What's on in Wooler, Rothbury and the Cheviots

Wednesday 30 September 2026

• The Okavango Delta: a talk and journey to Botswana

  17:20 Etal Village Hall, Etal · £6 talk only, £15 talk and return train (plus booking fee)

  A safari guide talks about the wildlife, landscapes and life of the Okavango Delta, with questions and refreshments. The talk and travel ticket includes a return evening train from Heatherslaw to Etal. Organiser

Sunday 4 October 2026

• Sunday Makers' Market

  11:00 Etal Village Hall, Etal · Free

  The Tin Shed's last Sunday makers' market of the season, with locally made arts and crafts and demonstrations. Dogs are welcome. Organiser

Monday 5 October 2026

• Yule Goat Dressing Workshop

  10:00 Ad Gefrin, Wooler · Free

  Volunteer to help thatch, sew and dress the giant Yule Straw Goat ahead of its November procession. Twelve places per session, with free refreshments. Organiser

• Coquetdale Wildlife Group talk: dragonflies

  19:30 Jubilee Institute, Armstrong Hall, Rothbury · £4 non-members, members free

  An evening talk on dragonflies from the Northumberland Wildlife Trust's Coquetdale group in Rothbury. Organiser

Tuesday 6 October 2026

• Afternoon Tea and Titanic Talk

  15:00 Ad Gefrin, Wooler

  Afternoon tea at 3pm followed at 5pm by Christopher Ward's talk My Life in the Shadow of Titanic, about his family link to the ship's bandsmen. Part of Berwick Literary Festival. Organiser

Thursday 8 October 2026

• Illicit Whisky Walk: Wholehope Still

  Coquet valley, just past Alwinton, Alwinton · £18

  A guided walk of three to four hours to the site of an old illicit still in upper Coquetdale, with hot drinks and a small whisky tasting. Groups are small, so book ahead and wear sturdy boots and waterproofs. Organiser

Friday 9 October 2026

• Music Night in Beodern

  18:00 Ad Gefrin, Wooler

  Local singer Chloe Maguire plays a relaxed set that builds through the evening in Ad Gefrin's restaurant, with food, cocktails and Ad Gefrin spirits. The first of a run of music nights that continues until 6 November. Organiser

Saturday 10 October 2026

• Alwinton Border Shepherds' Show

  Alwinton Show Field, Alwinton · £10 adults, under 16s free, free parking

  The last agricultural show of Northumberland's season, with sheepdog trials, fell races, Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, terrier racing and the Rothbury Highland Pipe Band. Gates open at 10.30am. Organiser

• Yule Goat Dressing Workshop

  10:00 Ad Gefrin, Wooler · Free

  A Saturday chance to help dress the six-metre Yule Straw Goat with thatching, sewing and craft. Twelve places, free refreshments. Organiser

• Book Launch: Stone in the Water by Timothy Pitt

  16:30 Ad Gefrin, Wooler

  Launch of a new book on the shift from Celtic to Anglo-Saxon influence in the north, fitting for a venue built beside the Anglo-Saxon royal site at Yeavering. Organiser

• Tribe: Glendale Ceilidh Band and Wooler Arts Junk Orchestra

  19:00 St Mary's Church, Wooler · Free

  Traditional and new music from two local ensembles, including Kate Bagenal-Lowe's Wooler Water and the world premiere of John Casken's Melange. Organiser

Sunday 11 October 2026

• The Mystery of the Pirate Lagoon

  19:30 Whittingham Memorial Institute, Whittingham · £15, concessions £10

  A comic radio play performed live on stage by Ragged Edge Productions, with the audience helping out on sound effects. The bar is cash only. Organiser

Wednesday 14 October 2026

• Art at Etal

  10:30 Etal Village Hall, Etal · Free

  The final monthly Art at Etal day of the season, with local artists and makers in the village hall. Free entry, dogs welcome. Organiser

Thursday 22 October 2026

• Beodern Supper Club

  19:00 Ad Gefrin, Wooler · £27

  A relaxed two-course seasonal supper: beef and Guinness stew followed by sticky toffee pudding with whisky caramel sauce. Vegetarian and vegan options on request. Organiser

Friday 23 October 2026

• In Conversation with Paula Dunn

  11:00 Ad Gefrin, Wooler

  The artist Paula Dunn talks about her work to open Modern Classics, the first exhibition from Ad Gefrin's partnership with The Biscuit Factory. Organiser

Sunday 25 October 2026

• Walk in their Shoes: Looking Down on Elsdon

  10:30 Elsdon Village Hall, Elsdon · Under 18s free with a paying adult

  A moderate eight-mile guided walk in the hills around Elsdon, taking in the motte and bailey, Landshot Hill, Harwood forest, Gallow Hill and the medieval green, with Border Reiver history and residents' stories along the way. Bring a packed lunch; no dogs. Organiser

Monday 26 October 2026

• Ford and Etal Scarycrow Trail

  Ford, Etal and Heatherslaw villages, Ford · Free

  A half term trail of scarecrows made by local residents and businesses, now in its 19th year. Pick up a map and score sheet from the village shops and vote for your favourite. Organiser

• The Famous Scarycrow Trail

  Ford, Etal and Heatherslaw villages, Etal · Free

  Pick up a map from a village shop and follow the half-term trail of home-made scarecrows around Ford, Etal and Heatherslaw, scoring your favourites as you go. Most of it is walkable, buggy friendly and dogs are welcome, and proceeds go to a local charity. Organiser

Tuesday 27 October 2026

• Anglo-Saxon Tales and Ancient Legends

  Ad Gefrin, Wooler

  Heroic battles and mythical creatures in storytelling sessions from the Anglo-Saxon era, at the museum and distillery beside the old royal site of Yeavering. Organiser

• Hallowe'en Special at Wildling Woods

  10:00 Chillingham Wild Cattle Park, Wildling Woods, Chillingham · £14 per child

  Two and a half hours of spooky woodland play with Hallowe'en crafts, campfire stories and toasted Scotch pancakes, plus a treat for children in costume. Adults stay with their children; sessions run in most weather. Organiser

Friday 30 October 2026

• The Northumbrian Tales with Chris Adriaanse

  Ad Gefrin, Wooler · Free

  Storyteller Chris Adriaanse brings Northumbrian folklore to life over the half-term weekend, from the Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh to the Henhole fairies of the Cheviot. Free, but book a place. Organiser

• The Illicit Still Whisky Experience

  17:00 Ad Gefrin, Wooler · £40

  A guided tour of Northumberland's hidden whisky-making past with three tastings, from new make spirit to the Tacnbora blend, ending with a dram and a drovers' dish in the Beodern restaurant. Organiser

• St Hild: A Northern Woman in Early Anglo-Saxon England

  17:30 Ad Gefrin, Wooler

  Historian Michelle Brown gives an illustrated talk on St Hild, who journeyed from Yeavering near Wooler to found the monastery at Whitby. Tea, coffee and shortbread from 5.30pm. Organiser

Saturday 31 October 2026

• Hallowe'en Special at Wildling Woods

  10:00 Chillingham Wild Cattle Park, Wildling Woods, Chillingham · £14 per child

  Two and a half hours of spooky woodland play with Hallowe'en crafts, campfire stories and toasted Scotch pancakes, plus a treat for children in costume. Adults stay with their children; sessions run in most weather. Organiser

• Trees of Chillingham Autumn Walk

  10:30 Chillingham Wild Cattle Park, Chillingham · £20, members £18

  Park manager Angus Collingwood-Cameron leads a three-hour autumn walk among veteran oaks, ancient pollards and Victorian plantings, including areas not normally open. Bring a packed lunch and waterproof boots. Organiser

• Dark Skies Run at Wooler

  19:00 Wooler YHA, Cheviot Street, Wooler

  Night trail races round Humbleton hillfort under dark Cheviot skies: a half marathon starting at 7pm and a 10K run or walk at 7.30pm. Head torch and kit list apply. Organiser

Sunday 8 November 2026

• Illicit Whisky Walk: Wholehope Still

  10:00 Coquet valley, just past Alwinton, Alwinton · £18

  A three to four hour guided walk to the site of an old illicit still in upper Coquetdale, with hot drinks and a small whisky tasting. Maximum ten people; wear sturdy boots and waterproofs. Organiser

• Guided walk: hillforts of the Breamish Valley

  10:30 Ingram Bridge car park, Ingram

  A four mile walk with plenty of stops among the forts, camps and burial sites of the Breamish Valley, with a guide explaining each one. There is about 1,100ft of climbing; no dogs. Organiser