Exploring and learning while out on outdoor adventures.
Just off the A1, somewhere many of us must have driven past countless times without ever really noticing, lies Langford Lowfields. This is a place that doesn’t immediately announce itself and yet sits quietly waiting beside one of the country’s great rivers. We arrived early to a simple car park, one that lacks the comforts …
Continue reading “At the Tidal Edge: A Wet Day at Langford Lowfields”
RSPB Local Group Mid Week Walk. The forecast wasn’t kind and officially the mid-week walk was cancelled although as so often in the outdoors, fortune favours the brave. With wellies on and binoculars in hand, I headed to the original meeting point at Somersall Park anyway the sky heavy with grey although still full of …
Some places don’t just stay with you, they quietly weave themselves into your life. For me, Borrowdale is one of those valleys. One I’ve returned to across decades, through different stages of life, different friendships, different adventures. Every visit feels familiar the moment I arrive, as if the landscape itself remembers you. I’m fairly sure …
Exploring Belfast on foot After a summer holiday spent driving around Ulster with the kids, this time I was heading back to explore some of Belfast itself. The trip began with the train into Liverpool Lime Street. Before our ferry to Belfast, we had time for a quick meal at Liverpool ONE. The city was …
Continue reading “Ferry to Belfast: Walking Tours, Titanic Quarter and West Belfast Murals”
November always feels like an uncertain month for birdwatching. With the leaves thinning out you’d expect it to be easier to spot the birds that spent the summer hidden away in the foliage, although what actually turns up depends on whether the winter visitors have settled in and what is still passing through. On this …
Continue reading “Crossbill at Linacre Woods: A November Birdwatching Report from the Reservoirs”
Dresden The journey began in the familiar grey of a British winter, rolling steadily south by train towards Heathrow. We spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express at Terminal 4, a surprisingly calm pocket of comfort on the edge of one of the world’s busiest transport hubs. By morning, we were travellers again, setting …
Continue reading “Walking Through Dresden, Saxon Switzerland and Berlin”
Our London trip began with the typical dash to the train station, followed by a welcome bit of calm on the journey before the city buzz. After hopping off the train at St Pancras, we wandered just a few minutes to Camley Street Wildlife Reserve, a tiny green hideaway tucked between the railway lines and …
Late in October 2025, I found myself once again standing at the entrance to RSPB Fairburn Ings, camera and binoculars in hand. A year earlier, I had written about this place’s astonishing transformation from industrial wasteland to thriving wetland. Returning felt a little like visiting an old friend, familiar yet full of surprises. The morning …
It all started back in June with a message from my friend Dan: A quick check revealed the event was being held in Manchester, an easy trip from Sheffield, so the answer was clear. Even if I couldn’t make the whole event, I could still get over to lead a run! So yes, I was …
Continue reading “Manchester Sunrise Run: #DataFitClub on Tour at Data Decoded”
It started in the most ordinary of ways: the office slowly emptying, colleagues slipping away, the hum of computers powering down. I waited until the space had stilled, then quietly shouldered my rucksack and stepped out into the city night. Within the hour, I was on a train heading out of Sheffield and into the …
Continue reading “A Microadventure in the Peak District: From Office Desk to Dawn Light”