I’ve spent enough days slogging across Scottish blanket bog, lowland peat haggs and wet coastal fringes to know that choosing the right lightweight waterproof can make or break a day on the borderlands. You don’t want to carry a heavy coat that you never wear, but you also don’t want a featherlight shell that fails when the rain, wind and peat come together. Below I share how I test...
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On an autumn morning I often find myself drawn to a strip of coast where the sea and sky meet in a muted grey and the...
Why slack-packing a border route works for wild campingSlack-packing — carrying a light daypack while your main kit...
Photographing nocturnal otter activity is one of those rewards that asks for patience, restraint and a small toolkit of...
Photographing nocturnal otter activity is one of those rewards that asks for patience, restraint and a small toolkit of techniques. Over the years I’ve learned that getting a usable image is only half the job — the other half is ensuring the animals I’m watching can continue their lives...
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Dusk is the hour when red deer feel most themselves. The hills soften, the air cools and stags step into the light to roar, spar and test one another. For me, photographing the rut is as much about restraint as it is about composition — the best images come from being unobtrusive and patient....
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Peatland walking is a different animal. It’s wet from below and often wet from above, with long tussocky stretches, hidden drains and a weather system that likes to change its mind every hour. I've spent week-long trips across British peat bogs testing jackets and shells to see which waterproof...
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I've spent countless hours walking cliff-tops and coastal margins, watching the edge of land reshape itself with wind, rain and the odd heavy tide. Over the years I've learned that spotting early signs of cliff erosion — before a path collapses or a fence is lost — can make a real difference....
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Crossing Morecambe Bay is one of those experiences that lingers: the wide sweep of sand, the clean smell of seawater, the sharp sense of time as the tide moves in. I’ve walked these sands many times and every crossing starts the same way — with careful planning. In this guide I’ll share how I...
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On many of the coastal scrambles and upland peat slopes I walk, there's a moment when a comfortable rhythm with walking poles suddenly feels insufficient. You reach a steep grassy exit — a short, eroded band of turf above a gully or a cliff toe — and your poles chatter, slip or refuse to find...
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Peatland marches are a different kind of wet. It's not just rain that reaches you — it's the slow, cold soak from peat bogs, the spray from tussocks, the constant humidity that traps heat and keeps you damp long after the shower. Over the years I've tested jackets and boots across dozens of...
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Walking cliff ledges is one of those experiences that sharpens everything: wind, light, the sound of sea on rock. But those same edges can be fragile. Micro-erosion — the small-scale loss of soil, turf and rock driven by footfall, water flow and vegetation loss — often goes unnoticed until a...
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Photographing nesting puffins from a kayak is one of those experiences that feels impossible until you try it — then suddenly the world of sea cliffs, tiny burrows and comic-faced birds opens up in a way you can only access by water. Over years of coastal exploration I’ve learned how to get...
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There’s a particular anxiety that comes with a long peatland march: the slow, insistent damp that works its way through socks, collars and morale. Over the years I’ve learned that staying dry on a multi-day peatland route isn’t just a matter of owning the most expensive jacket — it’s...
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