Spring draws to a close

May 25, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

I’m currently writing a Slow Travel Guide to North East Scotland, which will be out next spring. The thing about writing this book is I’m spending every working moment on it but won’t have anything to show for my efforts until it’s published. Until then it looks like I’ve fallen off the face of the […]

January Highlights

January 28, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

We’re one month into the year already! As usual I’ve been beavering away and forgetting to update my blog, so here’s a summary of what I’ve been up to in January. My 2022 started with my best mate Luke coming to visit for the first time since I’ve moved to Scotland. This year we celebrate […]

Winter Wonderland

November 29, 2021.Reading time 3 minutes.

Typical. I lived in southeast England for 18 years and never had snow in November, but it seems like it was all over Britain this weekend! As I live on the coast snow is rare here, but after a 40-minute drive south to Grantown-on-Spey there was snow beneath my boots again. A festive food market […]

Silver Season

November 4, 2021.Reading time 7 minutes.

It’s about this time of year that I turn into an excitable child again. The moment we cross into November, my mind’s full of frost, knitwear and Christmas. I think it’s linked to the clocks going back. While getting up before the sun can be horrid, I love that my afternoon walks are in the […]

Back to Assynt

October 22, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

I was in Assynt on the west coast again last week to get footage of the red deer rut for my latest Opticron video. If I wasn’t already in the mood for autumn, there’s nothing like roaring stags, soggy fungi and fiery bracken to get me even more excited for the dark half of the […]

September Roundup

September 28, 2021.Reading time 8 minutes.

I say this every month… but honestly what a month! We’re moving towards my favourite time of year – there were still some randomly hot days in September but autumn is definitely in the air now. This morning I crunched through my first frost since February and it was finally cold enough for my mittens. […]

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, fungi loves damp ground and we soon spotted one of my favourites: amethyst deceivers. These lovely mushrooms are bright purple, and in contrast to the usual […]

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

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 […]

April Whirlwind

April 27, 2021.Reading time 7 minutes.

I’ve been a busy, quite tired bee recently! April has gone by in a flash and no matter how long I spend at my desk, the length of my to-do list never seems to change. This month I’ve been hard at work on a few different projects which I can’t wait to share. Fortunately I […]