My publisher Polygon Books and I are very excited to announce that The Hidden Fires: A Cairngorms Journey with Nan Shepherd has been short-listed for …
Category: Walking
Posted on 14th September, 2023
A Sunrise Walk up to the ‘Seat in the Sky’
Badenoch, Cairngorms: In the late summer, the bracken is still a weave of green and gold, while the heather is burnished bronze. Read my latest …
Posted on 23rd March, 2023
Snow Walk in the Cairngorms
The view to the Cairngorms across Loch Morlich My March article for the Guardian Country Diary charts a snowy walk up a northern spur of …
Posted on 12th March, 2023
The Courage to Follow Nan Shepherd
“I set out on my journey in pure love.” So said Aberdeenshire author, Nan Shepherd, in The Living Mountain, her now-celebrated account of exploring the …
Posted on 8th March, 2023
Nan Shepherd’s Legacy for Women
Jean Roger (L) with Nan Shepherd (R) on a hillwalk in 1944. Photo: JG Roger International Women’s Day is a good opportunity to remember Nan …
Posted on 7th January, 2023
New Year’s Day Walk up Creag Dhubh
My New Year piece for the Guardian Country Diary captured a winter walk up Creag Dhubh – The Black Crag – above Newtonmore. You can …
Posted on 21st February, 2022
Ice and Running Water
When the author Nan Shepherd was walking the Cairngorms in the 1940s, she once dedicated an entire day to studying the ice patterns in the …
Posted on 20th July, 2021
Of Reindeer and Rams Horns
Setting off for an overnight climb and camp in the Cairngorms, our mountain guide friend, John, tucked a shepherd’s crook down the side of his …
Posted on 21st June, 2021
Stone and Sky on Angel’s Peak
On this night, eight years ago, I started writing my novel, Of Stone and Sky. It was the summer solstice here in the Highlands of …