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Archive
Apr 2025
29:
Building Alpenglow Journal: going all-in on Substack
Apr 2025
22:
Unplugged #13: Seminal moments outside, the invisible cost of staying dry, and romanticising Romanticism
Apr 2025
15:
The adventure film camera comparison no one asked for: Olympus Trip 35 vs. Olympus XA2
Apr 2025
8:
Unplugged #12: The Meta book heist, tall fences and old trees, growing is painful, and the pursuit of perfection
Apr 2025
1:
Freezeframe – one last journey into the Cairngorms before the world changed
Mar 2025
26:
Unplugged #11: Uncertainty and adventure, a wildfire outside, the enshittification of komoot, and the rise of New Romanticism
Mar 2025
17:
Unplugged #10: adventure plus purpose, in search of winter, a new mountain magazine, and the Great Chiasmus
Mar 2025
5:
Unplugged #9: Back from the Alps, rewilding's human cost, and a death knell for critical thinking
Feb 2025
20:
Unplugged #8: off to the Alps, outdoor recreation vs. conservation, environmental pragmatism, and the one change that worked
Feb 2025
12:
Unplugged #7: the outdoors for 'normal people', waking up from a bad run, the Field Notes thing, and microspikes vs. crampons
Feb 2025
5:
Unplugged #6: Maybe we should all care a bit more
Jan 2025
27:
Unplugged #5: Why I'm optimistic about 2025
Jan 2025
15:
2024 in review as a professional outdoor writer and editor
Dec 2024
31:
Looking for a rural sense of place in dead week
Dec 2024
16:
Unplugged #4: An early winter season missed, off the map, and adventure with purpose
Dec 2024
9:
Unplugged #3: The Dundee Mountain Film Festival, an expanded analogue environment, and returning to the ice
Dec 2024
2:
Unplugged #2: the Kendal Mountain Festival, conserving energy, and something in the darkness to believe in
Dec 2024
1:
Why am I receiving two copies of posts in my inbox?
Dec 2024
1:
Building Alpenglow Journal: putting the idea on ice, and where I'm going from here
Nov 2024
28:
Something in the darkness to believe in
Nov 2024
17:
Unplugged #1: solitary bothy nights, unlocking the winter mountains, and finite FTW
Nov 2024
17:
I think Bluesky is a trap
Nov 2024
6:
Aline: our creative community in the outdoors
Nov 2024
4:
A mountain before breakfast
Oct 2024
28:
Bits and pieces: latest published work, plus thoughts on moving to a weekly newsletter
Oct 2024
25:
Sidetracked Volume 31: Closer to Nature, and thoughts on steadiness of purpose in media
Oct 2024
20:
Winter Colour: an OWPG highly commended photo set
Oct 2024
18:
Páramo: building blocks for the future
Oct 2024
9:
Fragments from the journey home
Oct 2024
5:
'So how are things *actually*, Alex?'
Sep 2024
30:
First steps in medium-format film photography
Aug 2024
4:
Ten years as a professional writer and editor
Jul 2024
18:
Postcards from Morocco
Jun 2024
24:
Building Alpenglow Journal: a new type of outdoor publication
Jun 2024
21:
Sidetracked Volume 30: the Art of the Journey, and a look back at a decade in print
Jun 2024
20:
Elements: a look back at Sidetracked magazine's first festival
Jun 2024
19:
Mountain Style: the first illustrated history of British outdoor clothing
May 2024
22:
'Embracing constraints taught me to love them'
May 2024
20:
Highs and lows from a winter of outdoor gear testing: spooky summit camps, exploding stoves, and more
May 2024
17:
Two upcoming events for outdoor writers, photographers, and creators
May 2024
7:
Seek the mayglow while you can, for it is fleeting
Apr 2024
14:
Perthshire, March, Kodak cine film
Apr 2024
13:
Something I should have done years ago: ALCS (plus nebulous thoughts about writing as a lifelong vocation)
Apr 2024
6:
What survives in the record: a Glen Coe hill day from 15 years ago today
Mar 2024
31:
Some phone pictures from a sunny hill weekend (and a few thoughts on photo note-taking)
Mar 2024
30:
Maybe the web used to be better than it is now
Mar 2024
29:
The magic of cine film
Mar 2024
28:
The long microseason tail of a fantastic winter
Mar 2024
12:
Recently published work: Sidetracked, The Great Outdoors, Outdoor Focus
Jan 2024
26:
The Apple Macintosh at 40 – and my own Mac history at 24
Jan 2024
2:
2023 in review
Dec 2023
29:
My top images of 2023 – and a year with the Leica M3
Dec 2023
10:
Your annual reminder that my books make excellent presents
Nov 2023
26:
The Second Chance
Nov 2023
24:
Creative Freedom with the John Muir Trust
Nov 2023
23:
Dispatches from Kendal Mountain Festival 2023
Oct 2023
11:
An overnighter in the Cairngorms with David Lintern
Oct 2023
6:
The Sidetracked Creators Tour 2023
Sep 2023
29:
The photos that didn't make it into Wanderlust British & Irish Isles
Sep 2023
24:
Generative AI will not make you a better writer – it will destroy creative writing as a way of expressing the human experience
Sep 2023
18:
The late 2023 social media burnout
Aug 2023
24:
My first two rolls of Kodak Vision3 250D
Aug 2023
24:
My next book is available to pre-order
Aug 2023
19:
Home scanning 35mm film, the quest for cheaper analogue photography, and bringing the past back to life
Jul 2023
20:
An idea has come out of nowhere
Jul 2023
7:
Threads: first impressions and thoughts about the future of the new app
Jun 2023
15:
Embracing the Creativity of the Unknown
May 2023
14:
A fastpacking circuit in the Cairngorms
May 2023
8:
Scotland: the first two months
Apr 2023
10:
Postcards from the Dartmoor Way
Apr 2023
9:
The stories that must be written
Mar 2023
8:
Home...
Mar 2023
2:
A first walk in my local hills after the move to Scotland
Feb 2023
26:
Operation Move to Scotland is go
Feb 2023
21:
Join me for a free online talk about long-distance walking this Thursday
Feb 2023
4:
A return to the Suffolk Sandlings, and some thoughts on photography and memory
Jan 2023
23:
Ten years ago: winter climbing in Glen Coe with the equipment of the pioneers
Jan 2023
22:
What I've been reading lately: the Dartmoor Debacle, putting the photo first, smartphone navigation, and the problem with AI
Jan 2023
14:
Lincolnshire gothic: a walk through the Croftmarsh
Jan 2023
11:
A bit of bother on Barf – or, when smartphone mountain navigation gets complicated
Jan 2023
1:
2022 in review: looking back at a Big Year for my adventure, photography, writing, and a lot more
Dec 2022
16:
What I've been reading lately: 16th of December 2022
Nov 2022
30:
Last months in Lincolnshire
Nov 2022
26:
Personal connections, a season for repairs, and my grandfather's watch
Nov 2022
22:
Welcome to the new blog!
Jul 2022
9:
Attitudes and Altitude: a new Sidetracked project, and a journey across the Alps
Aug 2021
21:
Twenty years as a writer: a first look at The Farthest Shore
Aug 2021
16:
A Highland book launch for The Farthest Shore
Aug 2021
4:
The End of Winter: hiking the Cape Wrath Trail in February 2019
Jul 2021
24:
Recent radio and podcast appearances
Jul 2021
17:
Features in the August 2021 issue of The Great Outdoors
Jul 2021
11:
The Meaning of Adventure: Hiking the Haute Route Pyrenees
Jul 2021
7:
The Farthest Shore is available to pre-order – 20% off signed copies
Jul 2021
3:
Wildlife photography highlights, June 2021
Jun 2021
27:
Recent odds and ends
Jun 2021
6:
Wildlife photography highlights, May 2021
Jun 2021
4:
The Light of Unmediated Experience: an interview with Freedom Matters
May 2021
20:
A cover design for The Farthest Shore
May 2021
1:
Wildlife photography highlights, April 2021
Apr 2021
3:
Wildlife photography highlights, March 2021
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