Much has happened this year, and I am extremely grateful for the comfort that I have felt as I looked through those photos each week.

As the year comes to a close, and I have been looking back through the photos I have posted, I am conscious that, in no small part due to life being upended for me back in March, I have missed both the peace and the grounding that wild camping brings me.

So, as we move in to 2025, one of my plans is to try and spend more nights under the stars wild camping!

Here’s to exploring in 2025!

Happy New Year!

Photo #53 (yes, there were 53 Tuesdays in 2024) was taken at 5:45am back on 20th May 2023 as the sun rose, bathing the ground around me in a warm glow.

Sometimes though, I don’t need to go for a walk (or go outside). This photo was taken from my window when I was up in Laggan back in October.

Happy Christmas!

Photo #52 was taken from the kitchen window on my recent trip to Laggan, Scotland.

As I explored around Glen Shira, I went to see General Wade’s bridge. This hump-back military bridge, built by General Wade and dating from 1731-2 no longer crosses a burn as the course was altered when the nearby Spey Dam was constructed in 1946.

Photo #51 was taken whilst visiting Laggan, Scotland back in October.

This year I have noticed how much cloud cover, and how grey the sky has been, much of the time.

The past week or so I have noticed that the air is often clearer, although often this is whilst it is dark, and only for a short while after sunrise.

Photo #50 was taken whilst walking up Cunswick Fell in Kendal, Cumbria, at sunrise the other week.

Photo #49 Snow covered Kentmere Valley, Cumbria, from 3rd December 2023.

Other days I get treated to views like this!

Photo #48 Misty Morning whilst out walking in Kendal, Cumbria.

I think this is likely to be a Tawny Grisette, although not 100% sure.

Photo #47 Mushroom seen whilst out walking at dawn in Kendal, Cumbria.

Photo #46 Walking in Kendal, Cumbria at sunrise.

I find it uplifting to see how the shadows are cast by the hills.

Photo #45 Walking up the Kentmere valley in Cumbria.

Photo #44 One of many deer spotted whilst exploring Laggan.

Photo #43 Autumnal Colours in the trees, Dalemain, Cumbria.

Download AuroraWatchUK to get alerts direct to your phone.

Photo #42 Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), Cunswick Fell, Cumbria.

Photo #41 River Aire, Leeds.

Photo #40 Bennett’s Cross, Dartmoor.

Photo #39 Enjoying a lovely sunset sat out on Royal Pier, Aberystwyth.

Photo #38 First frost of the autumn whilst walking in Kendal, Cumbria.

Photo #37 taken of a bee in the garden. The delicate wings look stunning.

Photo #36 taken whilst walking.

Photo #35 taken whilst walking at Sidmouth.

Photo #34 taken whilst walking at Budleigh Salterton.

Photo #33 taken whilst walking from Dawlish Warren to Dawlish.

Photo #32 taken whilst walking at Budleigh Salterton.

Photo #31 taken whilst enjoying sunset and a picnic at Roanhead, Cumbria.

Photo #30 taken whilst walking in Smardale Nature Reserve, Cumbria.

Photo #29 taken whilst walking in Wasdale, Cumbria.

Whilst trying to debug an issue in BayWatch this week I was struck that symbolicating an .ips file saved from iOS Settings was not as I recalled!

I found this SwiftLee post very useful.

Indeed MacSymbolicator that is linked within makes for a very slick process.

Photo #28 taken whilst walking in Kentmere, Cumbria.

I enjoyed going to Glasgow to watch P!nk at Hampden Park on Friday night.

Photo #27 watching P!nk at Hampden Park on Friday evening.

The views, and the peace and tranquility are a brilliant place to spend some time with my own thoughts.

Photo #26 looking down Kentmere Valley, Cumbria whilst Wild Camping!

Photo #25 is of Daisies and Buttercups whilst out on a walk in Kendal, Cumbria!

Photo #24 is of a Lizard on the boardwalk at Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria! (The osprey were on the nest, but visible only with a powerful scope!)

Photo #23 Longsleddale, Cumbria on a strangely quiet Bank Holiday weekend.

Photo #22 Dandry Mire Viaduct, Garsdale. Close to Garsdale Station on the Settle to Carlisle Railway.

Photo #21 Sunset - Arnside, Cumbria, Lake District.

Photo #20 Sunset - Helsington Church, Cumbria, Lake District.

Photo #19 Bluebells, Kendal, Cumbria, Lake District.

Photo #18 River Lune, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lake District, Cumbria.

Photo #17 Lambs on a sunny spring morning, Kendal, Lake District, Cumbria.

Photo #16 looking back at Cunswick Fell as the rain comes towards me. Cunswick Fell, Kendal, Cumbria.

Yes, the rain did catch me up!

Photo #15 looking at the Lake District Fells from Cunswick Fell, Kendal, Cumbria in the rain on a morning walk.

Photo #14 looking at sheep silhouetted near Benson Knott, Kendal, Cumbria just before sunrise.

Photo #13 was taken on an early morning walk on a fresh spring morning the other day, and is looking over at the Lake District fells from above Kendal, Cumbria.

The colour drenched landscape during golden hour gives me such an invigorating feel.

Photo #12 is looking towards a snow covered Kentmere from Cunswick Fell, Cumbria as the sun is rising resulting in an invigorating golden colour.

A cold day from the outset, the walk took in 37 mph winds, hail, a little snow blowing in the wind, and even sunshine poking through as I was walking back down.

Photo #11 is looking up Longsleddale in the English Lake District after walking from Sadgill, up Great Howe onto Grey Crag (638m) and Tarn Crag (664m), before dropping down via Brownhowe Bottom back to Sadgill.

I looked outside and realised that we had pretty clear sky, and a good forecast for the evening.

So I headed out once it was dark!

Photo #10 was taken having driven to an area in Cumbria with less light pollution on Sunday evening, 3rd March 2024 to watch the Aurora Borealis.

Download AuroraWatch UK for iPhone & iPad, or read more about it here.

It drizzled a little in the evening once I had pitched the tent, but in-between the mist, I was treated to some lovely views of the moon.

When I woke up I shook the tent to clear it before stepping outside to see this…

Photo #9 was taken just before 7am having woken up to the sound of snow gently landing on the tent, looking along Red Tarn in the snow towards mist covered Crinkle Crags in the distance and Cold Pike to the left.

Whilst I have been wild camping a number of times, this was the first time I have camped in snow.

A damp drizzly morning from the outset, it was nice that that the rain eased for a short while for the scramble up Wetherlam Edge. I was however up in the cloud from around two thirds of the way up.

Photo #8 was taken on the way back down as I dropped back below the clag and I was treated to a nice view of Tilberthwaite Gill.

Photo #7 taken whilst enjoying the lighter mornings and listening to Skylarks as we head towards Spring.

Photo #6 is looking towards the Howgill Fells at sunrise.

Photo #5 is looking towards snow covered Lake District fells.

Photo #4 is looking along a very frosty path towards a colourful pre-sunrise sky last week.

I really enjoy seeing the wonderful colours of sunrise at this time of year.

Photo #3 is looking down Ullswater, Lake District, before sunrise.

A long time between sunset and sunrise, very mindful, great to be back out there!

Photo #2 is from a lovely walk on New Years Eve.

Having set out with good intentions back in 2020 I am sad that I didn’t really get into frequent blogging as I intended.

So, as I start 2024, I thought it may be a nice challenge to try and post a photo each week. This might achieve at least two objectives: posting to my blog on a regular basis, and remembering to take more photos.

So as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step…

Here is photo #1!

As I write this I wonder if it will lead me to more benefits such as seeking out more adventures in order to take more photos… Time will tell!

When we introduced 3D Secure in March 2019, it involved the use of ‘one-time passwords’ sent via SMS as the type of authentication for online purchases. Now, we’re improving this service to make it even more secure. Instead of sending the message by SMS, we’re enabling you to approve payments in your Starling app.

3D Secure requires that some transactions be approved, and is designed to increase the security of your account.

Originally Starling Bank used SMS messages for this approval process, and I wrote about this in 2019 explaining my concerns over the use of SMS.

Starling describe the new improved process:

If you’re paying on a website that uses 3D Secure, you’ll see the 3D Secure screen showing that the transaction is being processed. For some transactions, you will then see a screen where you will be required to authenticate the payment.

For the majority of retailers, Starling customers will be prompted on the retailer’s website to open their Starling app to approve the payment. You will see a pop-up screen in the app, as long as you recognise the retailer and amount, and you’re happy to make the payment, click ‘approve’ and the payment will be processed. Return to the retailer’s website to receive confirmation of the purchase.

Alternatively, some retailers may ask you to enter an online payment code. You’ll be directed to the Card screen of your Starling app, where you should see a six-digit security code. Enter the online payment code when prompted on the website you’re using to buy something and click ‘continue’ to complete the purchase. It’s important never to share this online passcode with anyone and Starling will never ask you for it over the phone.

They also note that if you can’t receive this push notification (for example you don’t have signal), you can use the same six-digit security code mentioned above.

This is a better, more secure solution, which I am very pleased to see implemented. Thank you Starling.

My other websites are all still running on Wordpress, and I would really like to migrate them over to static sites. Why? Primarily due to the huge bloat that exists in Wordpress these days.

Originally I was intending to do this with Jekyll, but before I started I went for a look at StaticGen to compare the static site generator (SSG) options available. Hugo is much faster at building sites (sub 1 second), and gets frequent updates. Hugo is also written in Go, a language that I started to use more towards the end of last year and was keen to spend more time with.

Having made the decision to migrate my other sites to Hugo, I felt it sensible to migrate this site first.

The content is still written in Markdown format, and is stored in at git repository. Once an update is pushed to git the site simply re-builds and displays the updated content.

Whilst I have changed the colours, I may also make some more styling changes, but for now, I just wanted to get the site live!

Yesterday Starling announced that it is Introducing 3D Secure:

Today, we’ll start a phased rollout of 3D Secure, an authentication tool for online purchases, to our customers. We explain how this will help keep customers’ money safe.

3D Secure is a tool for online transactions that requires the account holder to complete an authentication process for some purchases. It forms part of the security of your account.

Starling users have previously suffered with payments failing if they tried to make a payment with a merchant that enforced 3D Secure, as Starling hadn’t previously implemented it.

Yes, 3D Secure may cause more friction when making a payment, but the concept is one to try and keep our money safe.

The implementation does concern me though:

At Starling, we’ve decided to use ‘one-time passwords’ sent via SMS as the type of authentication for online purchases. This means that a text will be sent to your phone when you are required to authenticate for a specific online purchase. One code will be sent for each purchase meaning that static password can be left behind.

I appreciate the need for more security, and yes, this does provide a further element. However, I really do hope that we are not going to see Starling (and other banks) use this as so called ‘proof’ that the account holder was indeed responsible for a transaction. It’s well known that SMS is a poor authentication method for security:

• If you have your bag stolen with both your card and phone, in many cases the contents of SMS are displayed on the phone screen without unlocking. A thief need only make a payment with a stolen card and enter the code that pops up on the phone that they also have. Likewise, if anyone has access to the linked phone, perhaps left unattended on a desk, again they could simply see the code.

• The technology is susceptible to SIM Swap attacks. Either locally with someone simply swapping the SIM to another phone and getting the SMS; Or alternatively, if someone has access to little bit of information about you, they can sometimes get your carrier to move your number to a new SIM card (not as easy, but certainly not beyond possibility).

As I said before, some form of security is better than none, and users shouldn’t be being blocked from making payments as they have been, but it’s depressing that Starling, like many other banks and services, rely on SMS as a means of authentication.

There is a further issue with SMS whereby if you are using a different SIM card (for example when out of the country), then you won’t get the SMS.

Starling do hint at one saving grace:

Using one-time passwords is the first phase of Starling rolling out 3D Secure. We will be working on a biometric authentication as an alternative to SMS passwords, with this planned to be rolled out later this year.

This can’t happen soon enough - It is to be hoped that the SMS option can be disabled though, otherwise the SMS weakness still causes the issues above.

Update: Since this article was written, I have written about how Starling Bank have since improved their implementation of 3D Secure.

Jet Hydroplane UK is a British Team, with a serving British Military pilot at the helm, and a joint passion to build and run Longbow, a jet hydroplane, on lakes and lochs within the UK.

I’m thrilled to have been involved in this project since its start in 2016, and really pleased with how the build is now starting to take shape.

Looking forward to sharing the latest pictures in the next update later in the month!

Meanwhile, you can look at the project here.

Microsoft has announced the end of support for the Microsoft Health Dashboard applications and services. This document contains important dates and information regarding the end of support.

On 5/31/2019, the Microsoft Health Dashboard site will be shut down and Microsoft Band applications will be removed from the Microsoft Store, Google Play, and Apple App store. 

The good news for those with Microsoft Band devices is that eligible users can claim a refund.

Eligibility for a refund

Certain Band users will be eligible to receive a refund according to the below terms. Eligible users are users that either:

1. Have a Band that is covered under its Limited Warranty; OR
2. Are Active Users. An Active User is defined as a user who has worn the Band on their wrist and completed a data sync from the Band to the Health Dashboard between 12/1/2018 and 3/1/2019. 

All eligible users will receive an email with refund instructions. Refunds will be processed for the following amounts:

• Band 1: $79.99
• Band 2: $175

Refunds must be claimed by 8/30/2019.

More information is available from Microsoft.

Not only is the wearable Microsoft Band being discontinued, so to is the stand alone Microsoft Band iPhone pedometer app on the App Store.

Replace Microsoft Band iPhone App

Anyone looking for a replacement to Microsoft Band on their iPhone can download Stepwise iPhone Pedometer, free, from the App Store.

Stepwise is a powerful yet simple iPhone pedometer that tracks your activity and motivates you to achieve your fitness goals, and is written by yours truly.

Replace Microsoft Band Wearable

For anyone claiming a refund from Microsoft for their Microsoft band, maybe have a look at getting an Apple Watch.

By default Stepwise tracks all steps from your iPhone. However, using Stepwise, those with an Apple Watch can intelligently merge Apple Watch data with iPhone data for even greater accuracy.

Check out the latest Apple Watch.

I currently fly both a hexacopter, DJI F550, and a quadcopter, DJI Mavic Air.

I have collected quite a bit of footage over the past few years, and recently decided to make a start editing some of it; another hobby perhaps?!

Here is the latest video, with footage originally captured in September 2018 during a flight over Kentmere in Cumbria, UK.

Kentmere rainbow. September 2018

How to fix Apple Pay Stuck on Verification Required on iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings app from your Home screen.
2. Tap [your name] banner.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Sign Out.
4. Follow any on screen instructions until you are returned to the main settings screen.
5. Tap Face ID & Passcode or Touch ID & Passcode.
6. Scroll down and tap Turn Passcode Off.
7. Restart your iPhone.
8. Open Settings app from your Home screen.
9. Tap Sign in to your iPhone and sign back into iCloud.
10. Go back to the main Settings screen, and tap Face ID & Passcode or Touch ID & Passcode.
11. Tap Turn Passcode On.
12. Now try again to add your card.

When adding the cards, follow these steps from Apple.

How to stop iPhone Camera Reverting to Live Photo’s

1. Open Settings app from your Home screen.
2. Scroll down and tap Camera.
3. Tap Preserve Settings.
4. Switch Live Photos to ON. (If it is already on, switch it off and back on again.)

This will preserve the Live Photo setting, rather than automatically reset to Live Photo turned on.

I have always been one to own my online presence, that’s why my email address has always been at my own domain rather than a generic webmail service or worse still an ISP. Whilst @gmail.com addresses are popular today, @msn.com or @aol.com were thought as big in the past. And how many ISP’s have long since disappeared, taking your email address with them (anyone in the UK remember freeserve.co.uk)?

Websites and blogs are no different. I want my content and reputation at a domain that is under my control, wherever I choose to host it, not some subdomain of a third party service.

Whilst I used to hand code websites 20 years ago, for a long time I used Wordpress. I have now decided I want to move back to static sites. Partly due to Wordpress being somewhat bloated these days, page load speed, simplicity, and partly just because I wanted to scratch an itch and learn something new.

I have built this site with Jekyll, a simple, static site generator. After creating page layouts as I want them, I simply feed in some text written in Markdown format, and out pops the relevant content.

Many people either don’t care, or are not aware, that they are giving up control of their online identity, often to advertising companies.

There is another way though, the open web, and whilst today it may be the domain of predominantly nerds or control freaks, I hope that as time passes more people will become aware of the importance of owning their own content.