A selection of testimonials from 2008 onwards. Please refresh the page to see more.
We enjoyed another great day out with NEWT. It’s always good to take a wildlife trip with someone that has detailed knowledge of the local wildlife sights. We get to visit locations that as visitors to the area, we wouldn’t think of visiting. The weather on the day was perfect and the company good, as was the variety of wildlife seen too, all captured in the comprehensive report above.
Thank you Martin, we’re already looking forward to our next visit.
Thanks for another fine day out. That short-eared owl was lovely to see, not to mention the fascinating dune flora, including Grass of Parnassus. Will have to return for another trip sometime when the orchids are still flowering.
We really enjoyed the opportunity to see Minke Whales off 'our coast'. We'll be booking again. Thank you
Thanks again for a wonderful weekend. The Black Grouse were great to watch, followed by Short-eared Owl & Peregrine! Butterflies & insects, and a bit of moth-trapping in the evenings ensured that there was something for all our members. And then there was the marvellous landscape and flowers of Upper Teesdale on the Sunday.
The guest house at Saughy Rigg deserves a mention as well - the first class food was a fitting end to the days out.
We had a most enjoyable day. We wanted to have a chance of seeing some birds which are exclusive to that area. Martin did all the driving and stopped at sites he knew to be advantageous along the way. The weather was good but very windy. Having never been to the North Pennines before, we found the scenery beautiful and Martin took us along some quite remote roads. In total we saw 36 different species of birds. Highlights of the day included seeing several red grouse, most especially a pair of red grouse with 10 chicks. That was a lovely sight. We also saw several black grouse and watched 5 of them "lecking". Among other sighting were golden plover, curlew, snipe, redshank, lapwing, grey partridge and wheatear. We stopped at Cow Green Reservoir where Martin provided us with a very pleasant packed lunch and then we walked around the area and came across a blue gentian, which we had never seen before, and several other varieties of wild flower. All in all a really great day, spent with Martin who was very knowledgeable and good company. If we are in the area again we would love to repeat the experience, maybe in The Cheviots. Thank you once again for a truly lovely day.
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.
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!
Although we had booked for the Cheviot Valley experience, the weather was so appalling - cold, wet and windy, Martin suggested that as we would be unlikely to see any wildlife in the Cheviots it would be a better bet to visit various birding sites on the Northumberland coast. This turned out to be an excellent suggestion, as we were able to see, with Martin's expert knowledge, many, for us, new species. The weather helped us, as many that may have been further out to sea, obligingly came much closer to the coast. The day finished in the sun, as we were able to watch a marsh harrier looking for his supper. All in all a great day out.
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.
Having moved to the North East 26 years ago,also being an RSPB member,had planned to visit the Farne Islands but never got round to it.
The day arranged by Northern Experience Wildlife Tours and Martin at NEWT was superb and did surpass my own and colleagues expectations. What a great day out.
Was a great way of celebrating our colleague & friend Martin’s retirement after an amazing 50 years service with United/Arriva.
Thank you once again,already planning to make the trip again next year with some friends who also are keen birders but have not been to the Farnes.
Another excellent day out with yourself and NEWT. My new binoculars worked well and I also saw 2 ‘lifers’.
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.