Spring means new life – frogs and newts spawning in the ponds and little grebe and oystercatchers building nests. In summer there’s a chance of seeing an osprey fishing. Both the hide and the viaduct give good opportunities to see these magnificent birds which only returned to the area in 2009. Dragonflies patrolling up and down the Lakeside Way and zipping over the ponds is another fantastic summer spectacle. As the leaves turn in autumn wildfowl, such as goldeneye and goosander, which spend the winter at Bakethin, begin to arrive. And the short days of winter are the best time to see brightly coloured crossbills flitting through the trees tops.
If you’re really lucky you might see one of Bakethin’s more elusive inhabitants – red squirrels, otters and pine marten have all been recorded so keep your eyes peeled and your fingers crossed!
In 2016/17 The Living Wild at Kielder Heritage Lottery funded project enabled a number of visitor facility improvements and additions to be made at the reserve. The first most visitors will encounter is the Welcome Point in the main car park which provides a meeting point and has information boards and maps about Bakethin and wider Kielder Water and Forest Park. However, the most significant improvement was the replacement of the slightly tired, dark and dingy bird hide. The new hide, like the Welcome Point, was designed and built by Masters of Architecture students from Newcastle University in collaboration with Kielder Forest Park’s Art and Architecture Programme. The split level, two room hide has Forest Pod and Lake Pod giving views to different aspects of Kielder’s landscape and wildlife. It is clad in charred (not painted) timber and has a moss roof and sash windows and, inside, lots of information about the wildlife using the reserve. The hide is accessed along the Lakeside Way, a half mile walk along a very well surfaced path. On the way to the hide you’ll come across two more features funded by Living Wild – the Osprey Bench, created by local chainsaw carver Tommy Craggs, depicts an osprey with a salmon being challenged by two otters. And a little further along is the Wild It Up Clearing – an opportunity for families to get off the Lakeside Way and experience the forest. There’s a mirror to view the tree canopy from an unusual perspective and an upside down periscope to give a bug’s eye view of the forest floor.
More recently (2023) we replaced the old wooden boardwalk and dipping platform at the pond near the car park with a new, recycled plastic one. This one should, theoretically, last forever – a fact welcomed by the staff and volunteers involved in it’s construction and the kids who use it to find minibeasts and learn about ponds and how important they are for wildlife.
Like every one of our nature reserves, (and in fact every area of our work), we could not do what we do without our loyal, hardworking volunteers. Like the wildlife, the tasks at Bakethin vary with the seasons – pond clearing and scrub control in the winter, bracken cutting and vegetation clearing in the summer.
So if you’ve never been, or haven’t been for a while Bakethin is worth the trip out to take a walk on the wild side – just don’t forget your midge repellent!