I am a researcher and non-fiction writer, based in the Scottish Highlands, interested in anything to do with communities, environment, nature, landscape, and the past.
Trained as a historian, I have always loved writing, reading and learning, and delight in an eclectic range of interests, but it’s being in the natural world which has always kept me sane. I grew up in rural Shropshire and was always happiest fishing about in a pond or inspecting an insect.
My interest in people, communities and the stories they tell, however, led me to choose history as my degree and the delight of archives and books has been my professional world as a historian for 15 years. However, this is matched by my love of nature and the outdoors. I am a walker, bird watcher, snapper of photographs, and hiker, and research and write about the outside world. As I have travelled all over the world for research conferences and just to explore, I have always loved encountering different places and landscapes.
I have just finished writing a book on mountain bothies (Bothy: In Search of Simple Shelter) exploring the history of the buildings and the landscapes they sit in, as well as people’s relationship with environments and places in an era of climate change.
As well as my love of research and writing, I have always been a keen sportsperson and have a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I helped found the national governing body for the sport, now recognised by Sport England, and I have also competed all over the world, the highlight of which was winning a European title.
Whilst I love history and the humanities, it’s how this work speaks to us about the environment and the natural world that I find most interesting. Stories of our landscapes are, after all, also stories of communities and their pasts and futures. I work on projects which combine my skills as a writer, researcher, and educator with my passion for nature. I’ve devoted much of my life to sharing my knowledge with others, and it’s always been important to me to communicate my passion and love of learning. In my current role as Community Engagement Coordinator for Highlands Rewilding I am now getting to put my knowledge about landscapes and environment into action on the ground.
At the root of this all remains my love for wild places, strange bugs and interesting pasts. My current project on bothying pretty much sums me up: thinking about people and their pasts, communities and climate change, in brooding landscapes with some camping, hiking and bird-watching thrown in.