18/09/2026
Sometimes the best adventures are the ones that come together at the very last minute! 🥾⛰️🍴
Late last Friday evening I received a message from Laura in the Netherlands. She and her husband Erik were visiting Northumberland and she was looking for a birthday surprise for him — a private guided walk in The Cheviots, not too long or too hilly, with a Fells’ Kitchen lunch thrown in too.
After exchanging a few ideas, we settled on a beautiful route from Carey Burn Bridge in the Harthope Valley, walking across to Middleton Old Town before returning through the wonderfully named Happy Valley.
And what a lovely day we had.
We took our time, watched the wildlife, chatted about the landscape and some of its history, and generally enjoyed being out in one of my favourite parts of Northumberland.
Down by the river in Happy Valley, it was time for lunch. I set up the Fells’ Kitchen and served chicken kebabs with flatbread wraps, yoghurt & mint dressing, sweet red onions and a selection of salads.
Pudding was a salted caramel & chocolate tart — complete, of course, with a Happy Birthday candle for Erik! 🎂 We had rather more success eating the tart than we did keeping the candle alight in the Cheviot breeze. 😂
Days like this remind me of one of the things I love most about my job.
I get to spend time with people I would probably never otherwise meet, hear a little about their lives and where they come from, while sharing with them the landscape, stories and history of this beautiful part of Northumberland.
It was an absolute pleasure spending the day with Laura, Erik and Luffy (pronounced Loofy!), their dog, and I hope Erik enjoyed his Northumberland birthday surprise as much as I enjoyed putting it together. ❤️
If you’re visiting Northumberland and fancy your own private guided experience in The Cheviots, please get in touch. Every day can be tailored to you — whether you’re looking for a gentle scenic walk, something a little more adventurous, a particular place you’d love to explore, or a fully catered Fells’ Kitchen experience.
Just tell me a little about yourselves, the sort of day you have in mind and your preferred dates, and we can take it from there.
And the moral of the story?
Laura told me afterwards that she’d hesitated about contacting me so late on a Friday evening. So, naturally, I had to teach them a good old Geordie phrase...
**Shy bairns get nowt!** 😁
And I’m very glad she wasn’t too shy to ask.
