Donkleywood to Bellingham The croaking of ravens far above mark to start of our journey. They are far commoner here than along the South Tyne, which is presumably due to the lack of gamekeepers and shooting interests. We have decided to make three stops to consciously connect with the river. For the first, we sit on rocks protruding out into the water. The water is an opaque rust brown, not the clear flow I remember. The rocks are surrounded by trapped autumnal leaves that have the appearance of solid ground, unfortunately wet socks prove to us they are not. The

North Tyne Source to Donkley Wood (missing out Kielder reservoir) We arrive at a sign for the Scottish Borders on the narrow B road and park in a lay-by. It is a bright morning. We can see the stone monument, marking the ‘source’ of the north Tyne a few hundred yards to our right. A couple with their dog from Prudhoe have just come down from it. It’s a wet place. We squelch up to the monument, placed there in 2013, and carry on past it, following the trickling stream that bubbles and hides under a mat of grasses and

Wylam to Scotswood We leave the Boathouse at about 9am. Early for us. There are fish leaping beneath the weir. A man tells us he saw a seal eating a salmon the previous night. I’m unsure whose side I am on.  There are arctic terns patrolling this section of the river. There is a sense of a change here where the tide reaches. The river has a new power, there is something immense about it. We remember the trickle of water at its source amongst the abandoned lead mines on the barren moor beneath Cross Fell. Light reflects from the

Corbridge to Wylam Setting off from Corbridge car park at 1.15 in the hot sun, it is busy. We are relieved by the cool of the wooded river path; there are very few people here.  We decide on pausing regularly, to be still and notice what is here. We do it for the first time today… Sycamore leaves bob gently, willow kisses the water, mallards looking like rocks, mirrored reflections of colour – intense blues and greens, tiny fish coming to the surface, creating ripples  Screams from a distance. Is someone in trouble? Over the hump, we see the men