Meanderings we couldn’t fit into the issue, but which seemed terribly important at the time...
Rob Holmes, Group Art Director
Miles walked this month: 74
Like reader Leanne Woodall writes on page 17, I’ve held an ambition to see the Northern Lights for many years. And like her, I’ve had near misses too – visiting a relentlessly wet and cloudy Reykjavík in the 90s, I was told by one smug Brit, “You should have been here last week, even in the city they were so intense they made me flinch!” Then last year we were teased by the merest hint of a distant glow on the horizon while holidaying on Orkney – not exactly what you’d call a ‘display’ though. So earlier this month when my daughter got a ‘super-high sun activity’ alert on her Aurora Watch phone app, (like father, like daughter!), I was hopeful, but still not expecting fireworks, as we were at home in Lincolnshire. We made the effort to get away from the street lights though, and, oh wow – after 30 minutes of ‘something’ glowing in the distant sky, suddenly it was above our heads in shimmering shafts of purple, pink and green. Ambition fulfilled, and just five minutes from my front door!
Note to self: There’s no predicting the fickleness of the Aurora – but an app helps!
Zoe Blanchflower, Marketing manager
Miles walked this month: 88 It’s incredibly satisfying turning off the phone and going off-grid and that’s exactly what I did on my recent trip to Kielder. Home to both the largest man-made woodland AND the largest capacity reservoir, Kielder offers plenty of variety for walking routes. I found a wonderful 7-miler which took in some much-loved features. Starting from Kielder Castle, it loops down to Kielder Viaduct where you can walk over the top or take the routes underneath to get a closer view of the impressive arches. Then along the Bakethin Reservoir, eventually joining on to Kielder Water where, if you’re lucky, you may see ospreys elegantly soaring high over the waters. The path
