
Lakes and deserts
There are two beautifully contrasting colours of Devonian sandstone in St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall in Orkney. Both are 380 million years …
There are two beautifully contrasting colours of Devonian sandstone in St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall in Orkney. Both are 380 million years …
I took this photograph of a bird on the west coast of Papa Westray in Orkney last summer. At first I thought …
A trip on a light aircraft gives a wonderful perspective of Orkney. Here there are cattle, sheep and our shadow.
It’s from the 6th or 7th Century. It’s carved in sandstone and was excavated by amateurs in 1936 from the ruins of …
As a child, did you watch shadows? Did you strain to see them move as the Earth turned? Did you see how …
Woodlice. There are 3,500 species in the world and between 35 and 40 in the UK. They’re animals which many children know. …
It was a very Puffin Christmas here. I received a Puffin Icon from the Puffin Whisperer. She used a solid wooden block …
We’re watching a kayaker paddle across Pierowall Bay with his fishing rod safely stowed when a motorboat comes past. Which one would …
A Fulmar from summer, sitting pretty on the top of a wall in the skeleton house. Its beached carcass and exposed ribs …
It’s hard to see that cliffs are dangerous from the top of them. Seeing the Island from the sea gives a completely …
Orkney is full of the evidence of master builders. Once stone is placed upon stone, then something is created which can last …
In August we went looking for the Scottish Primrose, Primula scotica. It’s one of the few plants which grows in Scotland and …
In 2020 I managed two trips to Orkney. I did it by self-isolating for two weeks before travelling and then taking all …
There was a solitary flower of what looked like Sea Mayweed on the rocks on the exposed coast of Westray this summer. …
In this time of darkness it’s pleasant to think back to the summer when, on glorious days, we would walk the coast …
One of my favourite photographs from Orkney is Sunset over Tafts. It sums up the surprising drama of a landscape, which is …
There’s a noisy young pipit on the rocks. It’s the perfect colour for these lichen covered rocks. It has a lovely delicate …
Spending time in nature really helps you appreciate it. I’ve had such a great summer on the gentle hills and cliffs of …
It’s a warm evening, bathed in orange light. I hear the call first. Then it’s the flypast. It’s a Curlew. There’s been …
I have to say it. These juvenile Arctic Skuas are… a little bit ginger. It’s fabulous to watch them sweep imperiously past. …
I’ve seen Arctic Skuas get into quite a few scraps this summer. There was the time one chased a Raven. Then the …
There is a family of Wrens flitting along the field boundary in front of us. They’re working the margins for insects and …
There’s a Kittiwake at the end of the pier where the Papa Westray ferry arrives. It’s stunning in the early morning light. …
There’s a rock pool fed with fresh water fram a tiny waterfall on the west coast of Westray. I love how green …
After seeing a couple of successful attacks by Great Skuas against juvenile Kittiwakes I feared the worst when this one strayed over …
I love walking the west coast of Westray. On a beautiful day there’s no place like it. I’ve been enjoying getting to …
If rocks could think and feel and see then life would be very different from their perspective. These rocks are so contorted, …
I look out of the window and I know something seriously weird is happening. It looks like the end of the world …
I had such a wonderful time last winter going to see Great Northern Divers in Brixham in Devon. I was able to …
Arctic Skuas come to Orkney to breed. They’re kleptoparasites, attacking birds with fish and stealing their meal. They also attack people with …