Seasons of Northumberland calendar 2017

There are still a few calendars in stock and more than eleven moths of 2017 remaining. This calendar is the ideal size for mailing to friends and family. The size is a 23 x23 cm, so it fits within the 25 cm width dimension for the Royal Mail’s  ‘large letter’ rate, and is therefore is very economical to send by post.  There is a full page date grid and a full page image for each month of the year. For 2017, the images include the Northumberland National Park, North Tyne valley, Simonside Hills, Hadrian’s Wall, Bamburgh Castle, Breamish valley, Alnwick Castle, and Rumbling Kern. The calendar is available at many retail outlets across the north east of England, and can be ordered online from this website.

Northumberland : the land of far horizons greeting cards

Greeting cards for everyday use, depicting Northumberland through the seasons of the year, are available from shops across the region, and also from this website. The images include many of the popular landmarks across Northumberland, such as Bamburgh Castle, Dunstanburgh Castle, Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Farne Islands, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland National Park, Cheviot Hills, Simonside Hills, Hadrian’s Wall, Sycamore Gap, Housesteads Crags, Crag Lough, Caw Gap, Milecastle 39, Hexham, Kielder, Hareshaw Linn, North Tyne valley, and wildlife such as puffins and red squirrels. The cards are supplied with a mailing envelope, in a protective cellophane sleeve, and are A5 size (148 x 210mm), blank inside for your own greeting.

The Cheviot (815m), an ancient extinct volcano, is the highest point in the Cheviot Hills and the wild moors and uplands of Northumberland, which continue northwards across the Scottish border. The huge sweeping skies and far horizons, so typical of the Northumberland hills, can be well seen in this view from Battle Hill near Elsdon.

 

 

Seasons of Northumberland

There are still some Seasons of Northumberland 2017 calendars available.  For 2017, the images include the Northumberland National Park, North Tyne valley, Simonside Hills, Hadrian’s Wall, Bamburgh Castle, Breamish valley, Alnwick Castle, and Rumbling Kern. The calendar is available at many retail outlets across the north east of England, and can be ordered online from this website. There is a full page date grid and a full page image for each month of the year.

Northumberland calendar

Don’t forget to order your Seasons of Northumberland 2017 calendar while stocks last. The compact 23 x 23 cms size makes it very economical to post to friends and family for Christmas.
This calendar is the ideal size for mailing to friends and family as it fits within the 25 cm width dimension for the Royal Mail’s ‘large letter’ rate. There is a full page date grid and a full page image for each month of the year. For 2017, the images include the Northumberland National Park, North Tyne valley, Simonside Hills, Hadrian’s Wall, Bamburgh Castle, Breamish valley, Alnwick Castle, and Rumbling Kern. The calendar is available at many retail outlets across the north east of England, and can be ordered online from this website.

Northumberland prints

Fine Art Prints: A3+ size (329 x 483mm)

A range of Northumberland images is now available from this website, printed to the highest standard on fine art photo paper with archival inks. The subjects include Northumberland National Park, Cheviot and Simonside Hills, Coquet valley, red squirrel, Breamish valley, Tarset, Kielder, College valley, Hareshaw Linn, North Tyne valley and other beautiful locations across Northumberland. The views of Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall at night, in the Northumberland International Dark Sky Park are especially popular.
The images are printed on Epson Ultrasmooth Fine Art paper, with Epson Ultrachrome K3 archival ink. This technology has become the standard for the most discerning professional photographers who seek the highest image quality combined with the best archival print permanence. The dimensions refer to the paper size which is A3+ (or Super A3), 329 x 483 mm, (13 x 19 inches). The photographs are printed a little smaller than the paper size so that there is a white border around the image, and are signed in pencil on the paper border. Other sizes are available on request, as are prints on canvas – please email for prices. Prints are despatched in a rigid cardboard tube for full protection in transit.

Northumberland greeting cards: Dark Sky

Northumberland is the most sparsely populated region in England, and one of the many benefits of this (along with quiet roads, open spaces, and unspoiled landscapes) is the darkness of the night sky, which makes this area one of the best places for observing the stars and planets.

Northumberland International Dark Sky Park is the largest area of protected night sky in Europe, covering 572 square miles (1,483 square kilometres). The area was awarded gold status designation in 2013 by the International Dark Sky Association in Tucson, Arizona, the world authority on light pollution. This status means that controls are now  in place to prevent light pollution and to protect the night sky.

One of my best selling cards is the view of Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland National Park, in winter, when on clear nights the stars glitter brightly in the dark skies to the north of the wall, a region with vast empty spaces and just a few remote farms and hamlets scattered across the land towards the Scottish border.

Northumberland greeting cards

Greeting cards for everyday use, depicting Northumberland through the seasons of the year, are available from shops across the region, and also from this website. The images include many of the popular landmarks across Northumberland, such as Bamburgh Castle, Dunstanburgh Castle, Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Farne Islands, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland National Park, Cheviot Hills, Simonside Hills, Hadrian’s Wall, Sycamore Gap, Housesteads Crags, Crag Lough, Caw Gap, Milecastle 39, Hexham, Kielder, Hareshaw Linn, North Tyne valley, and wildlife such as puffins and red squirrels. The cards are supplied with a mailing envelope, in a protective cellophane sleeve, and are A5 size (148 x 210mm), blank inside for your own greeting.

Mindful Moments

The Mindful Moments greeting card series now has twelve designs depicting nature subjects, with a mindfulness quote by Gwennie Fraser. As the subtitle of the card suggests, the theme is ‘reflections on mindfulness and nature’, and the quotes have been especially written to accompany each photograph. If the cards offer a little bit of helpful inspiration and contemplation, then they have achieved their aim. The images cover a wide range of subjects: an arctic tern in the Farne Islands; arctic willow in Greenland; raindrops on a beech leaf in spring; an ocean wave in Cornwall; crepuscular rays over the Hebrides; a detail of a tulip flower; a forget me not; gold and blue light on a waterfall in Northumberland National Park; a spectacular rainbow over Loch broom in the north west highlands of Scotland; a red squirrel; starry night over Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland International Dark Sky Park; and a detail of a stitchwort flower.

Hextol Foundation

The run up to Christmas is one of the busiest times of year for many businesses, and I am fortunate to have the Hextol Greenbox (part of Hextol Foundation) to do the large amount of packing needed to prepare my Seasons of Northumberland calendars,  and Northumberland Winter Christmas cards ready for sale every year. Hextol Foundation is ‘an independent charitable company, based in Hexham, which gives a sense of purpose to people who are learning disabled or who have mental ill-health by helping them develop their skills and confidence through work and personal achievement that creates a positive transformation in the quality of their lives’. Under the guidance of  chief executive Chris Milner, the Hextol Foundation provides an invaluable service for many businesses in this region, covering jobs such as packing, decorating, gardening and catering. Thank you to everyone at Hextol Foundation!

Photo by Roger Clegg

Winter

Today was one of the most beautiful winter days for a long time, with a completely clear blue sky and bright sunshine across Northumberland National Park, and the last leaves of autumn still adding some colour to the landscape. Not cold enough yet to freeze over on the rivers, but the weather forecast is for high pressure for some days to come, and cold, frosty nights. This image show the River Allen from Cupola Bridge a few years ago during a cold spell. It has been used in a previous Seasons of Northumberland calendar, and is still available as a Christmas card in the Northumberland Winter series. Hard winters are not welcomed by everyone, but the dry weather makes a pleasant change from some of the wet winters of recent years, and I have never met a photographer who does not enjoy at least a taste of traditional ‘winter’ weather from time to time.