It's years since I've been to Killhope Museum and as it's due to close for the season at the end of October I thought today might be a good time to visit.
It's a nice run through the North Pennines, passing through Alston and Nenthead with the Lead Mining scars still visible in the lumps and bumps of the landscape.
The to Killhope, as an OAP I paid £6.50 to get in but that gives me as many visits as I like for a whole year, by gum I do like a bargain!
I got a free map and wandered off to the woods, saw a sign for a Squirrel Hide and like a bloodhound with a scent I was off, hoping the squirrels in question would be red ones.
I spotted the hide and just as I walked up to it a streak of red ran across the path in front of me, oh joy!
Our Red Squirrels are being wiped out by the Squirrel Pox, carried by the Grey Squirrels and deadly to the Reds.
Quite by accident I'd times my arrival to coincide with feeding time and three Red Squirrels were soon scampering around, filling up cheek pouches with peanuts and hazelnuts before zooming off to bury their spoils.
I'd taken my big lens, but the glass in the hide was too dirty for a good picture so I found a space outside of the hide but not to close to disturb the squirrels and I was off snapping.
ISO was at 1000 and even then I was only getting 1/30th of a second for some photographs, so if the Squirrel stayed still I was okay if not it was blurred.
I do prefer a natural look but today I was happy to take what I could get so here are my Red Squirrel shots from Killhope Museum.
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