Outdoor activities
Articles in ‘Outdoor activities’
January 7th, 2011
The purple double decker broke free of the housing estate and we were riding high above the hedgerows, surrounded by frozen white fields. We’d crossed the River Tamar on the Plymouth Torpoint ferry, watching from the top of the bus as Cornwall draw imperceptibly closer. And now the world suddenly opened out, with a dizzying vision of long rolling white waves. This was Whitsand, where we planned to connect with the South West Coastal path and walk the Rame Peninsula.
The driver stopped for us and we stood dazzled, listening to the roar of the sea, and watched two tiny silhouettes walk in unison across the hard sand, each carrying a surf board. Off in the distance was the tip of the peninsula, crowned by the small silhouette of St. Michael’s chapel, our first destination. The view reminded me of winter travels in the Mediterranean. True, here there was frost on the grass, but the dazzling light engulfed us just the same.
Read the rest of this entry
Cornwall, Walking in Britain | Tags: a walk with spectacular views, favourite walks in England, ideas for walks, southwest coast path, the rame peninusla, walking in Cornwall|
December 18th, 2010
In August 1802, poet, scholar and journalist Samuel Taylor Coleridge set off on a tough 9-day walking and climbing tour of the Lake District, which would include Scafell, the second highest peak in England. It’s interesting to see how he went equipped. For a walking stick he dismantled a broom, to the annoyance of his wife. His knapsack was made of a square of green oilskin, closed by string, and inside
. . . he carried a spare shirt, stockings, cravat, and night-cap (which seems to have been Coleridge’s equivalent of a sleeping bag), together with paper twists of tea and sugar, his Notebook, and half a dozen quills with a portable inkwell.” – Early Visions by Richard Holmes
Coleridge is said to be the first “outsider” to climb Scafell and his descent is hailed as the first ever recreational rock climb. It was a memorable piece of improvisation. Threatened by an approaching storm, he chose a way down, without any idea of what lay below. He found himself descending a series of ledges, a kind of giant’s staircase, known today as Broad Stand. As the ledges grew further apart, he lowered himself over them and let himself drop. The succession of jolts soon “put my whole Limbs in a Tremble, and . . . I began to suspect that I ought not to go on . . ” Read the rest of this entry
Nature in art and literature, The Lake District, Walking in Britain | Tags: Coleridge climbs scafell, Coleridge Early Visions by Richard Holmes, first description of climbing Scafell, first piece of mountain literature, History of the Lake District, scafell highest peak in Lake District, walking equipment for the Lake District, walking in the lake District|
May 27th, 2010
I thought this mass letter by the RSPB for the new government was worth signing: Sign the letter: (for UK residents)
I’m writing this now to make sure our children have a chance of growing up in a world worth living in.
Today there’s still time to save nature.
If we act now, our children may yet be able to share their world with sparrows and polar bears, eagles and tigers. There’s still a chance that they’ll inherit a world where the engines of life – the air, seas, rivers and forests – are healthy. Where bluebell woods and rainforests won’t be lost forever.
Yes, I accept that recovery from recession has meant spending billions of pounds – one way or another future generations will have to pay for this. The least we can do is to use this money to create a future they’ll thank us for. I want governments to invest in a healthy economy and a healthy environment. As well as protecting jobs, I want them to tackle climate change and to protect our seas, countryside and wildlife.
I’m signing this letter to show that I care deeply about nature and the world we are creating for our children. In years to come I hope they’ll be able to see that their world is a richer one because of the action we took today.
I’m hoping that many thousands of people will join me in signing it.
Together we can be a powerful voice for nature.
Yours in hope.
Birds of Britain, Outdoor activities | Tags: RSPB|
May 19th, 2010
The RSPB have released a checklist of top tips of how to stop your loving moggy slaughtering the local birdlife ( 27 million birds are killed every year by the 7.2 million cats the British keep as pets). Amusingly entitled “Sylvester and Tweetie Pie can live together” it recommends:
- Put a bell on the cat’s collar – an RSPB study shows that this can reduce predation of birds by 41%. The collar should have a quick release buckle and fitted properly
- Make sure cats are well fed and cared for. This may encourage them to stay close to home and be less likely to wander
- Keep your cats indoors around sunset and sunrise and after bad weather – birds are most vulnerable at these times as its when they are most likely to come out to feed.
- Take your cat indoors if a fledgling is in the garden, until its parents lead it away
- Avoid putting food on the ground for a few weeks where cats are known to catch birds. Use a bird table or higher ground where cats cannot reach it
- Place spiny plants such as holly or an uncomfortable surface around the base of the feeding station to prevent cats sitting underneath it
- Position nest boxes where cats cannot reach them or sit close to them (preventing the parents birds from getting to the box.
The photo is from the Guardian who note on this story “our feline companions are supplementing the £829m we spend on cat food every year with their own avian breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here
Birds of Britain, Outdoor activities | Tags: # Put a bell on the cat’s collar, avian breakfast, How many birds do cats kill?, Keep your cats indoors, our feline companions|
May 15th, 2010
The Guardian has put together a special Travel issue dedicated to camping: find out about Britain’s best tiny campsites which are never crowded, island camping and some remotely located campsites. Read and be inspired to start planning your next camping trip in wild Britain.
Camping in Britain, Nature tourism in the UK | Tags: camping holiday suggestions, camping in very small campsites, camping on British islands, ideas for camping holidays in Britain, remote campsites in Britain|
February 24th, 2010
The 87 mile-long Ridgeway National Trail is remarkable in being the oldest road in Britain and because you can still walk it, following the same route used since prehistoric times by travellers and, herdsmen. The route connects the Dorset and Norfolk coasts, passing over rolling, open downland to the west of the River Thames, and through secluded valleys and woods in The Chilterns to the east. It is littered with historical sites dating back to the iron age. Lots of details from the National Trail website here.
Nature holidays in England, Nature tourism in the UK, Outdoor activities, Walking in Britain | Tags: best walk in Britain, best walks in UK, Coast-to-coast walks in Southern England, Oldest road in England, Original walks in Britain, The Chilterns|
February 13th, 2010
A trip to a children’s farm is a great idea in the lambing season. The Guardian has a list of recommended places in their half-term holiday special, including Cannon Hall Farm in Barnsley, where they are expecting no less than 300 lambs and 50 piglets to be born in February, with more expected for Easter. They have other attractions such a baby Alpaca called Snowy.
Farming, Nature tourism in the UK, Outdoor activities | Tags: days out in easter holiday, days out in half-term holidays, farm trips for children, farms in the lambing season, farms with lambs and piglets, ideas for days out with children, nature for children, visiting farms with children, Wildlife watching holidays in the UK|
February 4th, 2010
A contender for this title is the 6-mile Bath Skyline walk, the most frequently downloaded trail from the National Trust webpage. The National Trust owns 500 acres of land at the edge of the city, only a mile from the centre. Safe from urban development, the land is a mix of woodland and meadows, rich in wildlife and flowers, with views of the famous Bath stone terraces in the valley below.
Outdoor activities, Southern England, Walking in Britain | Tags: Bath Skyline walk, best walk in Britain, top national trust walk, walking around Bath|
January 15th, 2010
For the first time in many years, the freezing conditions have been perfect for ice skating, allowing the inhabitants of the Cambridgeshire Fens to revel in a centuries-old tradition. The Guardian
The Fens of East Anglia, with their meres and washes, networks of drainage ditches, slow-flowing rivers and easily flooded meadows, form an ideal skating terrain. Skates were introduced into Britain from Holland or France in the seventeenth century. It is not known when the first skating matches were held, but by the early nineteenth century they had become a feature of cold winters in the Fens. The golden age of fen skating was the second half of the nineteenth century, when thousands of people turned out to watch the top skaters. Wikipedia
Information about the 2010 cold snap, Nature holidays in England, Nature tourism in the UK, Outdoor activities | Tags: Cambridgeshire, Ice skaing in Cambridgeshire, Outdoor activities in Cambridgeshire, The cold snap in the Fens, The Fens, Things to do in the cold snap|
January 13th, 2010
David Munt from Potter’s Bar, Hertfordshire braved the Arctic weather and sub-zero temperatures to spend a night in an igloo in his garden. He decided to sleep in his creation after spending the previous day making the igloo from snow and ice, with help from the children on his street.
Information about the 2010 cold snap, Nature tourism in the UK, Outdoor activities | Tags: British igloos, Building an igloo in England, Cold snap in Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire|
January 8th, 2010
Yowie snowshoes were designed, fittingly, in Australia. They look like beach sandals attached to rubber flippers with a deep hexagonal tread and metal cleats. Extremely versatile and user-friendly, once you’re strapped in, with body weight nicely spread out to avoid sinking, you can enjoy snow walks on the flat or more challenging treks up and down mountains. The material reportedly offers better insulation from the cold than more conventional heavy-duty snowshoes. They are also lighter, cheaper and easier to stow in your ruck sack.
Another idea is to use ice grips – unobtrusive devices you can attach to your usual footwear to radically increase traction on slippery surfaces.
Information about the 2010 cold snap, Nature tourism in the UK, Outdoor activities, Walking in Britain | Tags: activities in the snow, best snowshoes, Facts about the 2010 cold snap, how to avoid slipping on ice, how to enjoy snow, light and cheap snowshoes, reduce risk of slipping on ice, snowshoes designed in Australia, trekking in the snow, versatile snowshoes, walking on snow and ice|
January 8th, 2010
Bored with snowmen? Why not try and take full advantage of the big freeze and build an igloo in your back garden or local park. Instructions here from The Guardian.
Information about the 2010 cold snap, Outdoor activities, Weather and climate | Tags: British igloos, Building an igloo in England, Facts about the 2010 cold snap, Fun things to do in the snow|
November 6th, 2009
One of the pleasures of walking is knowing the history of your path, why it exists and who walked there before.
The need for Corpse Roads disappeared centuries ago, though a few are still known by that name. When population was low and villages were widely scattered, the nearest consecrated ground could be miles away, across harsh and inhospitable terrain. Sometimes coffins had to be abandoned in blizzards, miles from anywhere. When weather improved, they would be picked up and the journey resumed. Coffin-bearing horses bolted with fright during storms, never to be seen again, but living on in legends and ghost stories. Read the rest of this entry
History of the British landscape, Outdoor activities, The Lake District, Walking in Britain | Tags: corpse road of Cross Fell, Cross Fell Pennine way, haunted footpaths, highest point of the Pennine Way, history of Corpse Roads, Pennine Way history, walk over Cross Fell, walking in the lake District, walking in the Pennines, walking on Corpse Roads|
November 5th, 2009
Meirion Owen is an expert sheep dog handler, who’s been working with Border Collies since he was nine. He now travels around Britain, showing the skills of this intelligent breed at fairs, private parties and, increasingly, corporate days out. The other stars of the Quack Pack are a troop of Indian Runner ducks, who love to charge around at a fast pace in a tight group (with the occasional lone rebel). First of all, Owen gives a demonstration of how it’s done, instructing his dogs with only four commands to herd the ducks through an obstacle course. Then the spectators have a go.
“We never try to embarrass anyone,” he says. “I’ll always try to help. With duck herding, there is a sense of the unexpected and seeing a manager lose control of his ducks is great entertainment for the staff.”
A recent tendency among lowland livestock farmers is to replace Border Collies with quads, and Owen would like to turn this around by promoting the many qualities of this breed. More information
Farming, Nature tourism in the UK, Outdoor activities | Tags: border collie sheep dogs, coporate events with animals, how to work with sheep dogs, Indian Runner ducks, intelligence of border collies, qualities of border collie sheep dogs, unusual corporate days out|
November 3rd, 2009
The Woodcraft School runs various courses for acquiring skills that pre-historical man needed for survival. Bark, Bone and Antler is a particularly interesting 2-day course that explores the materials available to our primitive ancestors. Those attending will be taught about the sustainable harvest of bark, weaving crafts to make knife sheaths, folding crafts to make baskets and containers, and the preparation of bone and antler.
This particular course will be held in May 2010 in West Sussex, with groups limited to 12, but there are many others to choose from.
Nature holidays in England, Nature tourism in the UK, Outdoor activities | Tags: basket-making course, bushcraft weekend, how to live like a stone age man, learning stone age skills, prehistoric man weekend, primitive survival skills, primitive technology course, weaving crafts, woodcraft course|
Fears about the impact of last December’s severe weather, the coldest in 100 years, were unfounded. The drop in small bird populations witnessed in the 
The oldest osprey of the UK – and probably the world – has returned to her eyrie in the Scottish highlands. When she left for West Africa at the end of last summer, no one expected her to return. At 26 she’s lived 3 times longer than most female ospreys. In her life she’s laid 58 eggs and hatched 48 chicks, a massive individual contribution to the survival of ospreys in Scotland, where there are still only about 200 breeding pairs. The questions now are if her mate will return and if she is still fertile. Events can be followed on the 
The construction company currently finishing off the Shard building in London, which will be the UK’s tallest skyscraper, recently had to call the council to remove a squatter from the 72nd floor: a young fox. He was surviving on scraps left by builders. After a check-up at the Riverside Animal Centre, the fox has been released on the streets of Bermondsey, having shown the type of curiosity we associate with cats. 
Otters, water voles and fish are all benefitting from the improved quality of the UK’s waterways, now described as the cleanest since the industrial revolution. Since almost disappearing from the wild in the 1970s, otters are thriving, particularly in the south west of England, Cumbria and Northumberland. The population of water voles, highly precarious in the 1990s, is also beginning to recover. The good results of stricter pollution controls and extensive conservation work are set to continue in the new year with the introduction of new European water quality directives. 
