Field notes from the road
The Journal
Everything we’ve learned the slow way: the places that kept us longer than we planned, the meals worth a detour, and the small mishaps that became the best stories. Dispatches from wherever Walden is parked tonight.
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Sunset at Findhorn
Read more: Sunset at FindhornAn evening walk along Findhorn Beach becomes more than a visit to one of Scotland’s most beautiful coastal villages. As the light fades over the Moray Firth and the painted beach huts settle into shadow, a simple walk with my…
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The Friendships You Make When Nobody Asks What You Do
Curt and Snow, two of the very few other Americans…
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Cold Air in July: An Evening on the Edge of the Cairngorms
July in the Cairngorms does not behave like July. We…
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Everything else from the road.
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Orkney Beach Walks: The Quiet Luxury of Living This Way
Read more: Orkney Beach Walks: The Quiet Luxury of Living This WayLong, empty Orkney beaches walked at the pace of the tide, and why living in a van, rather than holidaying…
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Meeting the Locals on Orkney, Even When the Locals Are Cattle
Read more: Meeting the Locals on Orkney, Even When the Locals Are CattleParked by the old ferry port on Orkney’s Mainland, the locals who came to say hello were a herd of…
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Tides at Philorth: Standing Proof We Live on a Spinning Ball
Read more: Tides at Philorth: Standing Proof We Live on a Spinning BallAt Philorth Beach near Fraserburgh, the tide is quiet proof that we live on a spinning ball in space, all…
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Beach Walks at Findhorn: One of Our Favourite Places in the UK
Read more: Beach Walks at Findhorn: One of Our Favourite Places in the UKFindhorn Beach on the North Sea is one of our favourite places in the whole UK: miles of near-empty sand,…
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James Watt Dock, Greenock: An Unexpectedly Wonderful Place to Wake Up on the Water
Read more: James Watt Dock, Greenock: An Unexpectedly Wonderful Place to Wake Up on the WaterJames Watt Dock in Greenock turned out to be one of the loveliest places we have parked all year, a…
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The Other Birmingham: A Stay High Above Broad Street
Read more: The Other Birmingham: A Stay High Above Broad StreetA native of Birmingham, Alabama checks into the Hyatt Regency in Birmingham, England, and falls for a city of industrial…
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The Cows Run the Show
Read more: The Cows Run the ShowOne night on Minchinhampton Common near Stroud, where open-range cattle sleep on the golf greens and fish and chips taste…
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A Quiet High Place in the Sibillini
Read more: A Quiet High Place in the SibilliniHigh in the Apennines, our favourite high-altitude pitch in Italy’s Monti Sibillini, a plateau most foreign visitors never think to…
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The Hour Before the Buses: A Morning Alone in Ephesus
Read more: The Hour Before the Buses: A Morning Alone in EphesusBy mid-morning Ephesus belongs to the tour buses. We got there at opening and, for one quiet hour, had the…