Jane Dunford

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Jane Dunford

Campers looking for a back-to-nature experience this summer will be able to wild camp on land that was previously off-limits across Britain thanks to an initiative launched by camping booking platform CampWild and the nature recovery charity Rewilding Britain. The partnership will provide outdoor enthusiasts with access to nature restoration projects that have not previously permitted overnight stays – and campers can get involved in conservation and citizen science activities on-site, too.

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Jane Dunford

The snow is deep and soft as we pad slowly forward, a muffled crunching the only sound breaking the silence. All around us, the jagged peaks of the Vanoise massif pierce the sky, glinting in the clear morning light. As we walk, Matthieu, my snowshoeing guide, points out fresh tracks – mountain hare, roe deer, fox – and on the mountainside we spy ibex: first a lone male, then a group surveying us from on high.

Jan 16, 2025 | msn.com | Jane Dunford

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Jan 16, 2025 | theguardian.com | Jane Dunford

Frost tints the landscape silver as we set up our easels in the watery morning sunlight. On the horizon is Burrow Hill, a gentle surge in the pancake-flat Somerset scene. Local artist Frances Watts talks me through how to mix colour palettes and then, with her help, I attempt to capture some of the wintry magic in oils. Somerset mapI’d come to Kingsbury Episcopi, 20 minutes west of Yeovil, to stay in the new Craftsman’s Cabin, set in its own meadow on the edge of the Somerset Levels and Moors.

Jan 6, 2025 | theguardian.com | Jane Dunford

There’s an itch on the end of my nose and I want to scratch it. Instead, I focus on slowly breathing in and out, noticing the sensation, but trying not to react. My feet feel numb and my hip is niggling from sitting still. I shift slightly on my cushion and try to concentrate on the air as it enters and leaves my nostrils. It’s day two of a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation course at Dhamma Dipa, a centre in Herefordshire’s Wye Valley.