Nature mends us

I recently came across Emma Mitchell on Twitter and her beautiful book ‘The Wild Remedy’. I’ve not read it all yet, but felt immediately inspired to do get outdoors and take time to observe nature more closely. I love Emma’s style of photographing what she’s found and wanted to give it a go. My opportunity …

More

North Berwick and Dirleton

We escaped into East Lothian for the weekend and I made the effort to take my camera along. Feel a bit disappointed with the images I captured. Lacked a bit of inspiration, I guess, to see things from a new angle or to spot something worth capturing that a thousand people haven’t already captured. Would …

More

Canal walk

It’s been a long time since I had my camera out with the hope of pulling a blog post together, but today was a great opportunity to get a few shots when we headed over to the Water of Leith Visitor Centre in Slateford and walked from there along the Union Canal. I loved the …

More

Escaping along the east coast

August is a fun and busy time in Edinburgh, with the Festival in full swing. However, after battling the crowds on a daily basis, I was more than happy to head out of town when we had visitors last weekend. Newhailes is a National Trust for Scotland property that we’ve been meaning to visit for …

More

Norwegian Views and Landmarks

Having already uploaded two blog posts about our honeymoon cruising experience and the waterside views, here is my final Norway post. During our cruise, we were able to explore 9 different ports – starting with Stavanger and reaching up to Honningsvåg in the far north, before returning south and ending in Bergen. We saw so much …

More

At the Water’s Edge

Part 2 of my cruising series of posts and it seems inevitable to focus on the inspiring views we saw along the waterways we visited – particularly the fjords. At times we couldn’t bear to tear our eyes away from the view from our balcony in case the next view was even better than the current …

More

Cruising

The land of the midnight sun – our honeymoon destination. The Princess Sapphire cruise ship – our transport mode of choice. Two weeks of relaxation, exploration and fabulous views. We’ve never cruised before, so it was a bit of a risk deciding to spend our honeymoon on a cruise ship for two weeks, but I’m …

More

Howick Hall Gardens and Arboretum

After a drizzly few days and with the promise of sunshine, Howick Hall Gardens and Arboretum seemed like an ideal destination for an afternoon walk with its lovely mix of formal gardens and woodland (plus the all-important tea room). We easily spent 3 hours exploring, following the paths through the arboretum and snapping away with our cameras.

Over the Causeway

An eerie feel accompanied us as we crossed the causeway from the mainland to Holy Island on a grey and drizzly September morning. Once parked up and waterproof jackets on, we were ready to explore. We headed out to Lindisfarne Castle which is currently closed and undergoing extensive refurbishment. Somehow I think the scaffolding makes …

More

Alnwick Castle

There are a good few castles to visit on a trip through Northumberland. We’ve previously visited Bamburgh Castle so this time we opted for Alnwick Castle. It holds some impressive celebrity claims to fame – having been used as a set for Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. There are plenty of areas to explore around …

More

Our Once in a Lifetime Experience

We were super lucky to be selected from the ballot to take part in the Queensferry Crossing Experience this weekend. For those who don’t know, Scotland has a lovely new bridge crossing the Firth of Forth, the Queensferry Crossing. Once it is fully open, it will be part of the motorway network with no access …

More

Glencorse View

The Pentland Hills are almost on our doorstep and yet we rarely think to head over for a walk. However, I’ve recently spotted a few photos on Twitter showing just how lovely the heather is at the moment – a beautiful array of pinks and purples – so I thought it was time to see …

More

København

We have not long returned from a very memorable trip to Copenhagen; what a city! We loved exploring by foot and metro. There is so much to see and do. I loved the mismatched and colourful architecture. It’s a city with style and is well-worth a visit. I’ve selected four of my favourite views from the …

More

Nairobi Sights

I was very fortunate to be invited to participate in a series of transport workshops in Nairobi, Kenya. What a fantastic opportunity! This was my first visit to Kenya and I certainly enjoyed my time in this bustling, energetic and welcoming city. The hotel gardens were my first introduction to local fauna and flora. I was very …

More

A nice outing for a new camera

I’ve recently invested in a new, small camera to take on my travels when my DSLR is simply impractical. Today was the first time I’ve taken it out for a test run – to get used to the new controls and see how it fares compared to the DSLR. Our destination: the Secret Herb Garden. …

More

Wrapped up warm at Attingham Park

We really did need to be wrapped up warm for our walk today around Attingham Park – a National Trust mansion and parkland in Shrewsbury. However, the cold didn’t stop mom and me from getting our cameras out. We started off by walking passed the mansion where I liked the colour and composition of these picnic tables and the grey …

More

Island Views

A new vista waiting to be photographed around every corner. On Mull we were certainly spoiled for choice for a good landscape; from Calgary in the north, to Tobermory in the east, and Iona in the south west.

Abandoned at Salen

After enjoying our trip to the Outer Hebrides last year, we decided to select another Scottish Island to visit this summer. After investigating our options, we chose the Isle of Mull for a four night trip. Getting some fresh air and taking a batch of good photographs were my two top priorities; the trip did …

More

London Transport Museum

I would highly recommend a trip to the London Transport Museum. We visited for the first time a few weeks ago and happily spent a good few hours there. You can get a great feel for the history of transport and the history of London. I think the exhibitions clearly demonstrated how vital the transport …

More

Brantwood House and Garden

I had heard the name ‘Ruskin’ but knew little of the man until visiting Brantwood House and Gardens last weekend. It turns out he was a rather interesting and influential man. A little quote by him caught my attention – “Take a handful of rubble from the roadside, and pick out a small stone. When examined …

More

Greenery

May in the Lake District must be one of the most colourful times of the year – at least one of the most green times of the year. These photos are from a little walk we took up to a great vantage point over Windermere. I wonder how many shade of green there are here?

Wandering in the Peaks

A weekend away in the Peak District with a great bunch of friends and some sunshine – what could be better? Not a lot! We went on two walks: on the Saturday a wander up to Solomon’s Temple with great views over Buxton, and on the Sunday a march from Bakewell up to Over Haddon …

More

Early spring walk

Meteorologically, spring began on 1st March while astronomical spring does not start for a few more days yet (on 20 March). Either way, last weekend, it certainly felt like spring! We were out walking; setting off from the Cammo Estate which sits along the River Almond. With the sun shining, you could almost observe everything starting to wake up …

More

Urban Ruggedness

After a walk around the Shore at Leith, I came home disappointed with the shots I’d managed to take. It wasn’t until I imported them into Aperture, that I spotted an interesting little collection of images. The Shore has been regenerated in recent years, but I think these rugged highlights bring it some welcome character.

New Year Wander

It’s 1st January 2016 and time to shake away a few cobwebs with a nice walk. We headed over to Beecraigs Country Park – somewhere I’ve been meaning to explore for some time now. It was a lovely, crisp winter’s day. We were certainly glad for our hat and gloves. At Beecraigs you can say …

More

Medieval Old Town of Rhodes

280 minutes on the plane and we had arrived in Rhodes. A holiday to relax, unwind and explore. €2.20 on the bus from our hotel to maze that is the Medieval Old Town of Rhodes. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site with history and culture all around.

Sea Walk Trail at Hopetoun House

Hopetoun House is hidden away along the coast near South Queensferry. We accidentally drove through the grounds a couple of years ago but recently paid it a proper visit to take a walk around the grounds. There are two walks to choose from and we opted for the ‘Sea Walk Trail’, which offered great views …

More

Horsing around with the Kelpies

Anyone driving along the M9 over the last year will have seen some of Scotland’s newest artwork – two 30 metre tall horse heads, otherwise known as the Kelpies. We decided to pay them a visit a few weekends ago and quickly learnt that they aren’t exactly horses, but instead mythical transforming water beasts who often …

More

Action at the coast

Easter weekend had clearly drawn lots of people out the the beaches at Gullane and North Berwick. There were kids and dogs everywhere we looked. Most people were just out for a stroll, but a few were taking the activity levels up a notch.

Lakeland Motor Museum

A soggy day in the Lake District had us searching for something to do indoors and the Lakeland Motor Museum seemed like a good choice. I wouldn’t class myself as a car enthusiast but I certainly enjoyed admiring the variety of cars and bikes on display. I only had my little Lumix compact camera with …

More

Christmas in the Mountains

I was very lucky to spend this Christmas in Villard Reculas (part of the Alpe d’Huez resort in the French Alps) along with my mom, dad and brother. Although there has been very little snow this season in the northern parts of the alps, we did manage to ski every day with the added bonus …

More

November Walk

  We’re back in the Lake District for a few days visiting James’s parents. Today we headed out for a walk along the River Kent and then into Kendal. While I enjoyed the landscapes we were walking through, I don’t think my photographs of it really did it any justice. Instead here are a few …

More

Twit Twoo

I first spotted the signpost to the Scottish Owl Centre back in the summer and straight away it went on our ‘To Do Before We Go To Canada’ List. Today we certainly enjoyed ticking it off the list. Most of the owls were in large pens, so I was taking photos through the mesh. Having …

More

Vintage Vehicles

Last weekend my dad attended the Tern Vintage Machinery Show at the Chetwynd Deer Park with his 1958 MGA. The rest of us popped along for a couple of hours to see the array of vintage vehicles on show. There was everything from steam engines and tractors to motorbikes and military vehicles. Here are a few …

More

Pick Your Own

Thinking about going to pick strawberries brings back some great memories from my childhood. We were lucky to have a Pick Your Own Farm literally down the road from where we lived, and we always went on what seemed like the hottest day of the year. This year we had to travel a little further but …

More

Animal Antics

I couldn’t resist one last post drawing from my set of photos from last weekend’s Royal Highland Show.  I’ve already shared some photos of the cows, but here were some of my other favourite animals.

Competing at the Show

My last blog post focused purely on the animals at the Royal Highland Show. However, it wasn’t all about the animals. I loved how much was going on at the Show – from sheep shearing, to men racing up 80ft poles, stunt riding and terrier racing… This blog post aims to capture some of the men and women, …

More

Cow Portraits

We had a fantastic day yesterday at the Royal Highland Show. I had hoped to get some good photography opportunities and I was not disappointed! It was great to get so close to the animals and to watch events such as sheep shearing and show jumping. Here are some of my favourite cattle – just don’t …

More

Wildlife Walk

Whilst on the Isle of Arran we were attempting to spot Scotland’s Big 5 – the Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Harbour Seal, Otter and Golden Eagle. On one particular walk we were trying to spot red squirrel. With so many trees around you would have thought that would have been relatively easy, but no – I think we …

More

Whiting Bay

This week we were lucky enough to be able to take a few days away from our desks to join my mom and dad for a trip over to Arran.  It’s a fantastic island with some lovely walks, plenty of wildlife, great food and beautiful landscapes.  We were staying in Whiting Bay which is on the …

More

Stirling Castle

Last weekend we had the opportunity to tick one more item off our ‘To Do Before we go to Canada’ list. This time it was a visit to Stirling Castle. As a top tourist destination, the Castle was naturally full of other photographers, which prompted me to try to take some time to get a few ‘unique’ images that …

More

Gosford Estate

On Friday the sun was shining, we had the day off and wanted somewhere to go for a stroll with our weekend visitors.  We chose to head east along the coast to the Gosford Estate near Aberlady.  It is a private estate but you can pay £1 for a day’s pass to take a walk …

More