Today was the day we introduced some billy goats to a whinsill grassland site near Belford. The idea is that the goats will browse the bramble, gorse and other scrub that threatens to cover the fragile soils along the rocky outcrops. The surrounding field is grazed by cattle and sheep during the summer but they tend to leave the prickly stuff alone, whereas the goats will hopefully target it. Much of the larger gorse hs been cleared by wildlife trust volunteers and the aim now is to prevent its regrowth by targeted grazing. It will be a slow process but over a few seasons there should be a noticeable difference in the scrub cover, time will tell.


After a slightly nervous start Norbert, Oscar and Dirk headed odd to explore their new surroundings.


The goats have come from the Natural England NNR at Lindesfarne.

The grazing programme is part of a larger whinsill grassland project that has been running with Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Tarmac, the Northumberland Coast AONB, Natural England,ourselves and local landowners.

The whole project is a fine example of partnership working at its best.