Mindful Creative Retreat – Day 3

September 8, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

For the last day of the mindful creative retreat, we began in Burgie Arboretum. The grass was soaked with dew and I soon regretted not bringing my wellies! Still, the fungi loved the moist ground and we spotted one of my favourites: amethyst deceivers. These lovely mushrooms are bright purple, and in contrast to the […]

Mindful Creative Retreat – Day 2

September 4, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

Day one of the Mindful Creative Retreat was a huge success and I was looking forward to kicking off day two with my own writing workshop. We met outside Roseisle Forest in Burghead and spent the morning wandering along winding trails within the 1700 acre Scots pine woodland. It was a boiling hot day so […]

Mindful Creative Retreat – Day 1

September 1, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

Last week I took part in my first ever retreat. Back in June I met Kim Grant from Visualising Scotland when she attended my event in the Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival. Afterwards, she invited me to run a writing workshop in her upcoming Mindful Creative Retreat in Moray. Also helping out was Jen Price […]

Calendar 2022 now available!

August 7, 2021.Reading time 3 minutes.

I’m thrilled to announce that my first ever calendar is now available to buy! I’m sorry the blog has been quiet these past few weeks. I’ve been smacking my head repeatedly against a wall getting my calendar design finalised and sorting out payment. And now I’ve finally got there. Over the past couple of years […]

A Welsh Week

July 26, 2021.Reading time 8 minutes.

Another hectic month! I’ve travelled more over the past few weeks than I have all year. At the end of June I drove down to Hertfordshire, where I’m now staying until mid-August. It’s so strange being in my home town again after a year away – the same old walks I used to do daily […]

My First Guiding!

June 28, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

Last week I made my debut as a wildlife guide! As part of the Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival I hosted a woodland writing workshop in my local patch in Moray. My own writing is always enhanced when I incorporate all my senses so during the workshop I encouraged the participants to pick up on […]

A Cabin on Stilts

June 21, 2021.Reading time 9 minutes.

I can’t believe we’re almost halfway through the year already! June has flown by… I spent the whole of last week on the west coast of Scotland for an MA assignment. I had to organise a self-led trip and two of my previous plans had already been cancelled, so it was a relief to finally […]

Mammal Month

June 4, 2021.Reading time 7 minutes.

What a month! It’s usually birds that take up most of my camera’s memory card, but over the past few weeks I’ve been lucky enough to get some fantastic mammal sightings, including the second rarest carnivore in Britain… Badger Recently I visited a friend’s private hide. I arrived at 2:30pm and enjoyed squirrels, siskins and […]

Picking up a Paintbrush

May 18, 2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

Painting always takes a backseat for me. Writing and photography take up all of my creative time and energy, and as a result I barely ever get round to painting even though I love it. The second I actually set out my equipment and get started, I spend hours doing it! The other obstacle is […]

The Whisper of a Stream

May 4, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

Once restrictions were eased in Scotland and I was given a precious piece of freedom to venture outside of my county of Moray, I planned a day trip to the Cairngorms. One of my favourite sounds is the whisper of a stream in a forest – it’s the epitome of fairytale magic for me. So […]