Being Buttons

Instagram: travel friend or foe?

Instagram: travel friend or foe?
Shortly before Christmas I read an article in the Guardian titled Instacrammed: the big fib at the heart of New Zealand picture-perfect peaks. Intrigued, after all it was covering two subjects I’m very much interested in, I read on. The article describes how social media has given certain hikes unprecedented popularity almost overnight, and the effects that that has had on the walks themselves. It includes the rather amusing picture of someone taking their perfect photo, contrasted to the line of people behind them queuing to get pretty much the same shot. It made me consider both my own travel experiences in New Zealand, and my use of the Instagram app. View Post

In search of Red Squirrels

In search of Red Squirrels
There is something rather special about red squirrels and I’ve always felt quite attached to them. Perhaps it was growing up in Cumbria, but I always enjoyed Beatrix Potter’s The tale of Squirrel Nutkin and at one point we had a red squirrel who lived in our back garden which was great. Because they are now so rare, it feels incredibly lucky if you have seen one. When we heard about a place in Scotland that had an abundance of red squirrels which you could get quite close to, it definitely seemed worth checking out. View Post