#35: Reflections from the shore

Nairn beach, 0852, minutes after high tide, 3.6 metres today. The Wagtail seems intrigued by me this morning. Circuling the bench and landing on the grass just 6 foot away. Eyeballing me as he cocks his head. I wonder if he knows it is me again?  The Oystercatchers are also close by, five of them not catching Oysters but getting their long beaks dirty prodding for worms in the damp grass on the links. Windless, bright and sunny today, with ripples out on the firth suggesting the lightest of breezes beyond the shore. Patches of calm water look like boat contrails, sweeping in arcs across the bay. Little energy in the waves now as they sneak up onto the beach unnoticed by the frolicking dogs.  A different swimmer today, fully wetsuited, crawling in the calm conditions, ice cream face. A different world beneath the surface just a cold breathe away.

#34: Reflections from the shore

Nairn beach, 0853, an hour and a half after high tide. The fisherman is already on his way back, his headlights and dark silhouette looking like cats eyes on the flat grey firth. A cold water swimmer, David probably, slowly breastroking away the day. A paddle boarder heading West into where the water is silvery blue, a satsuma orange hint in the foreshore still left over from the ever later sunrises. A large honking skein of geese go over head. Threads of wool wiggling in the sky, the final skein in perfect V formation. The pied wagtail closer today, close enough to see the pale yellow of his face. No waves today the firth shimmering like crinkled tin foil. Snow now on Ben Wyvis, but still not cold yet in Nairn. More geese, and yet more geese. Something deeply satisfying and habitual about migratory geese in such times of uncertainty and change.

#33: Reflections from the shore

Nairn Beach, 0854. An hour or so after low tide the green clad rocks exposed on the beach, with their endlessly fascinating rockpools waiting to be explored. The end of the groyne visible next to a large, still wet from the falling tide, expanse of sand. A dull reflective glow on the wet beach. Shipping forecast says gales today, except in Biscay. A southwesterly means we only have drizzle so far in Nairn this morning.  Out on the firth some of the giant industry of the oil rigs hovers on the horizon, transporting tall metalwork legs aboard a boat which looks like an old four masted pirate ship as it merges with the mist. An Oystercatcher pipes as it hurriedly flies past, close to my bench. A red beak flashing against it's black and white stripes. Amid the clouds across the firth a near vertical rainbow emerges from the dark clouds over Cromarty, hinting at sunken treasure out at sea. Strikingly bright colours of nature set against the dark skies. Rainbows of hope. 

#32: Reflections from the shore

Nairn beach, 0915. Rising tide, not high until 1243. Lots of new sand deposited up the beach. Pebbles moved into mini stone crescents by the fullness of recent tides. The swell rushing South Eastward, gulls effortlessly gliding at speed toward the harbour. The waves by the groyne today very semi-circular, like a Spanish flamenco fan, their edges lit up towards the East beach. The lighthouse and the old bar beyond. A flock of Knots wheel and dance together, maybe 30 birds, twisting and turning together in the sun by the harbour wall. A dozen Oystercatchers chatting to each other as they head inland over the trees on the links.  All the leaves of the links now dropped, lifeless brown with dark spots, tumbling along in the breeze. Like the pebbles eventually gathering together in their windless pockets, knee deep in places. Just one boat on the water this morning, faded in the light and mist toward the Black isle. 

#30: Reflections from the shore

Nairn beach, 0858. High tide. Two rowing skiffs out bobbing on the swell heading gently East. Julian strolling into the sea in just his shorts, embracing the 9 degree sea and starting his slow front crawl along the beach, headed west.  The distant piping of the Oystercatcher in between the lapping waves high up on the shingle, the groyne two thirds submerged. The lobster pot fisherman is out replacing the creels, no doubt. Low clouds cling to the top of the Soutars with a glint of sun on Cromarty across the firth. Dogs excitedly greet each other on the slither of beach. Owners do the same. 

#27: Nairn a Ten-minute town

In the recent holiday period, Nairn has received a fair number of visitors.  Whilst the increase in people on the beach and in the town has brought some increased anxiety for some, it has been great to see so many families enjoying traditional time on the beach and in the sea.  An increasing number of these visitors are either dreaming of living in Nairn (recent comment overheard on the beach ‘imagine living here’ as reported on Nairn Rocks) or are visiting with property searches in mind. Scotland’s house prices reached record highs this month according to Rightmove which has seen its busiest month for sales in a decade. With home working now becoming the longer-term work mode for so many people there is an increase in interest for housing from those seeking a ‘lifestyle change.’  Unsurprisingly those from south of Birmingham and within the commuter belt of London are driving much of this interest. Do read my previous blog post #14 if you are thinking of moving to a remote corner of Scotland which outlines how our family decided on Nairn as our new home.

There are a variety of models emerging through the lockdown period which encourage us to maintain thinking about how we can live, work and shop locally.  In Melbourne, Australia they are developing 20-minute neighbourhoods, an article in the FT recently spoke about 15-minute cities.  We had a friend up visiting from Essex recently looking to retire to Nairn.  One of the common selling points we often find ourselves saying in support of Nairn is that ‘everything you could need is within ten minutes walk or cycle’.  As we all look to build on environmental progress towards carbon-neutral towns and cities it is likely that we are going to see a resurgence in ten-minute towns like Nairn.

What makes a good ten-minute town?  Services and quality of life within ten minutes from the home that doesn’t involve getting in a car.  For example, a good ten-minute town, like Nairn, would have:

• Healthcare facilities 

• Work and employment opportunities

• Schools and care homes

• Shops, pubs and restaurants

• Entertainment and sporting clubs

• Places of worship

• Pocket parks, blue spaces and green spaces linked as nature corridors across the town

• Bus and train stations and stops for accessing places further afield

In Nairn, you have all of these plus the fresh sea air and a sense of peace and quiet that can be quickly obtained from just a few minutes listening to the waves on the miles of sandy beaches.  But far from being the perfect place Nairn still has a lot to do to win a gold standard for the ten-minute town.  There is an investment needed in infrastructure which prioritises walking and cycling - an obvious missing business in the town is a bike hire & maintenance shop.  Whilst the river and beaches are stunning there could be more spaces for nature to move around the town through green corridors.  And there are too many High street shops empty which could become new social businesses or much-needed housing and multi-use sites.  Many of us have recently appreciated just how important the services and quality of life is local to home.  Ten-minute towns like Nairn just might start to flourish again.

#24: Streaking ahead: thoughts on daily repetition

Is there something that you do every day, without fail?  Every day?

A good friend of mine has had the same breakfast, day after day, for many years.  Steve Jobs was famous for wearing the same clothes and for daily repetition, particularly focused on removing unnecessary decisions - i.e. one less thing to worry about.  The prolific blogger Seth Godin publishes something every day and writes powerfully on the rationale and need for daily blogging and writing.  Looking back at my life it appears that I am a bit of a butterfly, attracted by the next flower.  Very rarely have I done the same thing day in day out, favouring instead the pursuit of variety and novelty.  But in recent weeks repetition of daily and weekly practices are slowly becoming the norm in my life.  Importantly, much to my surprise, I am noticing some significant benefits.

I started re-reading The Lydiard Way again about a month ago.  It is possibly one of the best running books ever written from one of the best running coaches.  The first time I read the book, about ten years ago when I got to the training schedules pages which recommended a 7 day a week running plan, even for beginners, I quietly shelved the book and carried on plodding around the fields three days a week. 

But with more time on my hands and having read the book again, I have started going out every day for a run.  I am only on day #22 of what runners describe as a ‘Streak’ - a term to describe running every day without fail, normally for one mile or more.  The most famous streak belongs to Ron Hill whose streak went on for pretty much a lifetime at 19,032 days!  But even at 22 days, I am already finding that my fitness has improved and mentally I am more robust as I know that each day, whatever happens, I will be able to get out and run.  I have had to make some adaptations like increasing yoga sessions, and stretching and massaging my legs in front of the TV, which can look a bit weird.  I have found that the cold water therapy associated with getting in the sea each week in North East Scotland is a perfect ice bath for reducing swollen muscles and joints from lots of mileage.  Rather than struggling to keep up the daily practice, which I previously felt would put too much pressure on myself to run, I now look forward to my run each day. You can follow me on Strava to see the gains I have made in the last three weeks.

It has got me thinking not only about our personal lives, sports and hobbies but the work we do.  Are there things in our work which are like the daily run?  Those tasks which are essentially good for us and good for our organisations but for whatever reason we procrastinate over or delay - possibly in favour of the shiny and bright new idea or novel way of working.  Big goals at work have to be broken down into smaller steps to make them more realistic and manageable.  What better way of achieving them than doing something small every day (a work equivalent to the daily mile) which moves you down the road towards your end goal?  

What could you do every day, that if you continued it day in day out, without fail would make you healthier and happier?  Maybe it is a daily walk or even just sitting outside for ten minutes before starting work.  Not only does daily repetition bring performance benefits, but it also takes away one more decision you need to make and keeps you on track towards living the life you really want.  I have been running 20 years now on and off and am really glad that I have started my running streak but wonder why I never did this before.

How can you streak ahead in life by doing the same thing every day?

#14: Thinking of moving to a remote corner of Scotland?

When Lucy and I told our friends in Essex that we were relocating to North East Scotland the overwhelming response, aside from the initial positive pleasantries, was ‘You know it gets cold and dark up there in the winter don’t you?’ Since moving we have met many like-minded folk from England who have also made the best move of their lives. Now it appears that we may have just moved ‘ahead of the rush’ as more people start thinking about living a quieter, less frenetic life, characterised by community and outdoor activity and not filled by jobs and commuting. An outdoor life with family and others first. If you are thinking of moving to Scotland, I would say do it! But if you are needing a bit of guidance I thought it might be helpful to share our personal search criteria list for a family relocation to Scotland.

This time last year we made the trip from Essex to Aviemore and beyond to look at houses in the North East of Scotland. Our goal whilst on our house hunting holiday was to find a new family location and home which could house the four of us (Lucy and I, along with our two children, now 13 and 10) as well as my parents, as we looked to sell two houses in the south-east and buy a larger family home together in Scotland. The six of us sat down and drew up the following collective criteria for our new home:

1. Waterside, view of water from the property
2. Close to a park or green space
3. 5+ bedrooms (for our extended family: 4 adults and two children)
4. Downstairs bathroom and/or bedroom (if my parents might need it in the future)
5. Upstairs bathroom (and/or ensuites)
6. Two lounges downstairs
7. Large kitchen diner
8. Potential for two desk office space (for working from home if needed)
9. Garden with side/back access big enough to grow our own fruit and veg
10. Shed or wood store
11. Off-street parking for 2 cars
12. Sunroom/garden room
13. Solar panels or eco/energy-saving features
14. Conservatory
15. South or West facing orientation
16. Independent kitchen/space for Mum and Dad
17. Storage space/loft
18. Local clubs for swimming, cycling, running, sailing
19. Local pub (never really had a local pub, within walking distance before)
20. Local shops and amenities
21. Less than three miles to good schools
22. Local hospital, medical and social care if we need it (Mum and Dad have both had health scares)
23. Broadband and good mobile phone reception
24. Access to outdoor adventures
25. Access to a train station and bus station (so we are not reliant on the car)
26. Access to Inverness airport (for holidays and work trips in the UK).

The more we spoke about what we were looking for the longer the list grew until we had over 25 items on our list. In that week-long house hunting trip it quickly became obvious that Nairn ticked nearly all of our boxes. But it was the magnificent beaches that ultimately sold us on Nairn. 

The house we chose, in the end, didn’t have eco features, nor a downstairs bedroom and there wasn’t an independent kitchen for Mum and Dad but these could be added at a later stage if we wanted and needed them. But amazingly we found very much what we were looking for. There is a wonderful Scottish phrase we have often heard since ‘Whit’s fur ye’ll no go by ye!’ There may well have been a healthy dose of destiny in the mix too. 

If you are thinking, maybe because of Brexit or because of the recent global challenges, it is time to think about and plan a move to Scotland, rest assured there are many rural communities, like Nairn, who will welcome and support you and your family. Six months into our new location and with a new job starting tomorrow we have very much settled into life in our remote corner of Scotland. So make some time, sit down with your loved ones and draw up your criteria list - where would you love to live, how would you like to live, what would you like to be doing? Make your list and start looking at places on-line, book a house hunting trip and you might just surprise yourself at what you can find. Rural Scotland might just be the answer to your problems.