Barney's Bimbles and Adventures

Whenever I'm travelling on the train to and from my place of work in London, I often find myself gazing out across the countryside near home and contemplating where my next adventure could be. For a while now my gaze has been drawn to one particular place. A small woodland atop a hill overlooking a valley of fields and forest. I kept staring at this place each and every time I went by on the train. I wondered  what it may be like and whether I might be able to camp there. I know the area relatively well, it’s like a hidden gem within the Kentish countryside. I spent much of my youth on my mountain bike exploring the trails and was confident that the chosen spot was within hiking distance. Needless to say I looked up a route on my ordnance survey map and begun to formulate a plan. Hiking is a fairly new concept to me. Much of my 'wildcamping' is done within a mile or so of my car. I guess that's why I prefer to ‘bimble’, take my time and enjoy the surroundings. The pl...

My wife and I enjoyed a great walk around Elmley Nature Reserve today. Elmley is located on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent amongst the North Kent Marshes. This expanse of marshland is recognised as one of the most important natural wetlands in Northern Europe. It makes a home for thousands of migrating birds. Best of all, it's practically on our doorstep. So my wife and I filled our flasks, made lunch and headed out with our cameras and binoculars for a day of exploring. Elmley is a huge reserve, we covered almost 6 miles walking around the trails and still didn't manage to get around the whole site. I'm pretty sure that apart from a visit to a falconry centre, I've never seen so many birds of prey in one day. The reserve was thriving with Buzzards, Kestrels and Marsh Harriers. Everywhere we looked we could see one or the other gliding gracefully over the grassland, searching for a bite to eat. This perhaps speaks volumes of the presumably plentiful supply of quarry...