Our tiny furry friends, the bees, have been in significant decline in recent years due to a number of reasons, including climate change, habitat loss, monoculture (where only a single crop is grown, losing biodiversity), | Continue reading
Three times I have walked Snowdon, and three times, thanks to the weather, the view has evaded me. Would it be fourth time lucky? My friend Lorna and I had chosen Snowdon as one of our | Continue reading
I was recently fortunate to spend a long weekend away in Amsterdam with my lovely daughter. Before we went my daughter was struggling with anxiety about the trip, but after conversations and lots of reassurance | Continue reading
This Panang Curry is a fantastically versatile dish, it is more of a broth with a lots of crunchy veg. Make as spicy as you like and add rice noodles so it is a bit | Continue reading
Joy is an experience of the heights and celebration of being alive. It is contagious and can expand and snowball, and has so many positive ramifications that can ripple out and bless and transform yourself | Continue reading
Bangkok is a busy and bustling place. It’s hot, it’s humid, and it’s as sticky as its rice, but if you can handle the heat it’s a city that delivers for those touring through its | Continue reading
As I am partial to all things luminous, it goes without saying that I’m rather partial to a bit of glass work too, and there is no glass work quite as stunning as the phenomenal | Continue reading
It’s true that spontaneous decisions are often the best ones, and our unplanned visit to Wolfsschanze ended up being one of the highlights of our trip to north-eastern Poland two summers ago. We were staying | Continue reading
Sometimes, you just need to get away. With multiple projects around the house, writing a book, and pending company coming, I was feeling overwhelmed, and needed a break. What better way to clear my head | Continue reading
With the intention of a ten mile walk heading north from Whitby to Staithes, we’d set off with a large picnic to keep us fuelled, and parked the car on West Cliff Avenue overlooking the | Continue reading
A beautifully kept and historic village in south Derbyshire, likely a settlement from as far back as Anglo-Saxon times and mentioned in the doomsday book. Ticknall village is known for it’s abbey, that isn’t an | Continue reading
Last year wild flowers captured my heart. For many years, their presence in the world had largely gone unnoticed by me but once they began to catch my attention they caught it more and more. | Continue reading
My homemade muesli bars are one of my favourites. I know whats in them and they have limited preservatives. I like to take a couple of these with me when cycling, they give me great | Continue reading
I had a free weekend so decided to head to Whitby for a mini break on a whim. Why not indeed? I therefore needed accommodation and had heard many good things about The Corra Lynn | Continue reading
In just a few weeks time I will be heading to the Durham Adventure Festival 2019. A Festival packed full of speakers, films and activities that will certainly inspire anyone to get in the great | Continue reading
A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to win a competition which entitled me to an all-expenses paid minibreak to Switzerland and was put up in a luxury hotel on the edge of | Continue reading
Morecambe Bay, an area I have walked many a time. Peaceful sea views all around, away from the hustle and bustle of towns, a true sense of escapism on the doorstep in Lancashire. Also a | Continue reading
In a market literally flooded with fitness trackers, the Huawei Band 2 Pro stands out with its impressive battery life and comfortable design. Sure other bands may offer more features but considering the Band 2 | Continue reading
Belton House and its grounds have been a destination for fun filled family days out for many years, we began visiting when our now grown-up children were tiny tots, we would always pack a picnic | Continue reading
Myanmar, a distant country filled with mystic and wonder. A country I have always wanted to visit and experience a glimpse of its people’s culture and traditions. In June 2018 I was lucky enough to | Continue reading
It's nearly Pancake Day ...What are you going to have on yours? Here is a simple pancake recipe to enjoy with your favourite toppings Ingredients: 150g Plain Flour 2 Large Eggs 275ml Milk 1 Tbsp Olive Oil ( plus a | Continue reading
A couple of months ago my daughter and I had a trip out to this rather interesting place. We’ve been before, but wanted to go again. There was a Well-being Festival on that weekend that | Continue reading
Having a birthday in February is always a bit of a tricky one for what to do. I wanted to bring a bit of colour to the day by heading off to see one of | Continue reading
Dove Stone Reservoir and the hills surrounding is a magical place that for me holds many memories. Being from Oldham it is where I cut my hiking teeth so to say, taken on wanders galore | Continue reading
If you are ever looking for a pick me up in the depths of winter then I’d highly recommend a visit to Kew Gardens’ Orchids Festival. Taking place between February and March, this festival brings | Continue reading
Having recently moved to Hampshire, I’m still discovering places to visit to go for a walk in the local area. One such place that I have now made several returns to is one of Andover’s | Continue reading
Today was the day of the annual York Ice Trail, said to be the biggest outdoor ice trail in Britain. Normally held at Christmas time it has now been moved to later in the Winter | Continue reading
Ingleborough stands at 723 m (2372 ft) making it the second highest mountain the Yorkshire Dales. The highest being Whernside where you will descend from before climbing Ingleborough if doing the Yorkshire Three peaks Challenge. A | Continue reading
This year is going to be a super year of variety and scenery. I will be using my Home from Home, the Swift Select 184 Motorhome for adventures up and down the country. From mountains | Continue reading
On a midweek January day it can be difficult to know where to go on a day out that you haven’t already been to several times before. It was my Mum’s birthday and the weather, | Continue reading
What better event to get you outdoors in the dark, cold winter nights in January, than the wonderful Winter Lights Festival 2019. The festival is taking place at Canary Wharf, East London from 15 - | Continue reading
January is here, cold nights and some cold and miserable days are upon us. However I have been noticing along my wanders that already, the unmistakable white and green of the Snowdrops are already growing | Continue reading
The RSPB’s Freiston Shore nature reserve is a beautiful location that is, I believe Boston’s best kept secret, it not only has some wonderful wetlands and salt marshland that attract precious wildlife but hides some | Continue reading
Three reservoirs situated between the towns of Oldham and Rochdale, Greater Manchester, above the village of Milnrow. A super walking escape that is not far to travel to, for the many who live in the | Continue reading
Mussels along with cream are a great combination. On a lovely couch trip around Jersey, sometime ago, I had the pleasure of seeing their wonderful Jersey cows for the first time. I wanted to include | Continue reading
I am not your long distance, endurance walker but I do love being outside and I have found a fabulous place to be outside! When I say I have found it – I am pretty | Continue reading
2018 was a challenging year for my home city of Salisbury. It’s been well-documented what went on and it’s become more important than ever that us local people help support the area and continue to | Continue reading
I recently had the pleasure of staying at The Salutation, nestled in the heart of Sandwich, Kent. New friends were made, great people were met, but all came together wonderfully thanks to the building that | Continue reading
Cave Dale is a Rugged Limestone Valley Overlooked by Peveril Castle, a ruined Norman fortification. The steep sided ravine begins in Castleton village in Hope valley, Derbyshire. The 50-metre-high vertical rock faces form the entrance | Continue reading
My ultimate dream would be to able to spend at least three months of every year on the Pacific island paradise of Rarotonga, with my mask, snorkel and fins, and camera, oh and a laptop | Continue reading
Around an hour’s drive south of Dublin, you will find the Powerscourt Estate which sits on the edge of the Wicklow Mountains National Park. As you approach the area you are greeted with the kind | Continue reading
No, you won’t see the bears on St Brelades Bay beach itself. You will, see them about five miles away at Durrell’s exquisitely landscaped 31 acre estate. The late, inspiring, Gerald Durrell founded Durrell Wildlife | Continue reading
New Year’s Eve in Allendale Town high on the Pennine Hills in Northern England and there was some strange goings on, The Tar Bah’l. Actually it was just a regular New Year Eve in Allendale. Every | Continue reading
A wonderful December mini break on the border of three counties. Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria. When we last visited Hipping Hall it was in the heart of the summer. The heat wave at the end of | Continue reading
Over on the far western side of Catalunya on the border with Aragon lies el Congost de Mont-Rebei; the magnificent Mont-Rebei gorge. The gorge provides the scenery for some fantastic walking with narrow paths cutting | Continue reading
A doubly chocolatey treat, and two recipes to choose from, with optional ingredients, the choice of brownie recipe for a firm darker chocolate variety containing melted dark chocolate versus a slightly gooey brownie that uses | Continue reading
It was a beautiful day, we a couple of hours of time, so it was a perfect time for a spontaneous walk in the fresh air. Otley was our destination and a walk over The | Continue reading
Set in a tranquil spot of rural Hampshire, you will find one of the jewels in the National Trust’s crown, Mottisfont Abbey. As you approach the site you pass by small villages with chocolate box | Continue reading