We love countryside walks and this is probably the activity we do the most of. We are slow walkers, appreciating what is around us in terms of landscape, nature and history. The walks that we share here are mostly fairly straight forward and under 10 miles long, so no massive challenges, just regular countryside walks that we recommend to our friends.
To help your enjoyment we have included a route map, stats of the route and highlighted things to look out for on the walk at different times of the year. Where we can, we will recommend where to have your picnic/brew-up and where to stop for coffee and cake.
We frequently look up walks in local information booklets, websites or books and these will be referred to in each description - what we have done is enhance the walk description with our personal experience.
We have a joke that when Sam chooses the route we go down dead-ends and when Peter chooses the route they are always much longer than anticipated. To allow for these foibles we always carry plenty of drinks and a map. Unless it is a short walk and the weather is settles we also take layers of clothing including waterproofs and wear stout walking boots.
A Cuckoo’s Tale: In June I Change My Tune
Last week I read that the male cuckoos that are part of the cuckoo tracking project were already leaving the UK and returning to Africa to overwinter, their job done in terms of ensuring the next generation. These first ones to fly south had spent the spring in Ireland, fairly close to where we have…
Bere Island
Bere Island Trip with a parkrun Another Day in Paradise Saturday was yet another beautiful day and we jumped in the car before 8:00am as we had a ferry to catch. The road from Coomkeen on the Sheep’s Head Peninsular is a challenge in itself, as it is a winding single track that is very…
Walks on Sheep’s Head Peninsular, County Cork
We were lucky enough to get the chance to house sit for a friend’s sister on Sheep’s Head Peninsular, Bantry in south-west Ireland for three weeks this May. Although we took laptops with us and kept on our client work, it gave us the perfect opportunity to explore some completely new areas. In this blog…
Walks from Langholm
On our way back from walking in the the Lake District we decided to stop off to try one of the walks in Langholm. Some work has obviously gone into the walking network from this border town, with a series of routes set up and described on this website from the Langholm Walks Project. The…
The Best Walk in The Lake District?
There is plenty of room to discuss which is the best walk in the Lake District, but I would nominate the walk from Howtown along the banks of Ullswater back to Glenridding. I don’t care whether other people agree or not – it is my favourite and one that Peter and I have done a…
Walk from Patterdale
It seems an age since we last visited the Lake District – I think 5 years, but now that we live just 2 hours from Ullswater we jumped at the chance to meet up with friends for a brief couple of days away. The Patterdale and Glenridding area is an excellent base for walking, so…
Nature Walks 2023
Nature Walks for 2023 Edit March 13, 2023 Sam is absolutely delighted to have been invited to lead more nature walks on behalf of Berwickshire Marine Reserve in 2023. Confirmed dates so far are: Wednesday April 5th at 10:00 Wednesday April 19th at 18:00 We will be meeting outside St Abbs Old School Cafe, TD14 5PH, before walking…
St Abbs to Eyemouth- Guided Walk
St Abbs to Eyemouth is a three mile section of the Berwickshire Coastal Path that makes a perfect half-day stroll. A good bus service between the two towns makes this an even better option. On 7th September a led a guided walk along this stretch for Friends of the Berwickshire Marine Reserve. Most of us…
The Poacher Run – Race review
The Poacher Run at Kelso saw us donning our running kit again just two weeks after the Abbotsford Trail Run. This is part of the Border Reiver Trail Series raising money for Borders Search and Rescue. It was nice to catch up with Kim, who is a volunteer with BSAR and whom I know from…
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…
