The health and wellbeing of the public, volunteers and staff are of upmost importance to The Wildlife Trusts, and we have therefore been keeping a close eye on government advice in response to Coronavirus.
Events
Due to Coronavirus restrictions, we have a reduced schedule of events for 2021. We are still offering a number of online events (talks, workshops) and we are also starting to reintroduce some in-person activities again based on government guidance. Please visit our website events pages for more information. Most of our wildlife groups have also cancelled group talks and walks for much of 2021. More details are available here and on their individual websites as applicable.
Volunteering
We have now been able to restart some of our volunteer activities. You can view new volunteer opportunities on our website here. We are constantly reviewing how volunteering is impacted by continued government announcements and will keep volunteers informed accordingly.
Visitor Centres, Hides and Nature Reserves (updated 21/12/21)
Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre and reserve is currently open from 9:00 to 16:30. The Lookout Café reopens from Saturday 22nd October operating from 10:00 to 16:00 daily (last orders 15:30). The bird hides and toilets are open. We also have a limited but varied program of events starting from 20th July (see events for more detail). Gates locked at 16:30. See Visitor Centre page here for more information. Thank you for your continued support and patience.
Northumberlandia is open daily from dawn til dusk. The café is open from Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays) from 10:00 to 16:00 with indoor and outdoor seating in operation. Hot and cold drinks, hot snacks, sweet treats and ice cream are available. The toilet facilities are open in line with the visitor centre's opening times. The woodland trail is also open. You can contact the centre directly on 01670 738701. See Visitor Centre page here for more information. We ask that everyone please follow the current government guidance whilst visiting.
The car park at Weetslade Country Park was reopened on 13 May 2020.
If you are visiting Kielder Water & Forest Park please find the latest from the Kielder team on their website here. Access to Bakethin Hide and Reservoir is currently closed due to significant damage to the area from Storm Arwen. We are currently working closely with Forestry England to clear up the site and to formulate a reopening plan. The latest info is available here.
Please follow the Government guidance when accessing the hides on our reserves and maintain social distancing with others.
Northumberland Wildlife Trust urges visitors to our nature reserves to continue to follow Government guidance to help control the spread of Covid. Please stick to paths and keep dogs under close control. Please note that we are not in a position to provide hand sanitising facilities at our reserves, therefore we ask that you take your own to use when visiting. Finally, please can we ask you to take your litter home with you. If you do visit our sites, please act responsibly, avoid social contact and consider others.
Membership
We are still able to process membership which remains a valuable source of income for the Trust. Please note that there may be a slightly longer lead time to receiving your new membership pack at present as we are blending home and office working. Please visit our membership page for more information.
Our online shop is open but please note that we are currently only despatching items once a week as office access is limited for staff safety. Visit the shop page for more information.
A Challenging Future
As a small charity, we are heavily reliant on public goodwill to keep our activities going into the future. We foresee that the coming weeks and months will be extremely challenging given the projected loss of incoming funds to the Trust. Therefore anything you can spare to donate to important conservation work is very much appreciated. We need your support more than ever! Thank you.
We will update this page as soon as we receive any new information. If you have questions about general wildlife, events or volunteering, please get in touch via email (mail@northwt.org.uk ). Thank you for all your support and patience during this time.