It is with great delight that I can announce the documentary ‘Frostbitten’ is now available on @amazon Prime, @AppleTV and Adventure Sport TV. mrfrostbite.com/2025/06/04/f…

If the weather isn’t looking like summer, the whisky is… @SMWSUK

💷 £3.2 million to repair one moor - and the hard part is how much of it was avoidable. The government has just committed the funding to restore Fylingdales after last summer's wildfire, one of England's biggest. Ten square miles of the North York Moors, burning for weeks. A single campfire lit it. But fire needs fuel to spread - and the moor was carrying years of it. That's what turned a careless flame into a disaster, hot enough to damage the peat itself. It took more than 100 firefighters and volunteers from the local farming community to stop it - and 17km of firebreaks, cut to break up the fuel. Restoration matters. But the cheaper, smarter defence is managing the land so the next spark has less to burn. 📷 Courtesy of Scott Wicking.

This video shows a brood of 20 grey partridges on managed moorland where predation is reduced to give vulnerable ground nesters a fighting chance of survival. 🎞️ Courtesy of Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group.

This is what good moorland management looks like. An oystercatcher has chosen a three-year-old managed burn to lay its eggs. Low-intensity burning, carried out only where appropriate by experienced moorland professionals, helps create the mixed-age heather and open structure many ground-nesting birds need. It also reduces dangerous fuel loads, helps protect peat from severe wildfire, and keeps practical fire skills alive in the uplands. 📷 Courtesy of Peak District Moorland Group.

Ya can’t beat a £3 bus journey out and about Cumbria! I hope the cap lasts as it helps rural communities here and so much more let alone tourists! 👍🚌 I don’t drive but all my films have been undertaken by bus, train, walking or blagging lifts #lakedistrict #cumbria #outdoors

This greeted a North Pennines keeper in private woodland - habitat the estate manages for the Red-listed Spotted Flycatcher. Bags of rubbish. Discarded kit. No respect for the land or the people who look after it. We're told keepers are too quick to move campers on. This is what they're left to clear up. Can't take your litter home? Then you've no business in the countryside. 🎞️ Courtesy of Northern Pennines Moorland Group

Ive seen images of folk setting fire to each-other and then jumping in the water for a laugh. I’ve spent time in a burns unit. I don’t recommend it… bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c86d…

🚒 Are we doing enough to protect the firefighters who protect our moorlands? A recent study by the University of Stirling and Queen Mary’s University London reveals the UK is falling behind international standards in recognising the occupational health risks our firefighters face. With wildfires on the rise and new hazards from modern technology, the nature of rural firefighting is changing. Yet, the UK legal system still makes it incredibly difficult for these brave men and women to receive recognition or support for work-related illnesses. Good stewardship extends beyond conservation; it requires evidence-based policy that protects the rural communities working to keep our landscapes safe. Read more on our website - link is in replies 👇

🌿 Research confirms what rural workers have long known: active moorland management is vital for nature. A 10-year study by the University of York reveals that traditional controlled burning acts as a powerful natural fertiliser. It creates a massive surge in essential nutrients like potassium, iron, and manganese in young heather shoots. These minerals are the lifeblood of our iconic red grouse and upland livestock, ensuring they have the energy to breed and thrive in harsh conditions. Without this careful stewardship, unmanaged heather loses its nutritional value, leaving wildlife hungry. The science is clear: the traditional 'patchwork quilt' approach is a masterpiece of conservation. Read more on our website - link is in replies 👇

This is why gamekeepers have been busy patrolling all weekend. Unbelievable. 📷 Courtesy of Forest of Bowland Moorland Group.

🔥 The US has put a number on what UK policy refuses to measure: $3.73 of avoided wildfire damage for every $1 spent on prescribed burning and forest thinning. A peer-reviewed study tracked 285 wildfires across 11 Western states from 2017–2023. The findings: • £2.2bn in avoided damages • 2.45m tonnes of avoided CO₂ • ~60 premature deaths averted • 22,680 tonnes less fine particulate pollution • 61,500 hectares of unburned ground Wildfires release ~83% more fine particulate than prescribed burns over the same area. The communities downwind of Saddleworth Moor in 2018 know what that means in practice. Meanwhile, Defra tightened restrictions on controlled burning without publishing a single cost-benefit figure for doing so. The default - that restriction is the cautious option - is itself unevidenced. Read more - link in replies 👇

Lessons we should learn better in the UK..,

🕷️ 20 years ago, the UK recorded around 250 Lyme disease cases a year. Today, public health guidance estimates 3,000–4,000 new cases annually. GP-record studies put the figure closer to 10,000. Some estimates go as high as 45,000. Gamekeepers, farmers and moorland managers are reporting a massive, visible increase in tick numbers across northern Britain. In some spots, visitors and their dogs are stepping out of cars and finding themselves covered. Lyme is often misdiagnosed as ME, lupus, arthritis or even COVID. Untreated, it can cause neurological problems and chronic fatigue lasting decades. Red grouse exposed to tick-borne louping-ill virus can suffer mortality rates of up to 80%, and the protective vaccine is currently unavailable. Active land management - targeted grazing, bracken control, vegetation cutting and managed burning - keeps tick habitat in check. Personal vigilance does the rest. Read more - link in replies 👇

Look at these utter ignorant fools! Fly camping above the Kirkstone Pass Inn 😮🤯 It’s been reported to @WandFCouncil but who knows if anyone will head out to educate and enforce Public Space Protection Orders within a UNESCO World Heritage Site? #lakedistrict #countrysidecode My fell running pal sent me these images infuriated asking where are the rangers. Fact is such inconsiderate and irresponsible behaviour needs reporting. Hopefully, they’ll be approached with care and education. It’s a helluva tent to carry up that steep part of the fell above the Kirkstone Pass Inn! I’m sure the guests staying in the boutique accommodation holiday let by the pub will appreciate such views. I wonder if it’ll be abandoned on the fellside tomorrow? How much litter is left behind? Maybe fire pits that harm the land? 🤔🤔