Earlier this summer, my husband and I made an evening visit to the harbour at Dunbeath on our way back to Caithness after a day of appointments. In the preceding days, I had been reading Neil M. Gunn’s Highland River and wanted to reacquaint myself with the information boards on Gunn – who was born…
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As someone who is generally not a fan of ‘new year, new me’ narratives, I’ve entered into January with an odd sense of gusto for newness. The Christmas holidays saw me taking stock of thoughts and ideas, and I’ve spent the early days of January easing myself back into desk-mode with a few updates that…
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At the end of each December, I’ve fallen into the habit of writing a reflective post on the year that’s about to leave us. The format has varied slightly during my time in the blogosphere, but sharing the highs and lows of another twelve months has become a ritual I enjoy. It also eases me…
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This summer, I wrote a piece about living on the popular ‘North Coast 500’ route through the lens of my own experience as a resident of Caithness. Entitled ‘Poo, Potholes and Park-Ups – Why Highlanders are Tired of Scotland’s North Coast 500 Route,’ the article was probably more even-handed than the alliterated headline might suggest.…
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Exactly a year ago, on the Sunday before the UK entered lockdown, I was out walking with my son here in Caithness when a man pulled over in his car and rolled down the driver’s side window. He asked us where he could find a place to eat and have a cup of coffee. The…
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I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. Anne of Green Gables It’s not the first time I’ve used this quote on the blog (and I’m sure it won’t be the last time). Autumn is finally upon us – that season of colour, crunchy leaves and closing nights. This year feels…
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Summer wanes, the end of a season in lockdown. It’s been weeks since I wrote on here properly, barring a piece I did on the NC 500, and the Summer of discontent in the far north. I spent the holidays wrapped up in the cocoon of family, not venturing far, taking small steps around Caithness.…
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In amongst this period of lockdown, it almost escaped my notice that Wellies on the School Run had reached its four-year anniversary on the blogosphere. Four years of writing, two hundred and twenty five articles, somewhere in the region of two hundred thousand words. I’m not sure what I expected when I started my own…
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These weeks in lockdown have seemed to slip away so quickly, each day passing to the next with a speed strangely at odds with the stretching hours of sunlight. Before we knew it, the summer solstice was upon us, a tipping point in the balance of light and dark, where the world gives the night a…
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Recently, I decided to take a month-long break from social media. This was partly prompted by books and articles exploring the benefits of ‘digital detoxing’ (like Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism) and partly due to reservations that had been rumbling around inside me about my use of social media platforms for a while. Although I wouldn’t call myself an…
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