"In Northumberland
alone, both heaven and earth are seen; We walk all day on
long ridges, high enough to give far views of moors and
valley and the sense of solitude far below.......
It is the land of far horizons.."
George Macaulay Trevelyan.
Northumberland
is the most northern of England's counties. today it is
a region famed for its natural beauty and its diversity
of wildlife.
Yet things
were not always so tranquil in these high hills. Running
along the border between England and Scotland, 400 years
ago, these beautiful hills were in a region known as the
"Debatable Lands" and were lawless areas constantly
raided by bands of outlaws and bandits known as the Border
Reivers.
Although
the physical appearance of the countryside has changed
little since those bloody days thankfully, the most aggressive
thing you're likely to come across today in the Northumbrian
uplands are a pair of squabbling Black Grouse!
A species
of native grouse making a dramatic comeback in Britain,
thanks in no small part to the dedicated environmental
schemes undertaken by farmers and landowners in the region.
It is on
this history soaked high ground that Monkridge Hill Farm
is situated, and where the herd of Aberdeen Angus cross
cows and Blackface sheep graze upon over one hundred species
of native grasses, clovers, herbs, and heathers, extensively
and naturally.....
Probably
in much the same way as they did in the day of the Reivers. |
