words and pictures by Katie Isham. Word on the street is spring is here. Some might say it’s fool’s spring, but let’s embrace it anyway. The treasure we’re hunting for today is never bothered by winter regardless: these tiny, mighty flowers laugh in the face of hail and welcome...
Suburban Safari
Suburban Safari: Avenue Park
words & photos by Katie Isham. Between Southampton and Eastleigh sprawls much green space. But it’s disappearing. The grassland that was once rampant, is incrementally invaded by housing estates and development. It’d been a few years since visiting the fields I’d once discovered after seeking an alternate car park...
Suburban Safari: Sholing safari
by Katie Isham. Sometime last year, something magical sparked on the streets of Sholing, Southampton. The ordinary green telephone cabinets took on a brighter look. Neon animals crept out of the undergrowth and onto the metal canvas. Or so it seemed. In truth, local artist Joanna Rose Tidey was...
Suburban Safari: A New Year in Old Town
by Katie Isham. A new year seems apt for a visit to the Old Town area of our fair city. This part of our history is wonderful to visit any time, but during the dark winter days when moonlit moments outnumber the daylight hours, it’s an interesting time to...
Suburban Safari: Out of the darkness…
by Katie Isham. Here we are in the darkest months of the year, and this year, for one reason or another, feels particularly dark. So, it might be the perfect time to take a wander through the light. Beyond the Romsey borders, is an enclave of botanical beauty: Sir...
Suburban Safari: A drop in the Itchen
by Katie Isham. Dip a toe into the Itchen Navigation. Not literally. Keep your walking boots on. But we’ll wander a small section of the trail that runs alongside the river to get a taste of what those dedicated long-distance walkers find so alluring. Start in Bishopstoke, on the...
Suburban Safari: Leafy suburbs in Ashurst
by Katie Isham. Our Suburban Safaris have sprawled across the city of Southampton and beyond. They’ve visited parks, gardens, woodlands, beaches, cemeteries, streets, shops and many a café. The definition of a suburb is an area outside, yet near a city, and consisting mainly of homes. For this safari,...
Suburban Safari: A Walk to Remember
by Katie Isham. There’s some corner of an English field, in a park by the sea, where a gate leads to remembrance. Through an avenue of determined oaks and tired leaves clinging to the autumnal branches, a path cuts through a valley to the final resting place of many...
Suburban Safari: Cake by the Coast
by Katie Isham. This Suburban Safari explores somewhere a little further afield. In fact, we’re venturing into a PO postcode. Don’t leave! I promise it’s for a good cause. Or two good causes in fact. Next week sees the glorious relief of half-term for many students and teachers. Blessed...
Suburban Safari: Netley Common
by Katie Isham. The leaves of the calendar are falling as their tree-based counterparts tumble to the ground; October is here and the season is perfect for booted adventures through a forest. No need for extended rural journeys when you can safari through the suburbs and step straight into...