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.
Stunning Spring Walk in the Shropshire Hills
On our way down for a few days in Cardiff in late March we stopped off with friends and took the opportunity of the beautiful spring sunshine for this walk in the Shropshire Hills. This is an overlooked part of the country for holidays, but this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an excellent base…
Kelso Circular Route
Views, Viaducts and a Famous Junction. A lovely late winter morning saw us setting off for a trail run with a friend on this Kelso circular route. Once again we had seen the route in the “Borders 40 best walks” book, however we did it in the reverse direction. Due to flooding en route we…
Greenlaw Circular Walk
Blackadder and a hillfort This splendid Greenlaw circular walk is the first walk we have done from Robbie Porteous’ “Scottish Borders 40 favourite walks” book – a very welcome Christmas gift from my sister. Of course, in true Sam and Peter style we didn’t follow the exact route as described, as you will find out…
River Till circular walk | Northumberland
A Winter Walk in Northumberland I love a winter walk, particularly between Christmas and New Year when there is a real need to blow away the cobwebs. When the sun finally came out this “twixmas” we happily set off armed with the OS Explorer Map of the area (great Christmas present, thanks Matthew) and a…
Earlston Circular Walk – Scottish Borders
Earlston Circular – a mixture of new and familiar So, I have been a bit quiet on the blog lately, because we have moved house, re-locating to Coldstream in the Scottish Borders. Coldstream is a lovely town on the borders between in England and Scotland. It is excellent for walking, with various easily accessible routes…
Stunning Loch Katrine Route
It was one of those gorgeous autumn days when we just had to make the most of the weather, so we left the office and set off for a return trip to Loch Katrine. Last time we had been there had been a drizzly, grey day in June and although we enjoyed a good walk…
Circular Walk by Loch Ard
Going Anti-clockwise There is a large car park at the start of the walk, with a good information board, showing the three walks available. We chose the medium route – waymarked in red, which is 4 miles long and we set off along the forestry road uphill. This was easy underfoot, surrounded by lovely woodland….
Kippen Trail Race – Race Review
Trail races are like buses – months without one and then two over consecutive weeks. Just a week after Arrochar 10k we were standing in beautiful sunshine on the playing field at Kippen for the Kippen Trail Race. Mingling at the start made us realise what a fabulous community the running one is. We have…
Arrochar 10k – Race Review
When we moved up to Scotland in early 2021, Arrochar 10k was the first race we entered and I am so pleased we did. This was a simply stunning course, starting at the head of the tidal Loch Long and then going up through forest tracks, down through woods and by a stream and finally…
