Summer Walk, QE II Country Park, Ashington - Tuesday 20th August 2024.
On Tuesday 20th August 2024, the final walk on the Morpeth Camera Club 2024 Summer Programme saw nineteen
members enjoy a gentle wander around the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Country Park at Ashington. Once one of the
biggest colliery spoil heaps in Europe it was transformed into a nature reserve with a wide variety of trees and plants
surrounding the 16-hectare lake that forms the centrepiece of this popular location.
Members gathered in the large car park at the north end of the lake where a huge pit winding wheel reminds us of the
site's history and commemorates the park's official opening on 6th April 1979 by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
Walking in an anti-clockwise direction we were immediately drawn to the large quantity of birds that frequent this area
with mute swans, Canada geese and greylag geese amongst those photographed.
We continued walking around the lake on the circular path that takes you through woodland and across sections of
open grassland. Small jetties at different points on the water's edge enable you to get a better view of the lake and
local anglers also use these jetties to fish for perch, bream, and pike. Watersport enthusiasts also use the lake for
canoeing, paddleboarding, windsurfing and wild swimming.
Leaving the lakeshore the group headed to the engine shed and platform station of the Woodhorn Narrow Gauge
Railway where a group of volunteers are working on a project to restore the railway to its former glory. We then
headed north through the woodland to photograph a large bucket from a dragline crane that once worked on-site,
adding another link to its mining history.
Passing through the woodland, we then followed the lakeshore path around the eastern side of the lake, returning
us to our start point to complete our circular walk. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to another
successful evening.
Davy.📷
members enjoy a gentle wander around the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Country Park at Ashington. Once one of the
biggest colliery spoil heaps in Europe it was transformed into a nature reserve with a wide variety of trees and plants
surrounding the 16-hectare lake that forms the centrepiece of this popular location.
Members gathered in the large car park at the north end of the lake where a huge pit winding wheel reminds us of the
site's history and commemorates the park's official opening on 6th April 1979 by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
Walking in an anti-clockwise direction we were immediately drawn to the large quantity of birds that frequent this area
with mute swans, Canada geese and greylag geese amongst those photographed.
We continued walking around the lake on the circular path that takes you through woodland and across sections of
open grassland. Small jetties at different points on the water's edge enable you to get a better view of the lake and
local anglers also use these jetties to fish for perch, bream, and pike. Watersport enthusiasts also use the lake for
canoeing, paddleboarding, windsurfing and wild swimming.
Leaving the lakeshore the group headed to the engine shed and platform station of the Woodhorn Narrow Gauge
Railway where a group of volunteers are working on a project to restore the railway to its former glory. We then
headed north through the woodland to photograph a large bucket from a dragline crane that once worked on-site,
adding another link to its mining history.
Passing through the woodland, we then followed the lakeshore path around the eastern side of the lake, returning
us to our start point to complete our circular walk. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to another
successful evening.
Davy.📷