A selection of testimonials from 2008 onwards. Please refresh the page to see more.
We had a fantastic trip, and have some wonderful memories of Jon's birthday. Martin was hugely knowledgeable and made the trip really accessible for our daughters. And he was very patient with our random questions! I'd heartily recommend a Northern Experience tour as a special birthday present.
Monday was dull and grey with light rain on and off but we enjoyed a wonderful day. In poor weather recognising birds by their voices adds a great deal to the experience. Our knowledge of bird song was poor but Martin is very knowledgeable and good company so we learned a lot.
Oystercatchers and curlew on the moors are always a joy. A very bright yellowhammer in the long wet grass was gorgeous. Snipe displaying high in the air were amazing, and the ring ouzel posing on the skyline - so clear through the 'scope - completed a delightful and educational day.
To be picked up from home, provided with a good picnic lunch, spend the day with an expert and returned in the evening is bird watching luxury. We recommend it!
We had a great day out with Martin, but the highlight was certainly the trip to the Farne Islands. The boat got us really close to the cliffs and you could see and smell the birds! Landing on one island let us see and be attacked by the Artic Terns (apart from Hannah, who remained untouched!). The female Eider ducks were so well camouflaged that you had to look really carefully to see them. Everybody’s favourite were the Puffins, which came in and out of their burrows. Hannah overcame her fear of boats and Ben took lots of great photos with guidance from Martin.
Lovely to have the day arranged and someone so knowledgeable as Martin to tell us what we were looking at – a highlight of our holiday.
It was incredibly rewarding seeing an otter, and we really benefited from Martin’s ‘reading’ of the river (ducks flushing etc) to lead us to it. The bird spottings were equally a delight, especially the little snipe hiding in the vegetation, and the behaviour of the herons.
The two days were organised by hubby as my 40th birthday present and what a present! We spent two fantastic days where we saw a great variety of bird and wildlife and learned both about what we saw and some of the history of Northumberland. Martin is a wonderful guide - extremely knowledgable, engaging, patient and with a wicked sense of humour...when we weren't sitting quietly, we were laughing. Picnics were fab too! We'll be back.
The Friday night and Saturday whole day pelagic trips are fantastic. Over the past two years I have been on approx seven pelagics and all of them have been wonderful. The Friday evening trips are a brilliant way to wind-down after a busy week at work and the Saturday trips are an equally brilliant way to spend a day on the water. There is a hidden world of birdlife just off the north east coast and these trips let you see gannets dive just next to the boat, fulmars soar and gulls argue and bicker with each other as well as there being a heap of other bird species that I'm just starting to recognise. I can't recommend the trips enough and (being fairly new to this bird watching business) I always learn something new as everyone the boat is friendly and happy to help a learner! Finally, if the bird life isn't enough there is always the chance to happen across a whale or a dolphin - you just have to be there.
Thanks Martin for a lovely day out and arranging such spectacular weather. It was amazing to get my first glimpse of otters in the wild.
An excellent 2 days, we saw a total of 89 species in total. The accommodation and food at the Bamburgh Castle Inn was first rate.
Would recommend the whole experience.
The trip to the Farne islands on 15/06/17 was a great day out accompanied with a trip to see the tern nesting colony plus the picnic overlooking bamburgh castle and the gannets hunting for food. The only small negative was for keen birders, we were only allowed an hour on the Farne islands.
Note from NEWT; For 2018 we'll be introducing all-day Farne Islands Safaris where we'll have 2-2.5hrs on both Staple Island and Inner Farne
We all loved this tour having an expert on hand to answer all the kids questions - saved me a whole load of trouble! We are a mixed bunch 2 grown ups 2 nearly grown ups ( 17 year olds) a 12 year old and a 6 year old, but Martin made sure that every one of us learnt something new. He was able to tailor his talk to each member of the group and all of us agreed it was the highlight of a very eventful holiday.
We saw so much more than we would ever have seen on our own.
What a wonderful day I had with Martin.
The plan was to look for otters….. But we got so much more!! I class myself as of low intermediate level when it comes to wildlife and, now that I am approaching retirement, wish to push my knowledge boundaries.
Martin exceeded my expectations and pointed out so many bird species, to which he enthusiastically added the ” back story”. In an unhurried manner he kept the group moving so that we covered 5 different locations in our quest.
Persistent to the end, Martin’s tenacity and experience paid off… We finally saw our otter on the Wansbeck!!
A great day out and I’d have no hesitation recommending Martin to both beginners and experts.
I’ll be back!!!
Great day, Martin. Steve was especially impressed with your ID skills. Hope to eventually do every tour. Thanks again.