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Sam Pyrah

@timeonfeet.bsky.social
1.1K followers 322 following 142 posts

Journalist and author, runner and walker, writing about movement, mind and place. Cairngorms, Scotland. The Guardian | BBC Countryfile | Runner's World. Formerly @SamMurphyRuns Website: www.sampyrah.com Substack: timeonfeet.substack.com

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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social it’s looking like a good year for the Rowan here in the Cairngorms, especially after last autumn’s almost no-show of fruits. The verges and woodland edges are bright with berries. #wildflowerhour
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
⚽🔴 A US player gets a red card. Trump calls up. The card vanishes. FIFA's Infantino is cosying up to Trump instead of protecting fair play. Add your name to demand an investigation into FIFA’s leader 👇 action.wemove.eu/sign/2026-07...
action.wemove.eu
Investigate FIFA’s leader Gianni Infantino
Share the petition and you'll help multiply the impact of this campaign: Investigate FIFA’s leader Gianni Infantino
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Josh Kerr, you legend! New world record 🏃💪🏆
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
@andyburnham.bsky.social North Sea oil and gas licenses? Seriously? My hope in you has already gone, if this is true.
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
No #climbingplants on my camera roll this week but I got these burnet moths ‘climbing’ bell heather! #wildflowerhour
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Cowberry in bloom in Abernethy Forest, Cairngorms. #wildflowerhour
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
I’d initially thought this was wood anemone until I saw the leaves… Wood sorrel? Cairngorms. #wildflowerhour
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Early rise this morning to hear the dawn chorus at Loch Garten and Abernethy Forest. 🐦 🎶💕
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Loch Garten glistening between the trees, with Meall a Bhuachaille in the background. It’s only five miles from where we live but I miss being able to walk there every morning…
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Best sunset in a while…
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
A brief February newsletter, contemplating the view from the bedroom window while in bed with a cold...
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
I've written about how RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch helped rekindle my childhood love of birdwatching for my latest Substack timeonfeet.substack.com/p/coming-hom...
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
My latest Substack is a hygge-free relishing of the winter.
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
A wee frozen snowman somehow sculpted itself out of the water in the bird bath 🥶☃️❄️🦄
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Between two moons open.substack.com/pub/timeonfe...
open.substack.com
Between two moons
On trying not to mourn what has not yet been lost; and being reminded, on a daily basis, by a small white terrier, how to do exactly that...
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Wow, this is exciting! My piece in Hinterland has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. #naturewriting substack.com/@hinterlandm...
substack.com
Hinterland Magazine (@hinterlandmagazine)
Pleased to announce our nominations for the Pushcart Prize 2025.
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
They may look like landscape paintings but these are photos taken in the half-light of dusk with my phone… from the garden of my new home. What a view, huh? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Read this and weep. Then donate! #theecologist theecologist.org/2025/nov/04/...
theecologist.org
His name is Kshamenk
A whale lies motionless behind concrete walls on Argentina’s coast. His name is Kshamenk.
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Proud to see my piece, Being Heard, on the effects of human noise on birdsong in the latest issue of Paperboats zine. #naturewriting paperboats.org/category/zin...
Quote from Sam Pyrah's piece, Being Heard, against backdrop of a robin singing.
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
In the chaos of moving, I forgot to share a link on here to my latest Substack piece, which is about... moving! open.substack.com/pub/timeonfe... #naturewriting
open.substack.com
Moving on
"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy." Anatole France
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Runner's World has just made my piece on running and menopause available online... www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/a4...
runnersworld.com
What it means to run through menopause – and how to navigate the challenges
Supported by ongoing research and today’s more open conversation about this stage of life, menopausal runners can emerge stronger, healthier and happier in the long run
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
My new local hill - Sgor Gaoithe (the windy peak) - the most southerly of the Cromdale Hills.
My new local hill - Sgor Gaoithe (the windy peak) - the most southerly of the Cromdale Hills.
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
Sometimes, I only want half a slice of bread. I can’t understand why my husband finds this annoying 😂
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
In this month's Substack, I've written about the strange compulsion to pick up and pocket nature finds when I'm out walking...
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Vibrant rowan berries. The trees seem very early to fruit this year…. #wildflowerhour
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Sneezewort 🤧 in Irvine, on recent visit to the Nature Library #wildflowerhour #daisyfamily
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Morning from the Cairngorms. Mist on the hills today and a hint of autumn in the blustery wind…
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
Green Veined White on Devil’s Bit Scabious. Plus photo-bomber! Cairngorms. @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #wildflowerhour
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Just as the birds fall quiet, my latest Substack on birdsong... open.substack.com/pub/timeonfe... #naturewriting
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
A Scottish toad enjoying the sunshine in Glen Tromie today. #cairngorms
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
Glorious Glen Feshie today. Walking, watching and learning. Sightings of Golden Eagle, Crossbill, Common Lizard and Pygmy Shrew.#scotlandbigpicture #rewilding
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social No helleborines but a lovely couple of Heath Spotted Orchids, along the boardwalk across the bog at Forsinard Flows in the far north of Scotland. #wildflowers
A pair of Heath Spotted Orchids
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social Not an aquatic plant I’m afraid but this week’s exciting spot was a patch of twinflower - within walking distance of home - in the Cairngorms. Beautiful, but smaller than I’d imagined. #wildflowerhour
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
@ukrunchat.bsky.social I'm writing about getting older and slower and how we can still find joy and meaning in running in the absence of improvement/PBs. I'd love to hear any of your thoughts, runners. What motivates you once you're past your peak? #running
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
So many easy wins here... great piece www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Insects are dying: here are 25 easy and effective ways you can help protect them
From turning out the lights to letting leaves rot, these small steps can create big changes at home or in the wild
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Feverfew in a pavement gap on a walk in Blackheath, where I was walking down memory lane (my old route to school) #wildflowerhour
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
My piece on dog (and cat) empathy for @theguardian.com heavily features my terrier Morris… www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
The secret psychology of dogs and cats: do we ever really know what they are thinking?
Pets have long been a source of comfort and companionship for humans. But are they really trying to console us when we’re distressed or do they just want their dinner?
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
My first mountain bumblebee (Bombus monticola) seen today on Cairngorm plateau. On bird’s foot trefoil.
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
In my latest Substack, I wrote about trees as individuals, rather than as a species… #naturewriting #trees Find the link in my bio. Free to read!
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
Loch Garten, Scotland. Yes, really…
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
These two… friends for life
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Reposted by Sam Pyrah
ClientEarth @clientearth.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
It was announced today by the European Commission that Coca-Cola will change some of its labelling practices to remove misleading recycling claims, after BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation and its members lodged a greenwashing complaint to the Commission in 2023 which we supported. (1/5)
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Just published this month's Substack. It was Gilbert White, 18th-century naturalist, who coined the phrase 'watching narrowly'. I think he watched a lot more narrowly than me, but the zooming in on detail is what matters... #naturewriting timeonfeet.substack.com/p/watching-n...
timeonfeet.substack.com
Watching narrowly
On losing yourself in nature...
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
One moment it’s bare twigs scratching the sky, the next, everything is coming into leaf. It can’t happen overnight, but it feels that way… #naturewriting
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
This is my dog-nephew, Dexter. He’s definitely trying to tell us something, but what? I’m writing a feature for the Guardian on to what extent we can read our dogs’ emotions. And what about cats? Thoughts appreciated 🐶 🐱
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Cloud theatrics as the sun sinks tonight #cairngorms
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
Warm and still up on the Cairngorm plateau today. Even at 1200+metres! #walking
Lochan Buidh on Cairngorm plateauView from Cairngorm plateau under blue sky. Loch Morlich in distance.
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
@privateeyenews.bsky.social shame on you for falling for the lies and misrepresentations of the gamebird/hunting lobbyists. Bring back Wild Justice!
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
I've written about the depression that has waxed and waned for 3 decades on my Substack. Like the moon, it's currently waxing. It was impossible to write around the edges of it any longer; headlong seemed to be the only way. My Substack is 100% free. #depression #naturewriting #writingcommunity
Scots Pine tree with overlaid text including link to Substack
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Sam Pyrah @timeonfeet.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Tree planting with #Cairngormsconnect in Strath Nethy today.
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