Sign up to our newsletter for the latest blog posts and exclusive offers - SUBSCRIBE
During the summer, it's so easy for us to pick up our day-to-day activities and move outdoors. From evening strolls, to picnic lunches; weekend exploring or even just the local beer garden. However, as we all settle into the cozy comforts of autumn, with the daylight hours creeping ever-shorter, it’s easy ...
I have had an uncharacteristic day, a very un-Julie day, something I haven’t had since my summer by the sea in France. I have had tea in a bookshop with my son. I have gathered windfall apples and stewed them, they are waiting to be turned into cinnamon pies. I have cut ...
One of the most pleasurable and fulfilling activities of running my own business is meeting and spending time with talented people. In this week’s ‘The Hills Meets’ feature, and I am thrilled to be joined by my great friend, Julie Leoni. You may recognise her name from her monthly guest posts ...
As the weather is decidedly turning, recently we’ve taken the hint to slow down a little, spend more time indoors and make sure the blankets and throws are ready for a chilly evening on the sofa.
Every morning I wake up, raise the blinds and feel enormously privileged to live where I live - and that isn’t an exaggeration. I might be biased, but I think The Hills HQ is situated in a particularly lovely corner of the British Isles, set as it is at the foot of ...
One of the pleasures I take in visiting smaller towns and villages in North Wales derives from the variety I see on the high street. Unlike cities and towns where small businesses have been beaten by the lowest common denominators of ‘cheap’ and ‘easy’, local businesses create colour and diversity. They’re ...
Tarry Flynn, a young man in his mid 20s in 1930s staunchly Catholic Ireland, spends his days arguing with his mother, tending his smallholding and talking about girls with his friend, Eusebius...
Here at The Hills all of us (myself, my team and Directory members included) feel very passionately about caring for our environment and the planet on which we live. Did you manage to read last week’s blog post on sustainability? I’m still taking part in Plastic Free July, and very much enjoying participating in ...
If your social media feed is anything like mine, you will be aware that we are now almost two weeks in to Plastic Free July! This world wide movement now has now has millions of participants across more than 150 countries, and is really bringing single use plastics, sustainability and eco-living ...
I’ve spoken lots about the arts and creative businesses here on The Hills recently - just last week we had the opportunity to chat with Murdering The Text playwrites on their booming murder mystery business, and we are going to continue today to delve further into the creative hive of The ...
As you know, here at The Hills I’m passionate about promoting all kinds of rural businesses and enterprises, but I must admit that those organisations which represent the Arts are close to my heart. In North Wales, you really can take your pick of artists! But it’s not all paint and ...
Rather than a book review this month, we’re going for something a little different here at The Hills - a review of An Audience With Amanda Owen. The event - an evening at Pocklington Arts Centre in Yorkshire’s East Riding - saw Amanda, famous for her remote life in the Yorkshire ...
As you know, we have a diverse range of members in The Hills directory, from gardeners and artists to cheese makers and photographers! Today I introduce you to Lee Iggulden, owner of both Welshot Photographic Academy and The Kiwi Social. At Welshot they believe that you don’t need to have the latest, ...
I believe that there is a plague upon our beautiful countryside. It’s easy to prevent and a cure is readily available. But for some reason it keeps spreading, affecting more and more of our rural beauty spots and costing local councils and charities millions to treat. The plague I’m talking about is litter. ...
Are you someone who loves photography? Maybe it’s not your passion, but you’ve realised it is something you need to know how to do to help promote you and your business? I am guessing it can be a bit frustrating too – creating continuous content for your website, social media, newsletters – ...
I read a fascinating article published in The Guardian a few years ago which reported that artists were heading for the countryside in droves. In the 80s and 90s, being considered a serious artist meant living in a city, specifically London; and if we’re talking even more specifically, somewhere quirky and central like Shoreditch.
Is there anything more satisfyingly wholesome than tucking into fruits and vegetables grown in your own backyard? And if you fancy a larder packed with homegrown produce, we have good news: it’s not too late to get started with growing your own food.
As our directory is steadily growing with exciting and brilliant new business members, this week I would like to take the opportunity to throw the ‘spotlight’, on one of our most recent subscribers - The Laundry.
The Outrun is a memoir of addiction and recovery - and admittedly an apparently odd choice for a ‘countryside read’. But this is no ordinary AA story, and the Orkney Islands are key to both the author’s descriptions of addiction - living on the edge, literally and figuratively, facing a raging ...
Just imagine sweeping fields full of wildflowers. The picture perfect image of the British countryside. Sadly the reality is that since the 1930’s we’ve lost over 90% of our wildflower meadows. But don’t be fooled, wildflowers aren't just pretty; they're wonderfully good for your garden and the local wildlife too!
‘I bet he was a sod at school.’ That was my first impression of James Rebanks, author of this aggressively honest memoir about life as a shepherd in the Lake District.
Ella Woodhead, marketing guru by day and eventing enthusiast every other waking hour, started riding on a geriatric pony at the age of 6. Now 22, she dreams of making Team GB. Here she tells The Hills about the qualities that make a star competitor, her beloved competition horses and her ...
Get all the latest blog posts, features of the week, exclusive offers straight into your email inbox.
They’re hidden in the hills…
Add your beautiful business to our community and join other rural makers, creators, crafters and brands in our directory and business services.