Looking back, I’ve come to a rather curious conclusion: the decades that exerted the greatest influence on me, are the two that were concluded before I was born.

A four mile walk along the Wyre Way from Abbeystead to Dolphinholme, with alternative routes around the Abbeystead Reservoir.

The world's longest continuously staged show has embarked on its 75th anniversary tour. See how it runs.

A circular 7.5 mile walk in the Forest of Bowland, visiting each of the two parent tributaries of the River Wyre. Part of the Wyre Way footpath.

My childhood fantasy is your future nightmare.

I named him BalwinBecause it means ‘bold friend’He’s much bolder than IBut nowhere near as bald.Hopping into her potting shedWithout asking permissionStealing treatsAsking for favoursFistfuls of fatAtrophied mealsSwell his cropBetween badges of greyNot normally noted on a black-breasted bird. That’s how we know it is himIt’s his i.d.

My home city’s newest bridge has opened. It’s been a long time coming. In another sense it’s been here for over two centuries. The much-cherished Old Tram Bridge spans the River Ribble at the eastern edge of Avenham Park, a green civic space close to the city centre. There’s been a bridge here since the start of the nineteenth century. This is its third renovation and the most radical of all.

Preston's newest bridge opens next week. Don't cross the fellow who lives under it.

Loud voices, false promises, afterlife in the undergrowth.

Trials on a tandem “I’d like to ride a tandem,” said Bob, “along the Pennine Way.” It was the kind of remark Bob would make.  He was a well-known character locally and had been my best friend as a …

. . .and one way to prevent it Parlick Pike dominates the landscape north of  Chipping in Lancashire. It does so for two reasons.  Firstly, because it protrudes south from the bulk of the Bleasdale…

How a wimpish schoolboy was introduced to the first play he would go on to produce and revisit the most. Why this seventy-year-old classic is still relevant today.

As filmed by a man with eight legs I have to confess it was a stalking. I looked her up on Facebook and drove across the moors to where I’d worked out she would be. Rawtenstall. I parked the car an…

An appreciation of the David Cousins Celebration Concert held at Bangor University, Saturday 28th February 2026.

I have invented a new acronym. I did not use AI. Here’s why, together with some thoughts on creative integrity and a prophecy of artificial indoctrination.  

The garden has gained a new old gargoyle. We wonder what he's thinking.

An appreciation of a new album from long ago. Mysteries of ancient wonder. Endless plains, open roads. Sleepy mornings, strange days, wakeful nights. Ends that are beginnings and starts that never end. Secrets of smiles. Devotion in disguise. Vows kept and broken. Lips cut and closed. Potent poetry and plucking brilliant playing.

A pointer to some rural and coastal gems and the scribbling they inspired.

How an excursion on a veteran steamship and the making of a miniature replica fuelled a perplexing retro-adventure.

(Extracted from Will at the Tower) Will rubbed the ache from his eyes.  He could remember nothing of the night. The mattress beneath him was coarse and sank sharp shards into his naked back. The su…

A seasonal excerpt from Will at the Tower, a novel exposing William Shakespeare’s secret seventeenth year.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s notorious attempt to kill off Sherlock Holmes was an infamous failure when an outraged public following demanded his resurrection and the author reluctantly obliged. Likewi…

An extract from ‘Great Hedgepectations’ the story of an orphaned hedgehog called Rip, suitable for adults and older children.

How a rock band rose from the waves to grasp a Canadian life-line and a comparison of two lead guitarists.

Troubled over bridged water. The Artisan Author takes stock and casts off from the lake he once loved.

A guided circular walk around some of the prettiest parts of the city of Preston in Lancashire, using public transport to break the journey into four parts.

A lack of appreciation for a 'missing' Strawbs album.

The first twelfth of the second story in Modern Gothic, an anthology of darkly mysterious fiction published by Fly on the Wall Press.

A response to the unwrapping of a refurbished museum and the grand unanimated marvels within. Plus a hunt to rediscover a mythical lover.

Concentric thoughts on war-makers from an arachnid.

A pedantic plea, that is probably too late, and warning to fellow scribblers, editors and publishers.

Researching, rehearsing and staging the reconstructing of an icon of evil The most unsettling moment was when Andrew stopped the car.  We asked why he had done so.  He said it was the place. Which …

Earlier this month, singer-songwriter Dave Cousins died. There are many obituaries out there. I will not add to those. This, instead, is an attempt to explain how and why his work became vital to my spiritual searching, my creative impetus, my imaginary plundering and my psychological balance.