I may have spoken too soon. Just a few days after celebrating the arrival of our first spring migrants and heralding the end of winter proper it seems that mother nature has had other ideas. The first warning signs came yesterday which, following a comparatively balmy evening on Friday, dawned Read more…
What a gorgeous evening yesterday was. Sunny, mild and, best of all, the first time this year I’ve been able to get back from work and still have enough daylight remaining to head out for a walk. I can’t explain how wonderful that simple act felt and boy were my Read more…
My overriding memories of this winter are of it being both cold and wet but on the odd occasion that the sun has shone it’s proved truly spectacular. A lot of that has of course to do with the places we’ve chosen to visit, none more so than Manorbier. Sitting Read more…
It’s hard to believe that just over a week ago we were facing down a red weather warning for snow and freezing temperatures. By Thursday afternoon my office was closed as were most public buildings across the country with advanced closures for Friday already announced. Talk of snow was not Read more…
Our second Norfolk night was another sub-zero affair but tucked up beneath sleeping bag and duvet I was warm, comfortable and contented. Condensation however was a bit of an issue with every inside surface of the van coated with a thin film including windows, steel panels and even the dash. Read more…
When someone mentions Norfolk in mid-February, what immediately springs to mind? Cold certainly, wind a high probability but camping? Only if possession of a full complement of fingers and toes is not something to which you aspire whilst frostbite is considered a mere inconvenience. And that’s a shame really as Read more…
As a lover of history, architecture and all things Brunel it seems almost sacrilege that right up until a few weeks ago I’d never been to Bristol. Home to some of the engineers finest works it’s always suffered from being on the way to somewhere I’ve wanted to be, not Read more…
It was with a sinking sense of inevitability that Saturday dawned wet and wild, conditions which stubbornly remained until early evening by which time it was too late for much of anything. Thankfully the forecast for Sunday looked a whole lot more promising so we took the plunge and headed Read more…
A day off work on Friday gave me the perfect excuse to go and track down another long staying local rarity. Yes I probably should have been doing chores instead but who can resist a Long-tailed Duck, especially one which has chosen to take up residence on a body of Read more…
There’s no better way to kick start a new birding year than with a lifer. And what if that lifer could be a species which you’d never expected to see in Britain? Well, that would be just dandy! So it was that we found ourselves at a freezing Ynyslas on Read more…