People are being reminded to take extra care when out and about over the festive period as the county continues to recover from damage caused by Storm Arwen.  
 

The weather brought down thousands of trees across Northumberland and weakened many others, leaving some woodlands, beauty spots, parks and local nature reserves in a potentially dangerous condition.  
 

Council teams have been working around the clock since the storms carrying out safety checks and clearing dangerous and fallen trees across parks, country parks, green spaces, footpaths and the rights of way network to make them safe for the public.  It is expected that due to the scale of the damage to trees across the county this work will continue well into 2022.  
 

Druridge Bay, Bolam Lake and Plessey Woods Country Parks have now reopened to the public, although access to some paths and areas are restricted while tree clearance and safety works are on-going.  
 

Tyne Riverside Country Park is open also, although the visitor centre/cafe remains closed. 
 

Elsewhere, across Kielder, around 40 miles of waymarked access has been cleared, inspected and re-opened, although many areas still remain blocked. 
 

For those who do venture out to Kielder over the holidays, Forestry England is urging visitors to be prepared for weather conditions at all times and ensure they have planned to leave in daylight and not put pressure onto the emergency services during these shortest days of the year. 

More information can be found at www.visitkielder.com   
 

Meanwhile many forests and woodland in Northumberland remain closed. The full list can be found at www.forestryengland.uk/article/most-northern-forests-remain-closed-forestry-england-tackle-storm-arwen-damage  
 

A number of the rights of way within the National Park have sections which are temporarily closed or unsafe for visitors at this time. For the latest go to www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/  

 

Councillor John Riddle, Cabinet Member for Local Services with Northumberland County Council, said: “The devastation caused by Storm Arwen was clear for all to see, and a few weeks on many parts of our beautiful county remain in a dangerous condition. 
 

“We know people love to get out and about over the festive period with friends and family, especially at this time when we’re being encouraged to be in the open as much as possible, but we’d remind everyone they must take care. 
 

“There are still very real dangers presented by damaged trees or other structures  and there remains a continuing risk that damaged trees and tree limbs could still fall and cause serious injury or worse.  
 

“We’d ask people to check relevant websites before they travel, including weather forecasts, and not to enter any areas that are closed. There are still lots of places to visit in our wonderful county without putting themselves or others at risk.” 
 

Anyone who encounters any dangerous trees or obstructions when walking, cycling or riding on the county’s 3,000 miles of Public Rights of Way, can report these issues to the council via https://nland.uk/RoW