Author Archives: Martin Moorman

‘My Grand Day Out’ “You must be out of your brilliant mind.” 🎵 Furniture “Hello Pateley, I’m seriously thinking of moving to the area and would love to know your thoughts.” This was a post headline that I read in a Pateley based social media group last week, from a guy called Terry. It gotContinue reading “Welcome to ‘Sycamores Gap’ – 70,000 steps in, around and above Pateley Bridge”

“Baby Come Back” – 🎶 Eddy Grant (1984) There’s a common saying – “Never go back.” Most commonly it is connected with a relationship that has previously soured, but started to improve; a job opportunity with a previous employer; or in the world of football, where a BIG return for a former ‘legend’ in aContinue reading “Salt Flats, Sand & Sunshine: Revisiting Portugal’s Iconic Coast on the Algarve”

‘Some people are on the side of the pitch. They think it’s all over: It is now!’  – Kenneth Wolstenholme, at the 1966 World Cup Final, Wembley Stadium ‘Gold’ 🎶 Spandau Ballet https://open.spotify.com/track/2X9fsxb6O6bYEopJYmUbNC?si=WyX7rsfSS2y2J1lpeJHjKw&utm_source=sms I’m a big sports fan. Well a fan of most sports anyway. I absolutely love football and also enjoy watching elite sportsmenContinue reading “A 14 Mile Forage around Fountains Abbey and a FIFA-Style Sporting Fiasco”

“9 to 5″ 🎶 – Dolly Parton “Maybe you should start with a smaller show”. These were the sensible words of my lovely friend Suzie (Sue) earlier in the summer as I confirmed my decision to become a debutant at the Pateley Agricultural Show. Wise words from Suzie, a magnificent home baker in her ownContinue reading “A Cake Maker’s Debut at the Pateley Show”

“Into the valley” 🎶 – The Skids “You just need to find your new tribe!” Back in 2023, at a time when I had really struggled mentally to adapt to so many life changes in such a short time, those immortal words had been uttered by my friend Jo, a simply brilliant headteacher who runsContinue reading “A Gritty Ramble up the Ryburn Valley and round Ripponden”

‘The Sounds of Silence’ 🎶 – Simon and Garfunkel Traditionally, in the UK, September is viewed as the start of the harvest and foraging time of the year. After a record summer of sunshine and heat, the hedgerows and byways of North Yorkshire are ripe with produce waiting to be seen, snapped and sometimes picked.Continue reading “A Forage for Quakers on my own Doorstep”

The Tale of the River and the Missing Footballs Good morning campers and welcome to the third and final part of my ‘Tales from the Dales Trail’: the 80 mile walk linking Ilkley, north west of Leeds, with Windermere, the iconic ‘capital’ of The English Lake District. I started my backpacking trek on Tuesday morningContinue reading “‘Many rivers to cross’ 🎶- Jimmy Cliff (1972)”