I’ve just completed the latest in a series of digital wild walks around Kielder Water and Forest Park, helping people to explore the wildlife and wonderful landscapes that might be lesser known. Kielderhead Wildwood is a rewilding project right up on the border with Scotland, led by Northumberland WIldlife Trust. The project is propagating new trees and replanting the hillsides of the Scaup Burn with native species. Recreating native habitats in this way not only preserves genetic diversity of species, but also traps carbon in the soils and biomass, and reduces flooding downstream: it’s a win-win for us all.

The Scaup Burn is home to some of the very oldest Scots Pine trees in England – it’s thought they may well be relics of the ancient wildwood as their genetics are unique from the native Scottish population.

You can download all eight of the Kielder digital wild walks from ViewRanger here: https://my.viewranger.com/user/details/3624948

You won’t need a phone signal to use them, just your device location switched on. There’s some great audio clips from local experts and artists too. I really hope you enjoy discovering these fantastic walks as much as I did writing them.