David Gange
@david_gange
Writer/lecturer/kayaker/'human seal' (@IrishExaminer). Frayed Atlantic Edge out now (co-winner Highland Book Prize). Writes Guardian/Big Issue/Scotsman etc.
Not sure throwing yourself into designing a website is the standard response to a burglary, but that seems to be what's happened. I'm pleased with this as a shiny new place to showcase photos & share sea journeys. Why not take a look... davidgange.com
Off the water & onto the cliffs. Five peregrines tearing through the sky & scrapping in the seaspray. Juveniles landing beside us to catch their breath. Morgan watching the dramas overhead.
I have a new, & different, project. Today I'm starting new socials for it, e.g. here... instagram.com/whymetalmatter… And you'll find links there (e.g. this, whymetalmatters.co.uk/fortress-festi…) that show how researching metal music is linked to oceans & gannets. Please do follow if interested.
Went to the opening reception of the 49th @stmagnus festival, then paddled out to Gairsay (the island where Orkney's most famous Viking, Sweyn Asleifsson, had his drinking hall). This view, from Gairsay's hill, across most of Norse & Neolithic Orkney, quite a way to end the day.
If you're in Orkney (for the St Magnus Festival, maybe, or the Sea Kayak Symposium) why not come to a talk tomorrow? I'll be in conversation with festival director, Alasdair Nicolson - we'll discuss the perspectives on past & present that kayaking creates. stmagnusfestival.com/festival-progr…
Finally, two years after getting robbed, have bought a car & sea kayak. Just in time to head North for some talks (Lyth Arts Centre tomorrow, St Magnus Festival in Orkney on Sat). But first, out to sea: feels so good to be followed by seals & dodging arctic skuas once again.
Just found lesser spotted woodpeckers nest building in central Birmingham. 100m from a really big road (& right on my daily walk to work). The tree is near a greater spotted nest hole, & they're already getting territorial with each other. Anyone know if they'll have a chance?
Quite some conditions in the Peaks right now - get up above 300m if you can!
The stillest morning & the thickest fog. Quiet but for flocks of fieldfare. Probably should've stayed out on the water.
These photos are of a beautifully quiet place, worth walking slowly. While relying on trains for hikes, Edale to Glossop has become a favourite. The start & end (Kinder-Alport Castles & Shelf Stones) are busy. But the best bit (Alport-Bleaklow) never is. In purple on the map.
Possibly the most fun I've ever had with a camera. Here's a link to my photos/blog from the arena of dreams @BLOODSTOCKFEST 2024... davidgange.com/bloodstock-2024
I love how the richness of summer shores & seas makes seabirds of falcons, owls, & kites. There's nothing quite like kayak journeys accompanied by raptors.
It's one of those weekends when there's salmon around, & the dolphins have gathered for the chase...
In Croatia to learn about thousand-year traditions of tiny rowboat ferries & the building of wooden boats. Using days off to swim between islands through two national parks (Telašćica/Kornati). Eleonora's falcons, red-backed shrikes, & whipsnakes. Dolphins in crystal seas.
Some Birmingham badgers have built burrows to their main sett all around a footpath. Walk by at sunset & you'll hear the whole large family murmuring & chittering underground. Look down & you'll sometimes find you're being watched...
The perfect wake-up call. There used to be more lapwings and golden plovers here, but I don't remember these curlew calls filling the landscape as they do today.
Today's red dawn, over hillsides filled with green hairstreaks. Golden waders - plovers & curlew - on the wing.
