Cycling along Edinburgh’s canal: Lochrin Basin to Almond Acqueduct

Come on a journey with me along one of my favourite scenic routes through the leafy, pastoral and mountainous outer suburbs of Edinburgh and East Lothian heading out into the countryside. This epic shared pedestrian and cycling path goes all the way from Edinburgh to Glasgow (56km one way) alongside the Forth and Clyde Canal.

10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #111

Edition #111 of Interesting Things I Found on the Internet features Kate Bush, felt animations, travel forays, salty Breton legends, classic house, medieval remedies and more from #ContentCatnip

An excellent MTB adventure in Huka Falls, Taupo

Come along with us on this amazing 17 km mountain biking track located close by to the town of Taupo is a scenic loop crossing Huka Falls. There were great panoramic lookout points along the way which feature the powerful Waikato river, bright green belts of forest and tracts of farmland. From atop high vantage points you can spy on somnambulent livestock dotted on the far hills.

The quirky meander through the origins of language in the Polish calendar

With a few exceptions that are Latin, the Polish month names of the year take more from the Pagan world of seasonal changes, rather than from the Latin calendar that we all know and use in English.

Travel: Kolejcowo is a cute and creepy version of Poland in miniature

When I was in Poland in 2019, I didn’t hesitate to visit the Kolejcowo in Świebodzki Station in Wrocław. This is the largest model railway in Poland, but also a rather amazing depiction of how life in Poland actually looks. Everything, right down to the petrol stations, graffiti, and the shops actually exists in real life in the city of Wrocław and its surrounding towns and villages. I just love Poland and seeing this all in miniature was so charming I decided to make a video about it.

Comforting Thought: What natural sound would you preserve forever?

Silence The song of the cicadas Penetrates the rocks In Japanese there are many onomatopoeic words for the sounds in nature. shito shito: the sound of light rain zā zā: the sound of heavy rain  kasa kasa: the light sound of leaves rustling under foot  hyū hyū: the sound of wind blowing goro goro: theContinue reading “Comforting Thought: What natural sound would you preserve forever?”

Book Review: A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

A Field Guide to Getting Lost is a collection of loosely related essays that expand upon the idea of wandering, being lost and our human sense of the unknown. The essays are insightful, vivid and at times slow-moving. This is a mosaic of cultural history, autobiography, nature writing and artistic criticism that roves far andContinue reading “Book Review: A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit”

Dissapearing into the desert

“The desert could not be claimed or owned–it was a piece of cloth carried by winds, never held down by stones, and given a hundred shifting names… Its caravans, those strange rambling feasts and cultures, left nothing behind, not an ember. All of us, even those with European homes and children in the distance, wishedContinue reading “Dissapearing into the desert”

10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #87

Do you want to see pigeons at a tiny rave? do you want to learn how algae can stop palm oil deforestation? walk past a sulky dog? find the heart of Trinidad- Tobago in a jewellry case? learn about the secret to a long life? You can do all of those things in edition #87 of Interesting Things…so get cosy!