AGM weekend organiser Kevin Sene describes the highlights of some recent Field Studies Council stays with the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild (OWPG)
As a group of outdoor enthusiasts, many years ago, we decided that our annual meeting and awards ceremony should be held within easy reach of spectacular countryside. In addition to professional development workshops, this allows us to offer outdoor social events such as walking, cycling and wildlife watching to cater for all tastes within our diverse membership. This includes nature writers, landscape photographers and journalists as well as walking, cycling and travel guide writers for the main outdoor publishers.
Castle Head Visit
Each year, our programme is guided by the local landscape and geology where we stay. For example, three years ago we met at the Field Studies Council’s Castle Head centre in south Cumbria, which lies on the banks of the River Winster. A guided canoe trip offered by the centre, therefore, seemed a must. Along with a practical landscape photography session in the grounds led by a renowned travel photographer. Others in our group admired the scenic views of Morecambe Bay from the nearby limestone pavement of Hampsfell and from the Bronze Age Birkrigg stone circle near Ulverston.
On the first evening, we were particularly pleased to welcome the King’s Guide to the Sands, Michael Wilson, who gave a fascinating presentation on the walks that he leads across the perilous sands of the bay on behalf of the Guide over Sands Trust, which has raised millions of pounds for charity. On Sunday, landscape artist David Bellamy ran a watercolour painting workshop in nearby Grange-over-Sands. This included the chance to browse through the extraordinary paintings in his latest book on the deserts, mountains and souks of the Arabian Peninsula. At the awards ceremony, our current chair, Josephine Collingwood, won the Outdoor Book award for her beautifully illustrated book, Geology of Dartmoor.
Exploring The Millport Centre
The following year saw us at the Field Studies Council’s Millport centre. Situated on the Isle of Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde, a short ferry ride from the town of Largs. In addition to a modern lecture theatre and accommodation blocks, it is perhaps the only centre with its own research vessel and sealife aquarium.
On the first day, a hillwalking group enjoyed views of Arran, Bute and the mainland on a walk to the highest point on the island. Others took a high-speed boat ride to explore the neighbouring island of Little Cumbrae. The following day, some of us then met up with a local birdwatching expert to search for seabirds. The others joined a tutor-led rock climbing session on the centre’s outdoor wall, which a geology expert in our group identified as composed of a type of rock called cumbraeite.
Special guests and award winners included Rhianne Fatinikun, founder of Black Girls Hike UK, and broadcaster and writer Mary-Ann Ochota, while David Lintern’s book Scottish Wild Country Backpacking won the annual guidebook award. Photography and writing workshops helped to round off the weekend, along with a tour of the Cathedral of the Isles, with the added bonus of some magical impromptu piano recitals of Bach and Chopin during the visit.
Visit Field Studies Council at Preston Montford
Last year saw our first ever visit to the Field Studies Council’s residential centre at Preston Montford near Shrewsbury. Set in its own wooded grounds, during one of our workshops, we tried out various plant and bird recognition apps to help with nature writing and in another, got tips on writing expedition accounts, ranging from Himalayan ascents to local weekends away. Senior Tutor and bat expert Charlotte also took us on a walk through the grounds to see some of the resident bat colony.
Further afield, other activities included a landscape photography workshop along the nearby hill of Long Mynd, plus flights above its spectacular west-facing escarpment as guests of the Midland Gliding Club. The next day, some of the historians amongst us searched for signs of the area’s Neolithic past or explored Ironbridge Gorge, birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
Our special guests were from well-known guidebook publisher Cicerone, and the Outdoor Book award went to Ronald Turnbull for his comprehensive hillwalkers guide called “The Hillwalking Bible’. Several members also generously donated unused hillwalking items for the charity Kitsquad based in Shrewsbury, which has supported around 4,500 low-income people with kits to help them get out into the great outdoors since being founded in 2020.
This year’s location
So that’s a quick tour of our recent annual weekends away and this year we are looking forward to visiting the Field Studies Council’s Blencathra site, which has fabulous views of the Lake District fells and from where you can walk from the door up the mountain of the same name (Blencathra 868m).
As with other centres, this again meets our key criteria for the choice of venues, which is that they should be within easy reach of spectacular scenery with a mix of individual and shared full board accommodation and a large meeting room suitable for the main aim of the weekend, which is to hold our AGM and awards ceremony.
Kevin Sene (www.meteowriter.com) is a scientist and writer whose books include a spotter’s guide to the wildlife, weather and space phenomena of the UK (Spectacular Britain, Bloomsbury, 2024) and who writes a free newsletter on natural phenomena such as the Northern Lights, wildflower displays and bird migration called Nature’s Tidings.
The Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild (OWPG) is the only UK-based association of professionals working largely or entirely on sustainable outdoor activities in print, online and film media. Membership applications are welcome from established writers and photographers with an entry-level category for those just starting out on their creative careers (https://www.owpg.org.uk/).