On a Sunday evening, I like to clear the shelf next to my desk, in preparation for the week ahead. There will always be a pile of books that have accumulated beside me. These will include stories my daughter has brought over for me to read to her and those that I have quickly grabbed…
Tag: nature
Almanac: A peaceful start to the new year, fallen branches and a priceless treasure
The seasons turn, a new year arrives. My Christmas gift was a traveller’s journal which is why my story begins here. I carried it around in my backpack and to and fro between my desk and bedside table for weeks before beginning to use it. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. We were living…
Almanac: Patterns of nature, ripening blackberries and a sketchbook
The last time I wrote about these fields was in late April. The seedlings had just started to show themselves in thin rows under a grey-blue sky. The house martins had just made their return to nest in the eaves of our house, and were circling above us in an otherwise quiet and sleepy landscape….
Almanac: How to scare a storm away
The air is heavy when we awaken, there must be a storm coming. I open the skylights and a sudden gale whistles down the stairwell. My autistic 11 year old, still in pyjamas, is absolutely delighted. He sets up directly underneath the velux with an old Thomas the Tank Engine book and watches as the…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Hiking in the wild North West
[Scroll for video] Today we are pulling on our hiking gear and setting out for a trek along the river. Our cottage is a former hunting lodge. A map on the wall shows an old stag stalking route that leads out towards the sea loch, with a note saying we are welcome to use it…
Almanac: Winter Days – Trains, Flooding and Bird Song
When driving through the countryside in Charnwood we watch out for a line of steam trailing through the fields and up beyond the hedgerows. If we spot it, we will make a diversion for the heritage railway station and watch the train pull into the station. We had a lucky day, this January, and managed…
Travel Diaries: Norfolk Tour – Watching wild seals at Wells-next-the-Sea
This was our first camping trip of 2017. As we live in the very middle of England, the furthest possible point from the sea in every direction, there is a feeling of sheer joy at seeing sand and waves again. -scroll for video- Our little ones sit on a picnic blanket and dig their toes…
Travel Diaries: Staffordshire Tour – Wild riverside garlic and newborn lambs in the Manifold Valley
In late spring we make our annual trip to the Staffordshire border in search of the wild garlic. At Ilam, it carpets the banks of the River Manifold, and the wonderful scent is heavy in the air. We breathe it in: summer is on the way. Scroll for video Starting at Ilam Park, a National Trust property,…
Almanac: The Old Treehouses
Just a short journey from home there are vast acres of parkland, with rocky outcrops, banks of bracken, gentle streams and, near the top of one of the many rolling hills, a cluster of trees known in my family as “the treehouses.” These are ancient trees that are hollowed out with many years of rough…
Almanac: Waiting for spring – stream walking the forest
When the forest paths turn to slippy, ankle-deep mud in the winter months, we like to take our four children stream-walking. This is one of the forests to the north of the village we live in and we like to visit after heavy rain, when the tiny streams are full and running much more…
Almanac: Finding the Sleeper Bridge
It strikes me that being the youngest of four boys is a tricky thing. You get swept up along with the rest of the family from the moment you arrive. So every few days, I like to take our youngest for a walk, just the two of us, and see where he chooses to go….
Almanac: Woodland on the cusp of spring – watching the seasons with children
Just on the horizon in the picture below, you can see the shadowy arch of our local woodland. It takes around 20 minutes for us to walk there from our doorstep, across the fields. We always try and spot the continuous changes in the landscape – which can be different every day. We thought we’d…
Tiny Potager 