Our first date, over 30 years ago, was a walk up the hills above Osmotherley in North Yorkshire. The hedges were full of sloes and elderberries, so we ended up foraging. Our second date was pricking the sloes for sloe gin and stripping the elderberries for wine making. That was the start of our outdoor adventures together.
This blog has come about because we are both interested in nature and want to share our experiences of beautiful routes, stunning places and knowledge of wildlife.
Whether we are walking, trail running or wild swimming we do it at a steady pace, appreciating the wildlife around us. We do not go in for long distance challenges, just activities that anyone with reasonable fitness should be able to do.
Our articles include some of the wildlife we have seen on the route, so that you know what to look out for and when. The "what to look out for boards" will be updated as we repeat routes. We would love it if people who follow our routes share their sightings with us via our instagram feed.
Enjoy reading.
Great Hetha Hill Run from College Valley
The College Valley is a beautiful valley in the Northumberland section of the Cheviot Hills. We were expecting a very quiet day in the hills: Hethpool at the bottom of the valley is quite difficult to get to and the rest of the valley has limited vehicle access, with permits required to go past the…
Waterloo Monument Nisbet circular route
The Waterloo Monument, Nisbet is a very prominent feature of the countryside between Jedburgh and Kelso. This circular walk is a little gem and another one that features in the Scottish Borders 40 Favourite Walks book. We did a slight change by starting from Woodside Garden Centre, following a bacon butty from their coffee shop….
Floors Castle Garden
Wandering round a garden on a sunny afternoon might not quite meet the criteria of “outdoor adventure”, but Floors Castle Garden has such a wow factor that I really had to write about it. Family Trip The walled garden at Floors Castle was a regular favourite during the 1990s when my sister ran the garden…
St Abb’s Head in June – Guided Walk
I was back at St Abbs Head in June to lead a second walk on behalf of the Berwickshire Marine Reserve. This time we met with 8 people for the walk including the two new summer Rangers from BMR. We took pretty much the same route as we did in May, just returning by a…
Hirsel Circular Route, Coldstream
We have lived in Coldstream in the Scottish Borders now for 7 months and this is the first time I have written up a walk from the town. There are two reasons for this: Both Scottish Borders Council and The Hirsel Estate have some very well waymarked and published walks, so I didn’t want to…
Guided Walk St Abb’s Head
We were delighted to be able to lead a guided walk at St Abb’s Head on 11th May as part of the Berwickshire Marine Reserve’s volunteer series of events. Alex from BMR joined us to explain about the reserve, which was very welcome. The aim was that this would be a nature walk and we…
Stunning Walk in the Cheviots
It was a sunny and (relatively) warm Easter Monday when we set out on this walk in the Cheviots, exploring the Scottish side of the range. Whilst the OS map of the English side is riddled with rights of way, these indications of routes stop once you get to the Scottish border. The general right…
Cheviot Three Peaks Trail – Race Review
It seemed like a good idea back in January to enter my first hill race with a 1000 feet climb. The Cheviot Three Peaks Trail Race sounded perfect and, having been reassured by the race organiser that the marshalls would be there no matter how long it took, I contacted my best friend and partner-in-crime,…
Wallace Statue and St Boswells Circular
The 10th April is our wedding anniversary so what better way to celebrate this auspicious occasion than enjoying good weather in the Scottish Borders with some friends. We chose a St Boswells circular route, taking in some local landmarks and getting us back in time for lunch at Mainstreet Trading. (I might have accidently bought…
