Night & Tay

Following on from this post, I’m continuing my list of my top 50 places to visit in Great Britain , as inspired by the book 1000 places to visit before you die . It’s a fascinating book to read but approaches travelling in a very different way to me, with far fewer nature reserves and beaches so I’m sharing my suggestions for the 50 places the author allocated to Great Britain. Without further ado, here is the next instalment. Six - Peak District I’m starting this blog post with one of my new favourite places to visit, the Peak District is a hidden marvel right in the middle of England. Easily reached by train, it’s an amazingly accessible patch of nature which feels remote while being just a stone’s throw from Sheffield, Derby, Manchester, and Chesterfield. My favourite walk in the Peak District is to go up Bamford Edge, a short but steep walk to the top of the granite ridge where you’re rewarded with stunning views over Ladybower reservoir and the Hope Valley. Mam Tor is anot...

  If you’re a birder then I don’t need to tell you how spectacular wading birds can be in winter, but for the rest of us who associate waders with tall wellies, here are some things you should know. What are waders if not wellies? Waders, or shorebirds in North America, are a range of species which forage in mudflats or other areas of shoreline for food. They often have long legs and long bills but not always.  The UK has some waders which hang around all year, breeding in upland areas, in farmland, or along coasts but the majority migrate from their Arctic breeding grounds to spend the winter here.  The best wader spectacles come in the winter, when you can see huge flocks wheeling around the sky, and the higher numbers also mean that your chances of spotting a wader increase massively. Photo by Steve Adams on Unsplash What waders might you see? There’s a whole variety of wading birds, from the large and generally more solitary curlew with its massively long cur...

It’s been a while since my last post, as many of you know I run a small business (shameless plug to Crafty Crow Studios here ) and from autumn onwards I spent most weekends at craft fairs and markets selling my wares. Unfortunately, being so busy meant the blog got put on hiatus but I’m back and with a shiny new resolution to post every week in 2024. Anyone want to take bets on how long it lasts?  Looking back at 2023 2023 was a mixed year in our household, with some huge highs and a lot of lows, and it feels like one of those years where I didn’t make much progress on myself but the more I reflect, the more proud I am of what I achieved. So, here’s a little recap of some of my personal highs: 1 – In an attempt to meet one of the challenges I set myself at the start of 2023, I went on my first solo night away and ticked Edinburgh off my bucket list. I absolutely fell in love with the city and averaged 20,000 steps a day wandering the streets and alleyways. I stayed in CoDE Po...

After finishing my wedding cross-stitch (only 16 months after our ceremony!) I started on a quick piece which I’ve been looking forward to stitching for a while – a kingfisher. One of my favourite birds and one which is guaranteed to bring joy to my day when spotted. In honour of my cross-stitch kingfisher, here are some details about these fantastically flashy birds and my top tips for seeing them.  The cross-stitch - photo by Jen Concerning kingfishers Kingfishers are distinctive birds with bright blue backs and an orange front, and are widely distributed across the UK, yet despite this lots of people have never seen one. Let’s learn a bit more about these frankly fabulous birds and then I’ll share my tips and locations! Kingfishers are famous for their diving skills, and for good reason, they are amazingly adapted for this way of fishing. They position themselves on branches up to 2m above the water waiting to spot their prey.  Their eyes have two focal points, which allows...

Autumn is my favourite season for many reasons, but the spectacular colours are definitely up there. Since it’s halfway through September (no, I don’t know where it’s gone either!), the leaves will soon start to fall, so it’s high time to get out and enjoy the autumnal colours!   Why do trees change colour in the autumn? Hang on, science lesson incoming! The green colour of leaves comes from chlorophyll, the chemical which plants use to absorb energy from sunlight. However, as the days draw in and we get less daylight in autumn, trees produce less chlorophyll, this means that we can see the other pigments in the leaves – carotenoids and xanthophylls, which provide those gorgeous autumnal oranges and yellows. Photo by Jen-Shemmings-Payne Sometimes you’ll see bright red leaves, these are a bit more complicated, and are caused by chemicals called anthocyanins. These are released by the tree as it pulls the last of the nutrients out of the leaves and back into the branches. Anthocy...