Heading inland from home, the first snow that I saw was as I reached Belsay. Following the road north, the white blanket on the verges deepened and the stands of conifers were bedecked in a remarkable checkerboard pattern; there was no doubt which direction the snow had arrived from. Buzzards perched on trees and fence posts, pheasants stalked along the roadside and a scattering of corvids crossed the road ahead of me; a tumbling mass of black specks against the white landscape which seemed to be an extension of the sky. Up through Otterburn, Rochester and Byrness, the expanse of Catcleugh Reservoir appeared to the left of the road and, shortly after paying my respects to the hardiness of the Whooper Swans, I turned up the crunchy, icy track to Whitelee. John Wilson and his sheepdogs were there to greet me and we set off on a walk around part of the farm. The sheer raw beauty of this remote corner of Northumberland was breathtaking; it may have been in the grip of the snow but there were still lots of birds, testament to the wildlife-friendly approach that John, and his wife Jill, have taken with their farm. Finches, tits, even a Stonechat was braving the cold. Best of all though, were the two Barn Owls; like ghostly white moths, one even ventured close to where we were standing and perched awhile, observing, studying, before resuming it’s silent flight along the wooded valley. Wrens headed to roost and up on the hill, surrounded by a snow-covered landscape, really was a place to get away from it all. As I drove back through the gathering gloom into the darkness of the winter’s night, I was gripped by the enchantment of Whitelee; what will I find there in the spring? what about on the Northumberland Wildlife Trust reserve at Whitelee Fell? so many questions, a reason to return – although I wouldn’t really need a reason…