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

Slavonian Grebe

Last Saturday I went along to the stretch of the Coquet  just north of Amble above the weir  in search of the Slavonian Grebe that has been around for a few weeks ,it did not take long to locate although it was about as far along as the path starts to move away from the river , nevertheless the bird had a constant route and would frequently come along the nearside of the river giving great views , and I spent most of the afternoon just watching it's actions .Although it dived many times I never saw it come up with anything although it did squirt occasional  clouds into the water , if it was some way off it gave the chance to see what else was about , numerous Goldeneye, Wigeon and Mallard with the ever present Black headed Gulls near the Car pull in , a few swan in the nearby field all turned out to be Mute on closer inspection and 3 Roe deer crossed a fence and fed in the grassland for awhile. The Slavonian Grebe at one stage had a mad dash across the water as if to take off but then plunged into the water for a bathe it was good to see some different behavior , struggling with the poor light it did brighten up a couple of times but alas the bird was at this time some way off