And look at it now – its like Spring – blue skies, sunshine, double figure temperatures… and since im still here, I have been making the most of it with some long walks along the coast.

All these shots are taken with my iPhone, and far from being high-grade, yet still capture the coast in its glorious autumn light… :)

Im off to Indonesia for a month… more at Christmas…

But the following video is an ideal gap-filler, and its a great piece of work, showing-off the various assets and natural beauty the area has.

Promise to write soon.. :)

Summer has yet to officially start in my book, its just been so mild – where is the heat ?
But that-said, there has been plenty to keep busy with, so sun or not, the people came.

Earlier in the summer we had a visit from Time Team on the point, digging the chapel there, with the show being aired in the autumn.

We had half of Cornwall’s finest up here as the swell dropped in the South West and the boys drove North in search of waves, good to see Stokesy, Fryer and Egor out in the water with us.

The usual raft of tourists have been queuing up to be rescued from the causeway at Holy Island – its an expensive mistake, and its not hard to avoid – check the crossing times !! :)

As well as the lighter side of things, the area had a couple deaths, both quite recently, one diving-related accident and one cliff-fall. Both very sad.

Looking forward once more to the August Bank Holiday weekend, the finale of the holidays, only one thing is being talked about – Crastonbury.

Big highlight for me this year – The Cuban Brothers headlining !!!!! You HAVE to see these guys. Truly epic entertainment. See the video below. :)

Must dash now, but promise to be back soon..

We actually need some rain, as the farmers will tell you… :(

A highlight for me has been the influx of in-season locally caught Scallops. Yum.

I caught Michael at the Craster Arms a few night ago and got the low-down on how to shell yourself a scallop, or two boxes even.

The villages are ready for it – and it will be a bumper Easter with the wedding and Mayday all wrapped-in.

The warm weather and light nights are very welcome, but it still needs to warm up before you can put the winter coat away.

Still its not as cold as it is in Thurso, This time last year we were up there watching the same contest that is happening now, today.

It has been absolutely pumping surf however. Which is typical, since it was rubbish last year.

Some highlights..  remember, this is Scotland…

But before winter sings it’s last song, and the wetsuit is put back in the car, a nice week playing on Mont Blanc with a the fellas.. :)

But I found the odd little gem here and there… :)

Its February now. Autumn feels like a long time ago. The water is SO cold now. I spent 5 weeks in Indonesia, and then went straight to Texas for Christmas for two weeks. In effect, I managed to miss all the snow chaos here in the UK and plonked myself on a nice warm beach instead. January has been pretty mild, and there has been so little swell of any significance that Ive all but given-up surfing. Almost.

Instead we have been making a couple of trips to Glenshee to slide around on the ice, and doing long cycle rides and hikes. The weather has been truly balmy by standards. Only a few days under zero, and Ive seen a few days in double figures..  in January… better get ready for Easter… ;)

And a quick video from the top of Hedgehope;

Untitled from swinhoe on Vimeo.

Im going to try and make more effort here and post more fragments and quick snapshots from the villages and area, and in that vein find below some snaps from the 4 hours hike at the weekend – Langleeford car park – up Hedgehope – around to Cheviot – top of Cheviot and back to the car park. 10 miles and a 850m vertical climb. Lots of snow and ice. Such a good day. :)

Note; All the photos and the video were taken with my iPhone – and im so impressed with its quality ! More frequent posting via the iPhone to follow.. :)

… but its just been too good recently to not talk about it.. sorry.

And its not like its a well kept secret anymore… Northumberland is fully OUT in surfing terms. Read on.

September THROBBED with swells, we had big southerlies, big northerlies, and just about the best conditions you can get up here. Now, as every surfer will tell you, when its good, you go. You just do. There are plenty of onshore days to sacrifice when you need to. That sentiment works even harder up here in the deep north. Our swells have short windows and can be gone the next morning after being perfect. It was ‘good’ alot in September.

The photos in this post are all mine taken from the swells in September, but there are a lot of shots here that look similar to those inside the articles of Carve and Wavelength this month. That’s as mainstream as it gets.

The crews had arrived form all over the country, Wales, Cornwall, Scotland – with Pro riders – Tow-teams with Jetski’s – photographers and video-guys – the place was buzzing for the surf.

You see, we have a secret here in Northumberland, and it attracts surfers form far and wide. Its not the clean water, empty beaches, stunning backdrops, or miles of coast to choose from. No, it’s a piece of rock, that collects swell and creates a truly great left-hand wave, unlike anything you will find on the beaches in the vicinity. This is why I keep bumping into the cream of UK surfing at 7am in a field next to a farm..

This piece of rock has attracted the cream of the UK Pro riders, Eugene Tollemache, Alan Stokes, Russel Winter, Spencer Hargreaves, Matt Capel… these guys have all been sat in the lineup in the last months.

So, you can understand how the mags got the lead – Cornall is a small place, and when the surf is flat everyone is looking further afield, and how the Welsh boys arrive on cue each swell – forecasts are pretty good and easy to read these days, and why its special – this is a legitimate, heavy, barreling wave… and its on our doorstep.

Anyway, this is not a magazine article, so I don’t have to justify anything, Im not here to talk about the good or the bad. I’m not naming the spot, but if your reading this then the chances are you know where it is.

Just think about it like this : Being up here – we’re all very lucky – and even luckier when we get that one morning with no-one else out and its perfect…. and gone an hour later…that’s the North for ya… appreciate it. :)

The weather is still pretty fantastic, blue skies, sunshine and warm water. The road are getting quieter…  you can feel Autumn approaching.

I love September. I revel in it.

As the summer passed, I thought about what defined this area we live in.. not easy to do. Not as an answer to that, but as a visual exploration, I collected these images, which hopefully begin to paint the picture.

Coxons Ice-cream

The Longstone Lighthouse on the Farne Islands

Fish and Chips from any of the various chippy's

Bamburgh Castle

Lobster Pots - working or decorative

Billy Shiel boat trips to the Farne Islands

Of course there are many other things I could have included, and everyone has their own vision of what this special piece of coast means to them, but you have to draw the line somewhere… We could talk about Kippers, Grace Darling, Dunstanburgh Castle, Beadnell Harbour, Golden Beaches… but these are the ones that work most visually – and they work for me.