We're holding our very first Annual General Meeting on Thursday 2nd February from 7.30pm at the Allendale Inn, Market Place, Allendale.

It's a great opportunity to come and meet the members and find out more about the group's plans for 2012 - both in terms of organised fishing events, but also in terms of environmental projects designed to improve the river habitat on the River East Allen.

Starting from a spring up at Allenheads - England's highest village - the river descends through stunning countryside within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is a great natural asset of the local area - although relatively un-managed and as such there is no shortage of projects and opportunities for volunteers to roll up their sleeves and get involved with carefully planned and coordinated river management works.

There is more information about the AGM on the club's website - www.allenvalleyanglers.co.uk

Allen Valley Angling & Conservation, a new fishing club, which was established in 2011, now has 63 members, who have signed up to be able to fish the River East Allen in Northumberland for the coming 2012 season.

Our members are primarily from the local area - however, we also have members from Newcastle, Leeds, Oxford, London and Holland. These members are frequent visitors to the Allen Valley - either because they have family here, or visited the area on holiday and have fallen in love with the place and return when they can.

I was really pleased that despite the fact that Allen Valley Angling & Conservation only started to welcome members towards the end of the 2011 fishing season, 24 of our members submitted a catch return, recording between them 42 fishing days.

101 fish were recorded as having been caught on the fly and there was 100% voluntary catch and release - great news for a club that has environmental conservation at its heart.

The river has a healthy population of wild brown trout and unsurprisingly, this accounted for the majority of fish caught. Wild brownies are smaller than their farmed cousins - the average weight of fish caught was 6oz. Nevertheless, if you haven't tried river fishing before, don't let this put you off! Wild brownies are a challenge to catch and provide great sport.

Four salmon smolts and three sea trout were also recorded. You can find more details including the size of individual fish caught and the flies that were used on allen valley anglers website catch returns page.

Written by Kevin O'Hara, conservation officer at Northumberland Wildlife Trust

Where do they all go in winter? - Part 1

Recently I felt the first twangs of winter; the 'first frost' gripped my garden, the chickens came skidding out of their ark, and I had to break the ice on their drinking water. I really like those first days, when we still have some daylight left to enjoy the wonderful colours and smells. I take the camera and binoculars with me when I walk the dogs, keeping an eye out for winter thrushes or other visitors. The clocks have altered and we start the long haul of winter - not until February will some real light return to the sky, and warmth to the sun.

It is during these months that we wonder where, exactly, many of our resident wildlife species go to survive the coldest and wettest days of winter, especially those that are more delicate and less mobile.

Hi. My name's Sarah and I've recently become involved with a brand new not-for-profit organisation called Allen Valley Angling & Conservation.


The idea for the organisation came from a chap called Paul Frear. Paul moved to Allendale 3 years ago and walks the banks of our local river - the East Allen - practically every day. He's a keen fisherman and has been involved with fishing and conservation all his life - in fact, he's made a career of it!

Anyway, Paul knows the river pretty well by now and had an idea that with enough people behind it, and with the right consents in place, it will be a great fishery - right on our door-step!

Having negotiated a licence with the land-owner's management company, he put a poster in the Post Office window inviting anyone with an interest in seeing the river reach its potential as a fishery to attend a meeting at the Golden Lion Hotel. Thirty people turned up for the meeting - myself included - to hear what he had to say. Seven people stepped forward to form a committee and within just four weeks, we were ready to launch Allen Valley Angling & Conservation.

The angling community online has given this initiative a really warm welcome and we've already started receiving applications for membership via our website, www.allenvalleyanglers.co.uk. Despite coming towards the end of the season, we have welcomed 40 members!

It's a fantastic start and I'm really looking forward to developing this little-known river - which is teeming with wild brown trout as well as sea trout and even a few salmon - in to one of the jewel's in the Allen Valley's crown.

If you're at all interested, you can find out more on our website www.allenvalleyanglers.co.uk or send us an email to info@allenvalleyanglers.co.uk

Spectacular photos shared by members of our Northumberland group on the Flickr photo-sharing website. Click on a photo to see the caption and to view it in a larger size.

You can join the Flickr group to share your own local photos, or send them to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk.

Alison Donaldson shared this poignant photo of a memorial to the Foot and Mouth disaster of ten years ago.

The daffodils were planted by Heather Robson in a field at Sinderhope in memory of healthy sheep that were culled. Alison wonders if this is the only memorial to the millions of animals which were killed.

Upload your photos to JournalLive or send them to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk to see them on this site.

Alison photographed these 14th-century gatehouse remains near Allen Banks.

Join our Northumberland Flickr group to share your photos or send them to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk

Big Lottery Fund and ITV, with the approval of Buckingham Palace, are helping to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Jubilee People's Millions projects will inspire, involve or improve their local communities. If you've got an idea that could breathe life into your local area and improve the lives of the people who live there, why not apply for a grant of up to £60 000!

Paul Coulson took this picture at High Staward, Langley at the weekend, looking towards the snowy fells of Whitfield.

Upload your photos to JournalLive or send them to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk to see them on this site.

Caroline Boobis took this photo on a walk from Allen Banks on a lovely summer's day, looking out across the valley.

Upload your photos to JournalLive or send them to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk to see them on this site,