For the first time since 2009 I crossed the Bay of Biscay more than once during 2025. With my children getting a little older, I made the decision to try and do some more surveys and guiding for the marine charity ORCA, the same one I worked for in 2009 as the Wildlife Officer on … More Bay of Biscay 2025
‘I must be crazy’. ‘What am I doing’. The thoughts chased round in my head as I navigated the winding roads of North Wales in the pitch black. It was early, still dark. No other drivers on the road. ‘I must be crazy’. ‘What am I doing’. I had woken us all at ridiculous o’clock, … More Dolphins of course
I was standing on the very familiar deck 10 if Brittany Ferries Pont Aven as she steamed out of Plymouth heading into the English Channel. A breeze tugs at my hair and jacket like an incessant toddler wanting my attention. The sky is clear and blue, the sun casting a molten gold that shimmers across … More Where I Belong
The sea is like molten silver. Pearly grey, sparkling where the sun peeks through the high cloud cover. The water is calm, not a ripple to be seen. To the south the grey green coastline drifts away into a hazy horizon. To the north the clouds have split, spilling sunshine and blue sky onto the land … More Dolphins in Aber
A tumultuous grey green sea crashes onto the sand rolling with white foaming crests that create bubbles that are blown up the beach. The sky overhead is pale grey. Along the beach a hidden forest is revealed by the low tide. Draped in brown and green seaweed are the preserved remains of ancient trees. Thousands … More The Weather Window
In 2005, fresh out of University, I went to the Isle of Mull to work with Sea Life Surveys. One of the UK’s first whale watching companies, Sea Life Surveys had been set up by Richard Fairbairns in 1982. At the same time, with advice from whale biologists, he set up the Mull Cetacean Project. … More A tribute to Popz
It felt like history repeating, and I had an ominous feeling of de ja vu. It is mid-September and the first storms of the autumn are sweeping across the Atlantic heading for the UK and Ireland, and once again I am heading out on the ferry to Santander across the Bay of Biscay with the … More Changeable Bay
Sule Skerry is a remote island 40 miles west of Orkney. Uninhabited by humans but home to a multitude of seabirds. The island is known in the folklore of both Orkney and Shetland, captured in the tale of the Great Selkie of Sule Skerry, which tells the story of a woman whose child was taken … More The Island
Sitting on the cool stone of New Quay harbour and although a strong breeze tugs at coats and hats, the greyish green ocean in front on me is relatively calm with just the occasional little crest of white tipping a wave. The wind is coming off the land, sheltering the coastal waters from its ire … More Dolphins at New Quay
Storm Alieen was barreling into the UK and the Bay of Biscay between Spain and France was feeling it’s effects. Waking after a delayed start from Portsmouth and a rather bumpy night through the English Channel the group of intrepid whale watchers from the marine charity ORCA were out on deck at first light, albeit rather murky and damp, … More Stormy Bay
Wild Barley 