Next Meeting
The next SNAC meeting is on Tuesday March 17th 2026 at 6pm in Swarland Club. Dr Mike Jeffries will be giving a talk titled ‘The Power of Ponds‘. Everyone welcome.
Boating Lake Revealed
Volunteers from SNAC and local residents recently teamed up with Forestry England staff to begin work to remove invasive species from around the Boating Lake in Swarland Wood.
If you don’t know where the Boating Lake is – you’re not alone.!In recent years it’s become very overgrown and has transformed into a habitat called ‘wet woodland’.
The group spend a day removing invasive rhodedendrons from around the lake, as well as removing a number of small trees to let in more light.
It’s hoped to continue the work over the coming months.
Posted October 13th 2025
Weekday Bus ? We need your views
We’ve always hoped that we would be able to get a weekday service in addition to the Saturday bus. NCC are now looking to run a 3 month trial on one day in the week. Before they do this, we need some input from you –
- Would you use a bus on a weekday?
- Do you have strong preference for a particular day in the week?
- Where would you like to go? – i.e. Alnwick and Morpeth as on Saturdays, but would you like to use a connecting service to extend your journey to e.g. Newcastle?
- What times of day would you prefer and how long would you like to spend at your destination?
Please email talktosnac@gmail.com with your thoughts, or phone Jan Anderson, parish clerk, on 07775 060430 (during office hours if possible), before 31st August.
Posted July 22nd 2025.
Going Wild in Vyner Park!
On Saturday, Vyner Park buzzed with activity as Natasha Hemsley from the Northumberland Wildlife Trust led a hands-on, family-friendly workshop for SNAC – an inspiring follow-up to her “Go Wild in the Garden” talk earlier this month.
The participants rolled up their sleeves to learn how to build wildlife-friendly features including a bug hotel, hibernaculum, hedgehog house, and bat box. These creations will remain in one of Vyner Park’s wooded areas, providing shelter for local wildlife.
Huge thanks to everyone who came on the day and in particular to Natasha and her assistant Raven for a fun and informative day, and to Rob, Mark, and Greg for preparing the site and supplying some of the materials – your efforts made it all possible!
Posted 30/04/25
Monitoring the River
Jamie Day (Coquet River Action Group) and Rob Payton (SNAC) gave a fascinating talk about the work being done by CRAG to monitor the Coquet and its tributaries.
Jamie began by describing the scope of the project and the organisations that CRAG is building links with, including the Environment Agency. Water quality monitoring has been taking place between Thropton and the coast and the team are about to begin analysing their first 12 months of data.
Rob went on to talk about the Hazon Burn in more detail. It’s one of the few parts of the river system that has been graded as ‘Poor’ by the Environment Agency (most of the Coquet is a SSSI – a site of special scientific interest). Rob noted the decline in birds, fish and invertebrates in the burn over a number of years. This seems to be due to a number of factors including iron oxide deposits from former mine workings, fertilizer run-off, soil erosion and excess organic matter from areas of unfenced grazing.
Posted 20/11/2024.
Can we keep the Coquet clean ?
Join us on Tuesday, November 19th from 6 – 7pm in Swarland Club for a talk by Jamie Day from the Coquet River Action Group (CRAG) and Rob Payton from SNAC. They will talk about the citizen science project being led by CRAG to monitor water quality and biodiversity in the River Coquet and its surrounding catchments.
Jamie and Rob will highlight key features of the river in our area and discuss the issues affecting water quality. This free event is open to everyone and offers an opportunity to learn more about our local environmental efforts. Don’t miss it!
Posted 05/11/24
Wildflower Meadow Report
Members of SNAC have recently worked with an ecologist from Northumberland Wildlife Trust to survey the area.
The great news is that the meadow is doing really well, and the management regime to look after it is ‘spot on’!
NWT have now provided the full report which includes details of all the habitats in the park, together with recommendations for further improvements. You can read the report here.
Posted 08/08/24
Possible Changes to Bus Service
We’ve recently been told that NCC is considering some changes to the 415 timetable which it thinks would make it more sustainable. We don’t have full details yet, but it’s likely they would mean more time in Alnwick and less time in Morpeth. It would still be possible to get to Newcastle, but with a later arrival and earlier departure.
Any changes wouldn’t come into effect until October, but we really need to know what you think of the current service and the proposed changes.
You can let us know by emailing Talktosnac@gmail.com.
Posted 08/08/24
Meadow is ‘Looking Good’
A recent survey has concluded that the meadow in Vyner Park is doing well – in fact in might be good enough to qualify as ‘species-rich grassland’.
Last year SNAC obtained funding for an ecologist, Sara Frisby from Northumberland Wildlife Trust, to survey the area – and to train a number of volunteers to assist. In addition to finding numerous plant species, Sara concluded that the current management regime is also ‘spot on.’
We’ll be getting a full report from Sara in the next few weeks, so look out for more information coming soon.
Posted 20/06/24.
Farm Walk Gets Sunshine!
More than a dozen members of SNAC were recently taken on a tour of Glantlees Farm by owner Judy Fortescue. This year the walk took place in warm sunshine – unlike on our previous visit!
Judy and her family have farmed organically for nearly 25 years and are committed to farming in ways that are good for wildlife. During the visit the group examined a number of hedgerows in varying stages of maturity – from one which looks like a linear wildlife corridor to newer hedgerows which have been planted in the last few years. Judy was keen to point out that more and more farmers like her are taking measures to look after the environment which is great news for all of us.
Posted 02/06/24
Water Testing Starts
SNAC is taking part in the Coquet River Action Group’s project to test water quality on the Coquet and some of its tributaries. Testing is taking place at around 25 sites from Rothbury to the coast. SNAC is testing on the Hazon Burn, which is one of the worst affected tributaries.
Testing will take place monthly to understand what factors are affecting water quality in different parts of the Coquet and its catchment.
Posted 08/04/2024
Bus Service Gets Going!
The 415 service between Morpeth and Alnwick finally began on March 30th – and we were thrilled to see so many people using the service.
As well as the ‘official’ stops in Swarland and Newton, the service operates on a ‘hail and ride’ basis where it’s safe to stop.
We’re hoping to be able to get a weekday service running in the autumn – especially if can demonstrate demand for the route.
Posted 02/04/24
NEW BUS SERVICE STARTING!!
We’re pleased to finally announce that a new bus service will be starting on March 30th. The service will operate between Morpeth and Alnwick, calling at Felton, Swarland and Newton on the Moor. It will stop in the centre of each village but users can also ‘hail’ the bus where it’s safe to do so.
To begin with, the new service will be run on Saturdays only, but we’re hoping to get a weekday service later in the year.
See the timetable here or look out for the posters.
Posted 11/3/24
snac.online 