'The Great North Forest was one of the twelve original community forests in England. Following changes to the financial arrangements for Community Forests between 2004 and 2007 the Great North Forest and Tees Forest joined together to form North East Community Forests. In August 2008 they were in the process of merging with Groundwork in the North East but their financial situation was such that a merger became impossible and in November 2008 they went into administration.'

However, PDFs of two useful Leaflets can still be downloaded from the Gateshead Council Website - albeit with much of the time-dependent information needing to be re-checked ...

'The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north–south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley and to the south by the Stainmore Gap ... The North Pennines was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1988 for its moorland scenery, the product of centuries of farming and lead-mining. At almost 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi) it is the second largest of the 49 AONBs in the United Kingdom.'

'Here you will find useful general information, a gallery of members' pictures, links to other useful sites, a section addressing how you should report any problems you may have with access or footpaths, how to contact us, a news page, a Northumbria Area members' forum and details of the fourteen groups in our Northumbria area.'

'My descriptions of the walks are not of the sort to tell you exactly the route in specific detail as l believe that all walkers should carry the relevant OS Explorer map and a compass or GPS, preferably both should your batteries run out! Our OS maps are the best that l see in whatever country l visit and we should use them.'

PDFs of 14 Leaflets available for download; also links to details of some two dozen other locations good for birdwatching walks.

'The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Regulations enabled Joint Local Access Forums to be established: the Boroughs of Stockton on Tees, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Darlington formed a Joint Local Access Forum in September 2003 to consider and contribute to cross boundary initiatives.'