2013-01-22
I took these two photographs during a walk in the woods on Friday morning. The second picture was taken facing the opposite direction to the first, but which direction are they both taken in? I will update this page with an answer in a few days. Don't forget: 9 more days to go in the Winter Clues competition. Still very few entries and it's wide open, so every entry in with a good shout. --------------------…
2012-02-12
One of the most rewarding things about natural navigation is that it shuns any attempt by the seasons to quieten things down. There are many interests in the natural world that are closely shepherded by the seasons; foraging, birds and wild flowers will have their peaks and troughs, but some things are immune. Geology will reveal many of its fascinating faces regardless of whether it is February or August. But natural navigation is a little different to all of the above, because it keeps its interest throughout the year, without too many troughs, and unlike geology it does…
2012-01-30
I'm just back from some micronavigation in the Black Mountains in Wales. I should get a chance to blog in more detail in time, but for now I just wanted to share a couple of nice clues I found in the light snow and ice I walked amongst. The first photo shows the first snow I encountered on a climb out of the Vale of Ewyas. We are looking east in this picture, the only snow to have survived the thawing warmth of the day are the thin strips hiding in the shade on the south…
2011-03-10
I have just returned from a wonderful couple of days in the Lake District. I was at the 'Words by the Water' literary festival in Keswick in the Lake District. My thanks to Kay and Steve for hosting such a great event. When I was invited to give a talk it did not take long to make up my mind: a literary festival, in a theatre by a lake, surrounded by beautiful mountains? Where do I sign? It would have been churlish not to sample some of the local bumps whilst up there and I enjoyed a…
2010-12-29
Day in, day out, paths experience a different life to that of their verges. Very often there is undergrowth on each side of a path, sheltering one side of them from the sun's drying rays, but their exposure to and shelter from wind also sets them apart. This can be seen most clearly when snow or frost is thawing. The path will either thaw first, or, as in this picture which I took about ten days ago, they hold onto their snow for longer. As I mention in the book, this is something that can be…
2010-12-20
Last night I divided my time between two very different arenas of the modern human experience. I watched dross on TV, including some Jonathan Dross himself, but then I found the antidote to such inanity. I nipped out regularly to put markers down in the snow, as I watched the moon's shadows march west across the white. I took some photos of the results of my moon shadow stick, together with a perfect north-south line, which I will be using on my Beginner's Guide to Natural Navigation courses. Yes, that is a bit of a tease, but…
2010-12-09
After the rather disgusting photograph a few days ago I thought it was time to right the balance with something more pleasing on the eye. The snow has finally begun to thaw in this freezing microclimatic corner of West Sussex, but I did manage a fair amount of stomping around in the snow over the past week. This is a picture I took in my local beech woodland a couple of days ago. Lichens are very sensitive to their environment - moisture levels and air quality in particular - but also the surface they grow on.…
2010-12-02
After many woeful noises in the news about snow in the north, it finally hit us properly in the South Downs last night. More of a faint thud than a bang, as cakes of snow slid off the roof and hit the ground. Most of the snow in this picture fell last night.We live off a road that becomes totally impassable very quickly: no ploughing, salt or grit has been seen in these parts! All journeys will be on foot for a couple of days I suspect.Fortunately I managed to get out to my Contessa 32 yesterday and turn a…
2010-01-16
The snow is melting away, but not at the same speed everywhere. The warmer wind which is blowing from the southeast today is leaving green swathes wherever it reaches. In this photo, which is taken looking east, the snow in the top right corner is being sheltered by woodland, but the snow to the left is also being left relatively untouched by the same wind because it is partly in the lee of the hill, but also because the woodland to the left of the picture is forcing the airflow up over it. In aviation terms the wind appears to…
2010-01-05
Just back from minus 15 degrees in the Scottish Highlands and the unseasonable season continues! It' s great - even if it has cost me a Land Rover Defender (AXA have just left a message to say that mine is a write-off following a failed negotiation with a stout beech tree).Here I am taking a break from family duties and checking that the snow is doing what I have come to expect of it. The compass feels very light after hours of hauling a tobogganing sled, weighed down by two lumps, up the hill repeatedly.
2009-02-02
As my head hit the pillow last night I was worried about today. Worried about missing out. The forecasted snow might mean that I should be outdoors, but today was always shaping up to be a very busy day at the desk.One of our sons solved this little dilemma by getting me up at 4.30am. One peek out the window was enough to bring a childish, almost wild, excitement. For me that is, my son fell straight back to sleep. I was out on the hills by 5.00am. The plan wasn't perfect: in order to avoid waking…
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