What a beautiful time of year January can be. Today was meant to be ‘blue Monday’ but I refuse to be convinced by this mindset. As I walk quietly beside the river Stour, the bright blue sky illuminates a countryside brimming with new beginnings. It has been a quiet and benign month so far; …
I was feeling in a good mood. It was 1 o'clock in the morning and I was unloading camping gear from my car after having been at a music festival. All was well. Then Henry my cat appeared at my feet with a tiny bird between his jaws. “Henry” I ordered. “Drop it”. I scooped …
As the light from the setting-sun diminishes, I sit in my August garden and recollect the delights of this sun-drenched season; the camping trips, the music and the adventures. My thoughts then turn to the magic of high-summer nights and to my last nocturnal escapade in late July to see the glowworms of North Dorset …
In a flight of spontaneity, I find my car involuntarily turning towards the brown signs that lead me to Westonbirt Arboretum. Turning into the carpark, I was instantly glad I had come. Trees are truly magnificent. Their dazzling shapes, presence and personalities, and the cool, stippled light they provide. It is a steamy hot July …
Now here is a place to stop and unwind under the April-blue sky. The daffodils sway like buttery flags in the breeze that skims over the snow-capped mountains. Beneath the daffodils, tiny celandine tell their own story, reflecting their brightness from their small, yellow discs. Meanwhile the rabbits squeak playfully in the adjacent fields. I …
As soon as I heard about a new discovery of dinosaur tracks on the Isle of Skye, I felt a surge of excitement. Scientists had unearthed a site where meat-eating sauropods and theropods once roamed. They had left their footprints on the soft lagoon mud 170 million years ago when the island was part of …
It is a perfect spring afternoon on the Isles of Skye. The Cuillin mountains that frame the tiny port of Elgol reign supreme in the polar-like clarity; their snow-tipped ridge a clean wiggly line against the deep blue sky beyond. A gleaming blue and white boat named ‘the Eilean a cheo’ (Gaelic for the ‘Isle …
We are out walking in one of my favourite Dorset places, the sky is an arctic blue, the ground is frozen solid and all the puddles are perfectly iced up; just waiting for us to crunch them into tiny crystals. We walk at a fair pace just to keep warm, chatting away about our …
I have lived in the Blackmore Vale for sixteen years but know there is still undiscovered territories to behold. Determined to leave my car at home, I walk up through the town, over the bridge, past the cemetery towards Broad Oak and on up the lane beside Piddles Wood. It’s a bright, squally day …
There are places in our lives that are ‘heart places’ and this is one of mine. The rocks that define Ugborough beacon are not visible from the trail but we know that they are there. It was a hot, clear June day when I first encountered them. I was 23 and we had bought …
Rewilding journeys 