This Morning on ITV
It was a fun morning on Friday, with the ‘This Morning‘ team in the ITV woods. It’s always an interesting challenge because I’m given about…
Tag: algae
Which Way Are We Looking? Budleigh Salteron Edition
My thanks to everyone who joined me for my talk on The Secret World of Weather at the Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival on Friday. It…
Which Way Are We Looking?
Which way are we looking in this picture? (North, South, East or West?) Answer: We are looking east. There are clues in the puddles, the…
The Fine Art of Looking at Ugly Walls
Walls that start life looking the same do not stay that way for long. The sun hits exposed south-facing walls hard in the middle of…
The Many Faces of Chichester Cross
Chichester Cross is a market cross – the building that symbolises the heart of the market square in my nearest town of Chichester, West Sussex.…
Which Way Are We Looking?
I took the dogs into the woods for their walk this morning. Whilst trying a shortcut through some understory trees and undergrowth, something gave me…
The Truth About Moss
Moss is probably the best known natural navigation indicator in the world. It is also excellent at demonstrating how easy it is to go wrong…
Navigating Using Lichens
Golden lichens on south side of a staddle stone Lichens can help us to find our way, once we know how. Lichens are a partnership…
Trentepohlia, Moisture and Signs Pointing North
Here is a nice example of trentepohlia on the north side of a tree. This algae thrives in moist, shady places and can be one…
The Northern Lights in Brighton
I took this picture of the outside of the Northern Lights bar and Scandinavian restaurant in Brighton recently. The algae high on the wall in…
Trentepohlia
This orange/rust-coloured algae, trentepohlia, thrives in moist shady places and – with the usual cautions – can be used as a clue to finding north.…
Himalayan Balsam in Sidney Wood
A wonderful short walk in an area of Sidney Wood called Fir Tree Copse yesterday revealed many things, not least that I can still walk…
Frost Shadows and Compasses
It is that time of year when nature likes to get out her frost compasses for us to admire. I took this photo last Friday…
Ground Moisture
Happy New Year! At times like this, I sometimes wonder what the Earth and Sun would say to each other if they could talk. They…
Grave Lichens
Churches are well worth a minute of navigational inquiry. The church itself is likely to show a preference for an east-west alignment, with the altar…