley next to Millers shop I think is the name . Well I walked all over the hill luckily rides have been cut through the heather  plenty Peacocks around masses of Bees but no Hairstreaks , so eventually I went for a walk around the edge of the hill and onto the top , birds encountered several WW lots of Chiffs, Brambling Redpolls a  single Red Grouse , Swallows over  3 GSW but not a single Raptor over , and yet on the coast I had 5 Buzzards in the air at Dru, and even 2 soaring near Morpeth on the way up . Later I arrived back at the hill and sat to watch but only more Peacocks around , I did find an Emperor Moth Caterpillar here once . Heading back down into town takes very little time it's so steep you could roll into a ball and end up in the river , the carpark on the river edge is now free  which is what it was & should have always been , visitors rather than pay for all day would park in the town blocking the streets preventing those with huge 4x4's from getting to the wine shop !. Goosander on the river and several Mallard and BHG  Dipper feeding young still in the nest Grey Wagtail and Heron to end the day , will have to try and get back up before the end of the month or try some other sites.

Looking down & over some Birch Scrub I picked out this Redpoll , it is a little overexposed but was very pale overall ,it was rather distant and I had great difficulty picking it up in the camera 

 Lots of Peacocks around

 Rothbury lies down in the valley , houses come right up to the wall at one point.

 Just noticed there is a face with the hat pulled down !!!!

 A couple of Small torts this one already been in the wars

 Lots of small patches of Wood Sorrell around amongst the bracken must have been woodland here at some time

 Distant ruin of a castle or manor House cant't remember the name

 Pixie cups & Matchsticks

 Several pairs of Wheatears around this one was singing , it's very faint song but the sound does travel ,took me ages to pick it out .

 Trying to get at that awkward spot !!

Dipper feeding young  ,there was only the one adult unless the other was still on the nest, I could see roughly where it was but did not venture to close

 Nice Grey Wagtail it seemed to be nesting on the opposite bank

 It spent the time flycatching

 It seemed puzzled with the Dipper which kept going under in the fast flowing water , managed to capture the two together

 Very obliging Goosander  there always seems to be one somewhere , that comes to bread , handy for photographs just keep the sliced white out of shot .

 Goosanders are actullay very hard to get the exposure right with the contrasting head against the super white body

Finally a Grey Heron drops in early evening