December Snow in Leeds

Snow Up North

As is now our annual custom we spent the final few days of December visiting family up in Leeds. Food was eaten (a lot), walks were had and most importantly I reigned supreme at Trivial Pursuit. The icing on the cake though has to be the couple of inches of Read more…

30 Days Wild Day 5

Washout – #30DaysWild

I think the less said about Monday’s weather the better, don’t you? Like many of my fellow participants in #30DaysWild we found ourselves faced with a day of near continuous, heavy rainfall. What’s more we were still in Leeds which meant we had a six hour drive ahead of us Read more…

Red Grouse, Ilkley Moor

New Year Red Grouse

First of all let me start by saying Happy New Year, particularly to those birders amongst us for whom January 1st is probably one of the most exciting dates in the calendar. It’s the day on which new notebooks are cracked open, year lists begun and when even the humble Read more…

My Life Outside blog

Fungi and Natural Navigation

I watched a very interesting series on TV recently called “All Roads Lead Home” that introduced three celebrities to the art of natural navigation. For those unfamiliar with the term it describes the way in which it is possible to use our surroundings to determine which way is north and Read more…

My Life Outside blog

Yorkshire Red Grouse

I find Red Grouse to be fascinating creatures. I saw my first one last year and spent the rest of that day running around the moors in what seemed like increasingly futile attempts at getting a decent photograph. Being a game bird they are incredibly wary of people which meant Read more…