ALLAN POTTS explains why autumn is his favourite season for a photographic foray into the countryside.

ANTHONY TOOLE looks at work being carried out to preserve the landscape and heritage of the Allen Valleys.

Opting for a quiet life after running an upmarket guest house for merchant navy officers in South Shields for 28 years, Joyce and Colin Taylor decided to spend their retirement days in the forest-fringed village of Byrness, five miles south of the Scottish border.
After buying a house next door to a youth hostel, they discovered that the village was a much-used rest stop for many walkers tackling the Pennine Way long-distance trail. Then, as they told STEWART BONNEY, an unexpected new business opportunity arose.