Phil’s Substack

Considering the wildlife and plants we live near, yet often overlook, the environment and wildlife gardening. Regular posts and a longer article on Sundays.

Exploring the natural world through art, culture & history

Insights and images from an everyday nature photographer.

Among the Stems invites you to slow down, notice the small wonders, and deepen your understanding of the wildlife and plants around us. Explore wildlife insights, nature guides, nature travel, and tips for growing your own food.

Join me as I go in search of every tree featured in the book 'Heritage Trees of Scotland'.

Small beauty noticed: evocations of wood and water from Scotland. The tranquility you need today.

A Border Poets from the Welsh Marches

Proving there's no such thing as a disappointing walk – even if a basking shark remains elusive.

Nature. Writer. Reader. Rural. Guardian Country Diary, BBC Countryfile, RSPB. Author of On Gallows Down & Ghosts of the Farm. Climate Fic Prize Judge, 2025

Writing about conservation volunteering, urban wildlife, nature writing, and a few other things

Seeking fulfilment by deepening our connection with nature, landscape and the wildness inside. A perspective from rural Scotland.