Two years I went to Longleat’s Sky Safari, a day of hot air balloon delight culminating in a night glow, where pilots fired their burners to illuminate the balloons coordinated to music. Actually, I went to the Sky Safari at the weekend but did the Thursday night passholders-only night glow. And it was so great … More Longleat’s Drive-In Night Glow
In front of me, right in the middle of the path was a stag, in full antler, just staring at me. I stopped and stared back. So it was true, the animals had taken Brownsea Island back. I’d gone across for a strictly timed morning of wildness and peace and walking. At the height of … More Dorset Staycation: a day on Brownsea Island
A few weeks ago, at the height of the first heatwave, I had the bright idea to go to the beach. That’s not such a bright idea in this part of the world – everyone was at the beach and as a local, I should know that. I mentioned my plans to my mum and she … More Dorset Staycation: Fossil hunting at Charmouth
One thing that a lot of people like to do on holiday is go to the pool and that’s a bit difficult at the moment. However, if you’re staycationing in Dorset or Wiltshire (the border between the two pretty much runs through the north of the town), salvation is at hand in the form of … More Dorset Staycation: Shaftesbury Oasis review
Since we can’t go abroad at the moment – well, without risking a last-minute quarantine announcement – people are staycationing and they seem to be flocking in their millions to the south-west. I live in the south-west and this is my personal guide to Swanage. Swanage is a small seaside town in Dorset. It’s been … More Dorset Staycation: a local’s guide to Swanage
There’s no travel on the horizon for the foreseeable future. It’s already been six months since I’ve been anywhere and I’m starting to worry now about how to maintain a travel & adventure blog while staying at home. I’ve got plenty of old stories never told (or never read) but is it enough to weather … More Adventures at Home: my square mile
A few weeks ago, I did a post on my DofE practice expedition and this is the real thing. The expedition is both the most dreaded and the best known of all the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award components. As a general rule, I think it’s the last thing to get done. The typical vision of … More Stay At Home Storytelling: My DofE Bronze expedition
Last June, on my way to my camping weekend in north Devon, I bought an inflatable kayak from the the magical middle aisle at Lidl. I didn’t try it out in Devon; I have enough sense to recognise that water wild and fierce enough for surfing isn’t going to be good for inflatable kayaking and … More Stay At Home Storytelling: how to set out to sea in an inflatable kayak
A very rare topical blog today! Did you see the goings-on at Durdle Door over the weekend? If you didn’t, allow me to summarise. Durdle Door is a natural rock formation with an arch cut out of it by water action. It’s most beloved of GCSE geography textbooks. You either park at the caravan park … More What’s it like to live near a tourist hotspot?
Good morning! Today I’m finally in the mood to tell you about my trip to Oxford in March. It was before social distancing and lockdown and isolation and whatnot but after the virus got loose in the UK. To frame it precisely, I was supposed to be going to a gig and I really didn’t … More Stay At Home Storytelling: Christ Church, Oxford
I Am A Polar Bear 