Vulnerable chicks will soon be heading south

Daniel Hall takes a trip up the Northumberland coast to one of the county's gems

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HERE'S no way to visit Long Nanny Nature Reserve without a walk on a stunning Northumberland beach first.

Approach from the north, and you'll take the stunning curve at Beadnell, recently voted one of the UK's best.

From the south, wander through the dunes from Newton Steads Car Park onto Link House Beach, far enough away from Beadnell to be almost empty, yet still connected. A little over halfway and there’s a fenced off area with a few chalkboards - that’s the start of the Long Nanny tern colony.

Sometimes, hundreds of birds can be spotted on the beach itself, but not during my visit. A small and fast-moving cloud above the rangers' hut made it clear where the birds were instead.

Though the public can’t go inside the hut, they can watch the hut's “tern garden” from the wooden walkway either side of it. And what a magnificent sight it is.