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Photos From Walks 1- The Scottish Borders + Northumberland

Many times I really want to share photos from our walks here in Northumberland England or from the Scottish Borders, where we’ve been driving to a lot this summer and autumn.  The problem is my posts have been infrequent due to time and when they get long it feels like it will just be too much. Also, I used to have more time while out to sit and do a watercolor study and then share that as a post. It seems we just have time to pop out for a walk and there’s no time for poor deprived me to do any artwork!

So I thought I’ll just do a separate post and just pop a bunch of nice photos on to share with you some of the beauty of this area, which truly inspires me as an artist and human being. I hope you enjoy them and maybe this could be something I do more often, what do you think?

SCOTTISH BORDERS – Langholm area

A beautiful view up the lane near Langholm.

So first I’ll share some photos from our drive up to the area around Langholm, Eskdalemuir in the Scottish Borders.

This was our view as we had lunch in the car.

We pulled up, well backed up into a gateway area and this was our view across the valley from us. It was pretty cold and misty outside but Gary made hot coffee on our little gas camp stove behind the car, it was so welcome!

This is a little closer view, just look at that hill on the left!

When I look at these hills, though they’re really pretty high, I feel I just want to start walking and get to the top! But that hill on the left is quite steep looking!

From inside the pine forest, how beautiful!

The above picture I shot when we had a pitstop for a ‘wee’, somewhere in the vast hills. It was so quiet and I love, especially at this time of year, there’s not many people around.

This was shot from the car window, that’s the town of Bentpath at the base of the hill.

We went through an area we explored a bit last year, the valley and hills of Eskdalemuir, NW of Langholm. The tiny town you see above is Bentpath. I love how it’s situated with the gorgeous hills behind it, such a tiny place along the river.

Coming over the moors, wide open and free.

I like that view of coming over the open moorland, no barriers. Sometimes you see sheep wandering around across roads like this up here.

Sunset on our way home, I just love the colors and those clouds!

And to finish a nice day, a beautiful sunset to send us home to Northumberland.

NORTHUMBERLAND

COQUETDALE – Rothbury + Thropton area

Two beautiful tups or rams, how bonny are they?

On this day we went for a walk between Rothbury and Thropton, we park on a back lane and walk up through fields and end up on a very ancient lane called Physic Lane. Many times they have rams in some of the fields we pass, so I was happy to see these two fellas above. I don’t know anything about why they are colored like that, it’s not natural color, so I’ll have to find that out.

One of my favorite kind of stiles to go over. built right into the wall.

Above, you see a very old type of style, it’s stone and built as part of the wall. I love it because it’s so permanent, though you do have to take care when you use it because they’re narrow and there’s usually nothing to hold onto. And yes, the stones go down the other side too!

A view down Physic Lane, just a grassy path now.

I love photos of gates in the countryside and would like to do more paintings of them. This gate is typical in style, a very practical farm gate to keep livestock in (or out). This is one part of the old Physic Lane, some parts you can see the old cobbles under the grass. Physic Lane dates back to the Medieval time, as there were two known hospitals in the area. It’s believed the monks who ran it would gather herbs along this lane and I know for a fact there is a great number of Elderberry trees along part of it, and this is a great healing plant with it’s berries and flowers being used. I know it’s a dull day for a photo but I love how the Bracken is changing color along the lane too, I just love it’s Autumn colors.

Though it’s a misty overcast day, it’s still a beautiful view of Coquetdale valley, one of my favorite places!

I just love Coquetdale, so named for the River Coquet that runs from up in the Scottish Borders down through this valley. It snakes it’s way along, added to by little streams that run down from the moors, clean and cold. Then it winds it’s way along and reaches the coast at Warkworth Castle. But on this walk we don’t see much of it, so maybe I’ll share photos of it in a future post. What you can see are the Simonside Hills across the valley, a very popular set of hills to hike up.

One part of the walk has huge boulders scattered on the hillside.

One part of the walk has huge boulders scattered on the hillside. I just love big boulders that form crags on many of the hills around our area. They are full of interesting layers from when they were formed and huge cracks where they split apart from years of freeze and thaw and general wear. They’re kind of like architectural elements sitting in the countryside!

My favorite mushroooms are these, Fly Agaric.

Fly Agaric mushrooms are my favorite kind, I can’t resist the bright red orange of their caps and the little white ‘bits’ that appear there too. I just loved how these appeared to line a path, like maybe they were magically put there by a fairy to decorate the way?

NORTHUMBERLAND – Above Eglingham

I’m a sucker for pictures of tracks through grassy fields!

Then on another day we went for a short walk that we did years ago, above Eglingham, but this time we went further up the fields. It’s very open there with far reaching views of moors, grasses, heather and distant hills.

We found a huge boulder sticking out on the hillside.

We found a huge boulder sticking out on the hillside, so naturally we were attracted to it. I guess others have been too because some nitwit carved a big heart into it and then names and a date. We don’t find this attractive at all or nostalgic, we just find it annoying and a disturbance to what we consider perfect as is, nature left alone. OK rant over!

We enjoyed sitting on said rock for quite awhile, just enjoying the view, talking about things going on in our life and because it was very windy and cold, keeping out scarves wrapped around our faces.

There were wonderful little mushrooms growing around the boulder.

There were nice little mushrooms growing all around the boulder, on all the different levels of rock, where ever there was soil and grass growing. What I liked about this boulder was there were so many flat parts to sit on, all on different levels. I’m certain this rock has been popular for sitting over many, many years!

Here’s a view from the boulder where we sat.

I included a photo to show you the marvelous view we had from the boulder top, it just keeps going on and on. I love the color in autumn of the bracken and heather, just wonderful browns with a hint of burgundy.

This is another photo of the view from the boulder.

And here’s a photo just showing the view in landscape format. I want to go back up there and see it in different seasons. Also as we sat and studied the land and hills before us, we try to see where tracks, gates and paths might be so we could explore further on another day. When I see land spreading out like this I get the feeling of just wanting to walk and walk to get to further hills. Getting back might be a problem when I’m all tuckered out!

Just to show you how chilly it was, there’s me bundled up!

Just to show you how chilly it was, there’s me bundled up! It was soo cold and windy, but sometimes that really gives you energy, as long as you don’t sit still too long. I had to crop Gary out as he does not like his photo shared! I like snapping some selfies from our walks, it really is nice to look back on later and gives that more personal feeling and memory of our day out.

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of some of the wonderful views we’ve seen lately. I do have more to share so you may see some other posts like this, just to share some photos. Do you think this would be good?

View from Lordenshaws, Rothbury

The end of May was very chilly here, wool sweaters and extra layers to peel off when the sun did decide to shine. Gary and I have continued our walks of course, especially when the rain holds off. Most of our walks are later in the day and we don’t have much time for me to sit and paint. But today we went with the intention that I’d sit and do a study of distant hills. Yay!

The view I painted was in this direction, looking up Coquetdale.

The view I painted was in this direction, looking up Coquetdale.

We had a ramble around on Lordenshaws, which is situated right next to the well known Simonside Hills, a favorite place for walkers. Lordenshaws is a much more gentle hill and an easy walk but still offering great views.

Here's the largest cup and ring marked stone at Lordenshaws with the marvelous view in the distance of Coquetdale.

Here’s the largest cup and ring marked stone at Lordenshaws with the marvelous view in the distance of Coquetdale.

I love that there are ancient cup and ring marked stones to see as you walk, made about three thousand years ago!

Here's more of a close up to see the rings and the 'holes' are the cup marks.

Here’s more of a close up to see the rings and the ‘holes’ are the cup marks.

This shows the markings or carvings a bit closer. It’s amazing to think of how long ago they were made and we always have a wonder about the people that made them. What were they like? What did they think of and what do the marks mean? No one can answer that for sure.

View I had of the hills and Coquetdale valley.

View I had of the hills and Coquetdale valley.

Though there are many views, I decided to paint this one, with Simonside being just to the left and the view of Coquet valley coming from behind it. I liked the distant hills with fields marked by lines of hedges and then the nearer farm fields just at the base of Simonside. (It’s very hard to see any detail in this photo, because the sun was in front of me getting low.)

Painting with cold hands as the sky constantly changed.

Painting with cold hands as the sky constantly changed.

I tried to get as much done as possible, then at home I looked at the photos I took on the computer, and tried to touch it up. It’s always best to get as much done in the field as possible, as the colors are never the same on the computer! The hard thing is when you work outdoors, especially in the chilly evening air, your hands get cold and your back aches…well mine does. So I try to work quickly.

Finished! "View From Lordenshaw's" watercolor, 5.5"x7"

Finished! “View From Lordenshaw’s” watercolor, 5.5″x7″

Here’s the finished painting, only 5.5″ x 7″, including the ring holes!

More posts to come, it’s been such a busy summer I am far behind! Please sign up your email (upper right) to recieve notification of new posts.

Cheers!

“View of Cheviots and Rothbury” May 9,2010

This evening we went for a drive up towards Beanly Moor which looks over a gorgeous valley with the Cheviot mountains in the background.

Road by Beanly Moor

Road by Beanly Moor

You can park your car on the side of the road here and just walk up to Beanly Moor, a beautiful and wild area filled with heather and bracken with wonderful views.

Shepherd and his dogs

Shepherd and his dogs

I love seeing the shepherds with their dogs, they don’t go on foot or by horseback as they used to, nowadays it’s a quad bike or 4 wheeler as transport across fields and the dog seems to LOVE riding on back!

View from hill by Beanly Moor

View from hill by Beanly Moor

We walked up the hill and watched the sun set here, I just love this view. I dream of having a house in a setting like this, with a view just as peaceful.

Cheviots from Beanly Moor + Rothbury biuldings

Cheviots from Beanly Moor + Rothbury biuldings

I pulled out my watercolors and used my water-brush to do a little sketch. It was a bit hard because though it’s sunny, it was cold!  At the bottom of the page is a pen and ink sketch I did the next day, of buildings in Rothbury, a small town in Northumberland. I was freezing while sketching this, but I liked the windows and stones and though angles are tricky, I like to do them because it’s good practice.

Church in Rothbury, Northumberland, England

Church in Rothbury, Northumberland, England

You can see the day was cloudy and cold, I sat on a bench looking out across the town square. You can see the hills right in the background, I love walking near Rothbury.

Rothbury church

Rothbury church

I hope to get a nicer photo of this church on a sunny day then do a painting.

Click here to view my Landscape Paintings of England in my shop.

Click here to view my Landscape Photos of England in my shop.

“The Carriage Drive” 9-20-09

On Sunday, September 20th, I went on a carriage drive with eight different buggy’s and all kinds of horses, through Coquetdale (or the Coquet river Valley) all around Rothbury.

Grahm's Boys

Graham's Boys

This is a drawing I did after the drive while looking at one of my photos on the computer screen. It was WAY too bumpy to even consider sketching while on the drive. This was done with a permanent ink pen with no preliminary pencil sketch, so I had to plan as I sketched because you can’t erase.

View above Coquetdale 2

View above Coquetdale

A bit about the carriage drive. It’s hard to pick out just a few pictures. As you can imagine on an 8 mile pony trek through some of the most beautiful English countryside while in the back of a 4 wheeled horse cart, left me with lots of photos. The day was perfect, a bit breezy but no rain and no dark clouds!

Sheep above Coquetdale

Sheep above Coquetdale

Through a farmers field with gorgeous views of Coquetdale below.

I got to ride in a 4 wheel buggy as I said, pulled by a team of two, half-brother horses. They were perfectly matched though, both dark brown. They were only 4 years old so young by standards of experience and the owner, Graham, was thrilled at how well they did.

Butterknowes Mare

Butterknowes Mare

This is a water color pencil sketch I did once again after the drive. I used one black pencil and a waterbrush to do it.  It was a mare in the field we passed, the gate read, “Butterknowes”, that’s the farm name. Any time we passed a field with horses they all galloped around and bucked, you could feel their excitement! This mare had a foal and they did the same thing, running along the fence as we passed, it was really exciting.

Driving a buggy can be dangerous stuff though, all in the cart had riding helmets on in case of a tip over, me…well I didn’t have one. I had to just hope the horses and terrain would cooperate! There were some parts where we had to duck from tree branches over an old railway line, where the steep bank was just a step away; and parts where the road was so bumpy I held myself up off the seat by partial standing and using my arms. I just couldn’t take the bumps with my back. But other than that it was relaxing and fun.

On the highway

On the highway

This is the buggy that was just behind us in the first part, then we switched positions so our horses could feel secure and follow.

We went through farmers fields, on a two lane paved ‘highway’, on old railroad lines, on country dirt roads (complete with pot holes!), through many field gates, up past the Simonside Hills and moors covered with bracken and heather, to swing down through gorgeous mature pine forests and then into Rothbury, a quiet little town in Coquetdale (the River Coquet valley).

Pausing at the parking area

Pausing at the parking area of Simonside

We had a brief pause at the parking area  near Simonside in the open moorland areas. We were trying to let the others catch up. It was windy and cold up here, but we couldn’t stand long or the horses would chill.

Tower at Rothbury

Tower at Rothbury

This is the old tower just outside of Rothbury, I’m not sure if it was used to look out for invading Scots or not? I have to find out.

Coming home

Coming home

Everyone filed in after the drive to June’s farm at East Raw, June’s the shepherdess who hosted the drive. The buggy in the back with the gorgeous chestnut horse is June with her groomswoman (or gate opener!) Becky. The cart in front is a lady from Scotland who came down just for the drive, with her Shetland Pony.

Chester sweated

Chester sweated

What can I say? Is this not a perfect looking horse?! (June’s horse Chester)

After the drive

After the drive

I’ll leave you with this picture of the buggy I rode in, with these two chaps having a talk over it, under a huge ancient tree. Sigh…a perfect day. I feel some horse paintings coming soon.