Morpeth to Mitford Castle

A walk from Morpeth to Mitford and back again  , it was rather a cool day only the fact I was walking kept me warm sadly not much bird life encountered, the site of the Abbey ruin is now closed to no access at all now sad as it was always worth a visit,  the usual hedge nearby along where the Hornbeams are held several Bullfinch that always alighted on the other side given close but restricted views , a flock of Goldfinch with a few Greenfinch, Chaffinch's and a small group of tits  but no Marsh Tit, a  raucous Jay flew across ahead of me and landed in the Hornbeams , I saw nothing on the river where it was visible , on the ground large patches of Snowdrops added some colour to the drab scene and thousands of shoots of Ransom starting to come through .

Mitford castle was to be as far as I went stopped here for my coffee, there are always birds passing through the hawthorns , nearby the drumming of a GSW , and 2 Buzzard circled  calling, years ago I had called here at dusk with the kids to observe the Bats coming out  it's a fantastic setting, I headed back via the road which gives several views of the streams and river  no Dippers ,just several mallard and 2 Little Grebes , cut back into Morpeth and over the stepping stones to check out Appleby's Bookshop having a 50% off sale due to closing down not a sole in save the one shop assistant , I checked the Natural History  section and found nothing  I needed but overall there are plenty of books going very cheap !!!!

 Jenny Wren the only photo opportunity

 The walk takes you under the A1 the Wansbeck snakes it's way to the sea  and a WW11 pillbox guards the valley

 Although these pillboxes are common in Northumberland and ones like this  will be around for many years to come , many at the coast have been lost to the sea or as in Blyth destroyed for health & saftey , to me they are as important a part of our history as any castle , or stately home  and as such should be saved .

 The path descends steeply down and over the stream Mitford Castle sits atop an isolated hill

 The Wansbeck below and the road back in the distance , there was splash of Dipper but no sightings

 Mitford Church through  the  castle walls

This is some sort of cellar ,used nowadays by youths to light fires and drink ! I only went down because I dropped some litter and had to retrieve it