THE TOWN MOOR'S EXOTIC SECRET
SUSIE WHITE is entranced by the collection of plants in a little-known botanic garden near Newcastle city centre.
LIFE IN A WET CLIMATE
ALLAN POTTS explains that some wildlife doesn't just survive wet weather: it has come to rely on heavy rainfall.
THE ARTIST WHO WON A ROYAL STAMP OF APPROVAL
North East art historian MARSHALL HALL traces the career and work of the distinguished 20th century horse painter Lionel Hamilton-Renwick
NOT THE CHARMS OF NATURE ALONE
STUART MILLER selects extracts from an account of a tour of Tyneside and south east Northumberland by the Rev John Skinner in 1801.
THE PAST WITHIN THE PRESENT LANDSCAPE
PHIL HUNTLEY begins a northward journey tracing by-passed segments of the old Great North Road. The first leg takes him from Gosforth to Tritlington, north of Morpeth.
ECHOES OF A BUSY SHIPPING TRADE
STEVE NEWMAN visits the harbours between the River Tweed and Budle Bay.
HORSES FOR COURSES
VERONICA HEATH welcomes the arrival of a new equestrian training area near Belsay.
A LITTLE NEIGHBOURLY DIFFERENCE
JOHN GRUNDY is not surprised by a distinct Scottish influence in many of the county's buildings.
KEEPING THE REDS' FLAG FLYING
SUSAN BURKE meets Don and Sylvia Clegg, whose championing of the cause of Kielder Forest's red squirrels has achieved international recognition.
GIVE YOUR GARDEN A NATURAL TONIC
SUSIE WHITE explains how important - and how easy - it is to go organic in your garden.
ROLLING FARMLAND AROUND TYNEDALE'S OLD CAPITAL
STEWART BONNEY follows the course of a circular walk beginning in the ancient village of Wark.
THE UNDERWATER STING
JOHN STEELE introduces the multi-spined but little-known sea slug.
FLOWERS WHICH CAN'T WAIT FOR SPRING
IAN KERR celebrates the approach of warmer days by profiling his three favourite early wildflowers
RETURN OF THE DRAGON
ROSALIND KERVEN, author of Northumberland Folk Tales, tells how she rediscovered the county's lost traditional stories.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THOCKRINGTON
KARENZA STOREY wonders what caused the demise of a once-thriving village
THE WACKIEST WADER IN THE COUNTY
IAN KER explains why the woodcock is a little.... well, different, from its fellow waders.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE....
A TASTE OF NORTHUMBERLAND
Steamed Pudding
NEWS VIEW
Chirapatre: The story so far
Crossword winners and solution
BOOK REVIEWS by John Watson
READERS LETTERS
WHAT'S ON GUIDE
