Best Birdwatching Sites: North-East England

Reviewing a book where the primary author is recently deceased was never going to be an easy task. The danger of drifting into eulogy is an obvious one when that author was such a prolific writer on birding in the North-East but, as a legacy left by Brian Unwin to birders visiting our area, this book is a fantastic resource.

The passion that Brian had for the North-East shines through in the depth of knowledge exhibited in page after page of excellent comprehensive site guides covering Cleveland, Co Durham and Northumberland. From the well-watched areas of the Northumberland coast, to the less-visited inland locations such as the Durham Dales, and the strange, industrial birding landscape of Cleveland, everywhere is covered in great detail.

It would be a rare beast indeed if there were no errors, but these are few and far between and of no real consequence, with maybe one exception: the public toilets in the picnic site at North Middleton (listed in the section on the Harthope Valley) were closed by the National Park in 2008 (so head for Wooler instead).

From my office in south-east Northumberland, I could drive for an hour in any direction (other than out to sea) and still not reach the edges of the geographical area covered, and that, to my mind, is the monumental achievement of this book. It’s a highly recommended, well laid out, information-filled guide to a huge area of northern England that will be invaluable to any birder visiting the area. Buy, read, visit!