Anthony Toole joins a sunset boat trip to find the Farne Islands rising and fading in drifting mist and what might have been an everyday voyage transformed into a brush with the extraordinary

On the Hepple Estate, wax cap fungi, shaggy cattle, Exmoor ponies and a perfectly mixed martini reveal how managed wilding is reshaping both land and livelihood, discovers Jane Pikett

Ian Kerr discovers the birds which head into the city during the winter months, there to savour the bounty provided on the streets

Anthony Toole encounters curlews, mine shafts and a house named for miners’ penny pies on a wildlife-rich walk taking a circular route from the historic village of Blanchland

Ian Kerr salutes the brave grey phalarope, which is occasionally blown to our coast by gales and storms, which it fights with courage and agility

Ian Kerr is delighted, after three decades trying to attract summer swallows to his coalhouse, to have a pair at last set up home and rear young

Anthony Toole explores Juliet’s Wood in the Tyne Valley, where wildlife abounds alongside wildflowers and tall trees, before heading to the charming South Close Field nature reserve

Anthony Toole explores a route from Crindledykes to Muckle Moss to discover a panoramic view of Hadrian’s footsteps, the remains of an Iron Age settlement and a variety of beautiful flora and fauna

John Grundy recalls days exploring the Coquet Valley in all conditions, from snow to summer picnic weather, and recommends we do the same

Ian Kerr profiles the spotted and the pied flycatcher, king and queen of the insects they hunt in aerobatic style

Northumberland’s forests have long been a refuge for one of Britain’s most mysterious and intriguing species. Author and naturalist Conor Mark Jameson has been under its spell for some time . . .

Ian Kerr profiles the little auk – a brave Arctic seabird that is often blown off course to the Northumbrian coastline.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust CEO Mike Pratt considers the opportunities offered by the purchase of the Rothbury Estate.

Ian Kerr profiles that most diminutive bird of prey, the red-backed shrike – a rare visitor to our shores which has birdwatches glued to the skies in hope of its arrival in spring

At last, we are waking from our winter slumber. Time to go outdoors, with six spring walks over hillside, country and coast selected by David Steel

Anthony Toole relives a childhood obsession with geology when he  takes his grandson fossil hunting in the beautiful rugged landscape of Greenlee Lough, just north of Hadrian’s Wall near Housesteads

Ian Kerr salutes that most accomplished aerial acrobat, the kestrel.

Anthony Toole enjoys a small slice of history with a walk taking in Lambley Viaduct and the surrounding area.

Through the two longest-named settlements in England and into a ruggedly lovely landscape, Anthony Toole explores the oddly little-known Redesdale Forest and Three Kings stone circle.

John Grundy follows the route of the diminutive River Aln, which though it may be small, follows the trajectory of major events which have set the course of history in the region.