Local woodland damage – an update
In January, I blogged about damage I’d witnessed to a local stand of woodland. Here’s an update, along with a record of what I’ve seen and the efforts I’ve made to find out what is happening. There have been some developments. Here are the facts: * A
What I’ve been reading this week, 8 February 2020
Winter changes, finding wild Scotland, the true summit of Manaslu, and the hard lands of Glen Banchor. Environment and nature Winter Changes – I enjoyed this piece by Anna Fleming about unpredictable modern winters in the Cairngorms, and how they can influence human behaviour. Something is happening to Norway – this is
A Walk in the Woods – hiking Norway’s Jotunheimstien
Alex Roddie discovers a long-distance trail that begins in Oslo city centre, plunging into a forest paradise brimming with wildlife. This feature was first published in The Great Outdoors magazine (2018 Scandinavia Supplement) It isn’t every day that you get to start a long-distance trail from a city centre.
What I’ve been reading this week, 31 January 2020
Climate change gets chilling, of time travel and beavers, media in the wilderness, and an open and humane alternative to Facebook. Environment and nature Ben Dolphin: Climate change is beginning to get chilling – Ben Dolphin articulates the solastalgia of recent Scottish winters. You want to reduce the carbon footprint of
My features in the March 2020 issue of TGO magazine
I have a couple of short pieces in the latest issue of The Great Outdoors, which has just started going out to subscribers. The first, called ‘Scotland’s Wrath’ (I didn’t pick that title, honest!) is the final piece of my TGO content for the 2019 winter Cape Wrath
What I’ve been reading this week, 24 January 2020
Splendid isolation, secret ant farms, a winter CWT trip report, and one method of writing. Environment and nature Splendid isolation: how I stopped time by sitting in a forest for 24 hours – this is a wonderful essay, worth reading in full. I’ve experienced this glorious slowing of time myself.
What I’ve been reading this week, 17 January 2020
Haunted by the future, getting better at map reading, winter worryland, and photography gear for lightweight backpacking. Environment and nature Haunted by the future – this superb essay by Barbara Hurd takes a hard look at the rapidly changing Arctic. ‘Unsettled by what’s been locked underground and has begun to
Images from a local wood that is being destroyed
Please read this blog post for an update, including further images of the damage. This morning, on my daily walk, I was shocked to discover that a local stand of woodland is in the process of being bulldozed. Most mornings for the last three years, I’ve walked past a
What I’ve been reading this week, 10 January 2020
A hunter on the wing, windshelter, the YouTube journey, and walking in the footsteps of Thoreau. Environment and nature ‘Climate change is us. The sixth extinction is us. We are at the heart of all of these issues.’ – this interview with Julian Hoffman, who wrote Irreplaceable: The Fight to Save
Book review: Rebirding – Rewilding Britain and its Birds by Benedict Macdonald
‘This is the story of how Britain became a factory,’ Benedict Macdonald writes in this remarkable work of horror and hope. This review was first published in The Great Outdoors magazine, February 2020. Rebirding begins by outlining the millennia of damage we’ve inflicted on wildlife in Britain, from the
