Outdoor

The great unroofed…

Atom Panopticon

Atom Panopticon

Published by Matt on 13 May, 2013 | Leave a response

I visited The Atom this evening. In Wycoller, Lancashire,  near a row of gnarled old trees wrapping their limbs around what looked like a row of gravestones – slabs of rock forming ancient ‘vaccary walling’ (a sight worth a visit in its own right) squats The Atom.  It’s one of four art installations involving the construction of series of 21st-century landmarks called Panopticons.   The whole landscape… Read more →

Bilton Gala

Bilton Gala

Published by Matt on 6 May, 2013 | Leave a response

For over 30 years, a true community event called Bilton Gala has taken place on May Day Bank Holiday Monday, in the heart of one of the oldest and biggest suburbs of Harrogate called (you guessed it) Bilton. If this year’s Bilton Gala was a newspaper, it would be a bank holiday special edition of The Sun, with a headline… Read more →

Majestic morning and tree

Majestic morning and tree

Published by Matt on 13 April, 2013 | 1 Response

Without sounding like some old hippy, I had a beautiful experience of nature this morning. I walked up the upper reaches of the ‘new’ Nidderdale Greenway or the ‘Harrogate – Killinghall – Ripley’ cycle path’ that I blogged about last week. Bathed in golden light and dawn chorus, just me and dog. We even saw a deer. She popped out… Read more →

More day

More day

Published by Matt on 9 April, 2013 | Leave a response

More day is great. Doing outdoor stuff after work at this time of year is still such a novelty and it’s coming up two weeks since the clocks went forward. I’d got into such a habit over winter of finishing work and heading straight home – back indoors.  This evening, I went for a mini walk.  I’d done the same… Read more →

A cyclist on the recently opened Bilton VIaduct section of the Nidderdale Greenway cycle path earlier today

Harrogate – Killinghall – Ripley cycle path

Published by Matt on 6 April, 2013 | 2 Responses

The Nidderdale Greenway. An unblemished by cars Harrogate to Ripley cycling and recreation path. 14 years in the making, (or rather nearly 14 years floundering in red tape then a few months in the making) the final section of the path opened a few days ago. The final hurdle was the controversial viaduct section but I’m very pleased to report… Read more →

Dogs and spring sprung

Dogs and spring sprung

Published by Matt on 29 March, 2013 | Leave a response

It actually felt quite pleasant out today. A welcome change to the bleak drudge we’ve had weather wise recently. We’ve had a family day today – we were lucky enough to have a visit from Annie’s great grand parents. Annie is their 12th great grand child. The highlight of the day. Other that that, I’ve taken any excuse for a… Read more →

Giz a go on your bike?

Giz a go on your bike?

Published by Matt on 7 March, 2013 | 2 Responses

I had one of those conversations earlier that triggered a warm glow of nostalgia. You know the feeling. The feeling you get when you and a bunch of approximate peers reminisce about stuff from when you were kids.  Growing up in the 70s and 80s as we did, there was just one brand in the bicycle world that called all the shots. Sure, other cool bikes… Read more →

An odd find

An odd find

Published by Matt on 13 February, 2013 | Leave a response

  Nearly every morning, I take the dog for a walk across a 200 acre open parkland called The Stray in my home-town of Harrogate. The Stray carves a big arc around the town centre. It’s kind of an inner green belt. It’s a fairly featureless space – beautiful in places, and not short of character in others,  but on the whole,… Read more →

I like a bit of rain

I like a bit of rain

Published by Matt on 10 February, 2013 | 1 Response

I spent the morning outside today around Nidd Gorge, between Harrogate and Knaresborough. I was looking for a geocache – failed on that score (hunted for it for over an hour, to no avail) but as a bi-product of a few hours of woodland immersion, away from The Race, I felt connected with nature again. It was above freezing by… Read more →

The fight scene

Published by Matt on 7 February, 2013 | Leave a response

“HUUUURH! where is this young gallant that is so desirous to lie with his mother earth?” is a line from this scene in The Abbey Shakespeare production of ‘As You Like It‘, that Jaygo nailed last summer.   Both Jaygo and Felix (my sons) feature in this fantastic scene (as part of the rent-a-mob) along with the stars of the scene Will and Ed – the… Read more →

Trossachs

Trossachs

Published by Matt on 7 January, 2013 | Leave a response

I like living in this day and age. The lifestyle benefits and technical trappings really are quite marvelous. I can transport my family to a different country for a weekend without too much bother. It really does tickle my fancy. We so often take it all for granted.  Roads where you can safely and comfortably maintain over 60 mph for hours on… Read more →

DragonDrop’s Den idea #1

DragonDrop’s Den idea #1

Published by Matt on 2 January, 2013 | Leave a response

If you asked someone who knows how to pitch an idea for tips, they may say “get them nodding – ask them a definite YES question first”. Here goes.. You know how it rains a lot in the British Isles? And you know how in the winter, when there’s salt on the road, you go through a LOT of windscreen… Read more →

Christmas kick-off

Christmas kick-off

Published by Matt on 14 December, 2012 | 1 Response

There’s always the rhetoric around this time of year that Christmas has lost its magic and that it has gotten far too commercial for its own good. I must admit, that compared to when I was a kid (and Christmas was the best word in the world), the first thing I think of these days, is an increased to-do list and a decreased bank… Read more →

Half way up as far as you can go

Half way up as far as you can go

Published by Matt on 16 November, 2012 | Leave a response

A couple of postcards in from Richard – who we’ve been following on his adventure to climb the highest mountain on earth*. First – one that arrived this morning – and the second down, one from a couple days ago.. Only a Whymper Hi everyone, this is me, [in a] Dragondrop [adventure shirt] and various elements outside the Whymper Refuge… Read more →