Chillingham cattle and cuckoo

Cuckoo comes in April
Cuckoo sings in May
Changes tune in the middle of June
and then he flies away....



Sun again so on Easter Monday we went to Hepburn Woods Forestry car park....



...wherein there were the sounds of trickling water, wind in the trees, buzzing of bees and trills of birdcalls.



Following the AA 1000 walks gifted by L. some years ago......Up the road & left into the Chillingham Estate woods (what a climb!); from the track we looked down to see the biblical, white, wild cattle- not to be visited without the ranger as they are completely undomesticated survivors from ancient times.



The cuckoo resounded from mixed, verdant woodland below us- he is early to be singing - maybe the continued sun has brought him sooner; certainly our water butt is down to the bottom third signifying no rain in weeks.



From the picnic table up on the top we could see from the Cheviots on the left to Scotland ahead and east to Lindisfarne. We sat among the bilberry (or whinberry to the Celts!) and cotton grass.



We walked down through late-flowering primroses and violets on woodland banks; the coniferous pines are decorated by old cones and candles of new growth; deciduous trees are bursting green.....lime , sage, emerald larch..... before moving on to the private, dandelion-verged road; dandelion supposedly comes from 'dent de lyon' because the leaves are sharp-toothed.



There are so many beautiful buildings around the Chillingham area; we bought a dozen, free-range eggs shaded in a tiny stall on a house drive.



St. Peter's church, lych gate and church yard provided an hour of browsing time; Sir Ralph Grey's tomb is 15th century and magnificently carved.



The drystone walls hang with aubretia; H1 commented that the orange wingtipped fritillary shouldn't be this far north but it was enjoying a flutter-by the Northern, white nettles, and lawns of daisies and tiny, blue speedwell!



'Oak before ash- we're in for a splash
Ash before oak- we're in for a soak'

Well the oaks were unfurling bright and fresh while the ash still stood with black buds and dark, single bladed keys so I reckon it should be showers not downpours!



Even the new born lambs and calves were hiding from the sun.



We walked from Allendale Bakery (luscious loaves and baps) in more sunshine; it was good to see where the lady from Chesters thyme garden is rebuilding her garden.... after she was thrown out of her 30+ years of hardwork to make the national thyme garden at Chesters (according to the press by Graham Wylie the owner of Sage accounting firm who claimed the land back).



We also went to the spectacular Tyneside Cinema for a preview of 'Vera' with, of course, a mandatory (these days!!)Q&A. Brenda Blethyn, cast as Anne Cleeves' detective, takes you all over the gorgeous 'Secret Kingdom' ie Northumberland on ITV on Sunday nights.