A selection of testimonials from 2008 onwards. Please refresh the page to see more.
This was a truly wonderful day which was a 70th birthday present for Victor from our son. The door to door service and included lunch was much appreciated as was Martin's extensive knowledge. The icing on the cake was the sighting of the White Stork on our return journey. This tour has made us keen to visit Kielder again for a longer visit. Many Thanks.
We had a great time Martin – thanks! Your knowledge of the wildlife and local area made our trip extremely interesting and meant we didn’t waste time looking in the wrong places. The Kittiwakes were great practice for the puffins and terns in flight, although they still didn’t prepare me for getting my head pecked by the arctic terns!
Brilliant trip, highly recommended.
Thank you for a brilliant day. We were taken to hidden gems and Dave was able to photograph birds, butterflies and flowers we would never have spotted without your help. Your encyclopaedic knowledge was astonishing and that made the day so much more interesting. Will be recommending this experience to everyone!
We really enjoyed the opportunity to see Minke Whales off 'our coast'. We'll be booking again. Thank you
I would thoroughly recommend this trip. It took nearly 4 and a half hours and it was a spine-tingling experience to watch the otter hunting at dusk right at the end of the evening. Despite this there was no sense of rush, it felt like we could have spent the whole week there without being moved on. Clearly driven by a passion for sharing his knowledge of wildlife, it would be a pleasure and a privilege to spend more time tapping Martin’s excellent knowledge of the fauna. An inspiring trip of discovery yet this was all slap-bang on the doorstep of normal life. He’s not paying me, but go and spend your money on one of these delightful quests into the fantastic creatures of this ancient Shire and beyond. Turnstone and Gadwall will guide your way …
For our second Northern Experience Wildlife Tour, we chose the ‘Otter Safari’. At approximately 8pm on Thursday 15th May 2014, we (I saw we but it was Martin) spotted an otter on the River Wansbeck. Thanks to the commotion and noise the ducks made, it alerted us (actually it was Martin) to the possibility of a otter. After a quick description (it’s near the triangular tree, just to the left under the big tree) we all fixed the otter in our binoculars. Martin fixed his scope on a tripod and quick as a flash I was there, getting superb views of the otter chomping on a fish. Sightings can’t be guaranteed of course but we were lucky and saw an otter on the otter safari. We enjoyed our trip. Thank you. Philip and Pauline Connington.
A fantastic day - despite the cold weather - from beginning to end we were enthralled, educated and entertained. Martin really looked after us well - provided all the equipment to enable us to see beautiful creatures in great detail - and we even got an astronomy lesson! Lunch was provided and was tasty - we had a very full day from 9.30am to 6pm - only coming back then because increasingly high winds made it difficult to find any owls! There were so many highlights to this day that it would be impossible to name them all. Looking forward to the next time!!!
A really enjoyable day’s birding, with my highlight undoubtedly being the Water Rail – I’ve spent years not seeing one at any number of places, so to have one pottering about in full view for 15 minutes after only having waited about 5 minutes was truly memorable. Stag Rocks were great, but the flock of 600 or so Common Scoter (unfortunately I couldn’t catch the one or two Velvet in with them) was the highlight of the sea watching. And always go back and have another look – we wouldn’t have seen the Marsh Harrier otherwise! Martin is engaging company and I really enjoyed our trip. All I have to do now is persuade my wife we need another winter break in Northumberland next year!
What a brilliant day! It was great to see so many birds and have them accurately identified. My confidence levels in identification went up so many notches after spending the day with Martin. His knowledge of the birds, their habits and habitat, is second to none. We met so many people during the day who know him and asked questions on all things ornithological to which the answers were readily available. All that and a lovely picnic, too. Don't hesitate - book now. You won't be disappointed.
We had a wonderful day out with Martin, the weather was the best that Northumberland has to offer at this time of year, lots of blue in the sky providing the perfect backdrop to the lovely views in every direction on Lindisfarne. Without Martin's expert eye guiding us we would have missed a lot of the wonderful wildlife that was at times almost under our nose but beautifully camouflaged. Although I have been to Lindisfarne a number of times Martin showed us areas and viewing points that we hadn't seen before and was quickly able to spot the many different birds and wildlife that were also enjoying the day. As well as seeing lots of different varieties of birds, Roe deer were spotted with aid of the telescope that Martin brought along and seals were seen basking on the sandbars beside the island.
Martin provided the perfect picnic for wildlife watching, the soup and sandwiches went down very well while we watched the tide bring the birds closer to us. It was wonderful to be able to just focus on the wildlife for the day and not have to worry about driving or where we were going as all that was taken care of. Martin showed us some wonderful places to see some of Northumberlands wildlife and patiently answered our questions when we needed help identifying the many different birds. The day was a real treat for us and once again we learned so much from Martin about the creatures we saw and where to see them. A memorable experience that I would highly reccomend to anyone who loves the area or loves wildlife.
We would certainly like to do more trips in the future with Martin's expert guidance and knowledge.
Thanks Martin for a wonderful holiday. The itinerary was exactly what we wanted. Saw loads of the stunning Northumbrian coast, nature reserve ponds and North Pennines, and Martin was incredibly knowledgeable about finding wildlife for us to spot. The Swan rooms were comfortable and spacious, and the food excellent.
Many thanks Martin for a great day out, enlivened too by your sea buckthorn vodka-making tips, which I definitely hope to follow! And there was that bonus stoat that crossed the road haphazardly in our path. Looking forward to the next trip.