Julian Batsleer on the right to roam, Les Bright on the unlimited joys of being a rambler, and Mike Stein on walkers’ need for public transportThe landless many have always had to struggle for access to land owned by the few in order to engage in their…
“it smelled good, but… in my mind it already belonged to someone else”
piratefsh wrote a short series of blog posts about allowing herself to become a perfume aficionado, starting with “Every month or so, about two weeks before my period starts, my nose gets hypersensitive.” (Content note for vomiting.) Part two: “Sales a…
The wonder stuff: what I learned about happiness from a month of ‘awe walks’
Feeling down? You need to experience more awe, psychologists say. So I set off every day to explore my local area, leaving my phone behindI am in the middle of a cloud, halfway up a steep pike, and on a mission to get some awe. I am here thanks to a ne…
The International Miniature Dry Stone Wall competition results are in!
Miniature Walling Festival Brought to you by the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland
Gardening can save the planet. How? Start with your soil | Alys Fowler
Sustainable gardening isn’t hard: nurture your soil, save your seeds … and compostThe dictionary has it wrong. Gardening isn’t about plants, it’s about everything else: the soil, the insects, the birds, mammals and reptiles, and how you sit in this wor…
Volume warning
“The Federal Signal Thunderbolt siren is one of the most famous ‘older sirens’ in the history of sirens.” Check out the high-low fire signal on this one in Sarnia, ON, one that’s flooded, in Maysville, OK, one on full alert in Seminole, OK, an alternat…
‘I was sliding towards the drop and couldn’t stop’ – the writer who fell from a mountain
It is every climber’s worst nightmare. In this extract from his thrilling book about the glorious – and treacherous – Cuillin Ridge on Skye, Simon Ingram recalls the day its wild peaks almost took his lifeI had been out of signal for most of the day, s…
Ready meals, new clothes, fairy lights: the products you stopped buying (or wish you had) in the pandemic
For some of us, this has been a time to cut back and live more sustainably. Others have found it harder to rein in their spending. Nine readers reveal how they have saved – or splurgedI bought my own proper coffee machine during the first lockdown and …
Crossword blog: a crossword can be 30 worlds in miniature
I can recommend two books, which have reminded me to slow down and savour my crosswordsA little sentence can hold a world. Continue reading…
Meet the crossword setter, plant scientist Soup: ‘A successful clue needs pith and, ideally, humour’
The latest in our series where we turn the tables on the torturers. Under the spotlight this time is the insect pollination expert Hamish Symington, AKA SoupThe Guardian’s newest cryptic setter, Soup, has been setting puzzles in this paper’s extraordin…