New coastal walk on the cards for this year

The Peregrini Lindisfarne Landscape Partnership has joined forces with Patrick Norris, a professional walking guide based in Belford, to begin surveying and researching the first section of a coastal walk between Cocklawburn and the Causeway at Beal.

The Peregrini project aims to get people out and about to enjoy the landscape of Holy Island and the adjacent coast.

But there are often barriers to lacing up your boots, filling a flask and getting out there; how to get there, how long will the walk take, will I be able to cross that watercourse and, for any coastal walk, where to find information about the tides are just some of the questions that can be off-putting.

Between 10am and 3pm next Thursday (January 19), the team will be exploring the northernmost third of the stretch of coastline between Cocklawburn and Beal, the former being the northern gateway of the Peregrini area and remarkable for its geology and industrial heritage.

The area is a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest and, from Cheswick Black Rocks south, is part of the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve.

The recce is the first of three that will help combine all the essential information about this 10km walk.

The guide Patrick Norris, who runs Footsteps in Northumberland, has a wealth of experience of finding the best route and planning the itinerary, as well as a knack for pointing out what’s to discover in a landscape.

But Peregrini needs your help to find out what works on this walk, what’s of interest and what’s not.

Over three days, the group will look at and find out about the industrial and military sites between Cocklawburn and Beal, as well as soaking up the wonderful atmosphere of this section of coast. You can take part for one day, two or all three.

If you’d like to find out more about the recce on next Thursday or subsequent dates, or to book a place, contact David Suggett on [email protected] or 01668 213086.