Lewis Winks
@lewis-winks.bsky.social
Researcher, writer and campaigner with Right to Roam; social and cultural geography; environmental social science; campaigning to defend the right to wild camp on Dartmoor. Devon based.
I'm appalled at Derby University charging £250 per ticket for their Nature Connections conference. It amazes me that people can have sincere conversations about nature connection & completely miss the social justice & inclusivity aspects which encompass our relationship with nature, or lack thereof.
June 3, 2025 at 10:42 AM
I'm appalled at Derby University charging £250 per ticket for their Nature Connections conference. It amazes me that people can have sincere conversations about nature connection & completely miss the social justice & inclusivity aspects which encompass our relationship with nature, or lack thereof.
The stars are for everyone, forever, thanks to three years of tireless campaigning to ensure wild camping rights are safe on Dartmoor.
Today we celebrated this historic victory at Haytor.
Tomorrow we will continue to work for access rights for all, beyond Dartmoor.
Today we celebrated this historic victory at Haytor.
Tomorrow we will continue to work for access rights for all, beyond Dartmoor.
May 26, 2025 at 3:15 PM
The stars are for everyone, forever, thanks to three years of tireless campaigning to ensure wild camping rights are safe on Dartmoor.
Today we celebrated this historic victory at Haytor.
Tomorrow we will continue to work for access rights for all, beyond Dartmoor.
Today we celebrated this historic victory at Haytor.
Tomorrow we will continue to work for access rights for all, beyond Dartmoor.
News just in - Dartmoor wild camping Supreme Court judgement to be handed down on Wednesday next week --
We stand poised to rally, in defiance or celebration.
Win or lose, we call on the government to put in place legislation to protect and extend access to nature.
We stand poised to rally, in defiance or celebration.
Win or lose, we call on the government to put in place legislation to protect and extend access to nature.
May 15, 2025 at 11:53 AM
News just in - Dartmoor wild camping Supreme Court judgement to be handed down on Wednesday next week --
We stand poised to rally, in defiance or celebration.
Win or lose, we call on the government to put in place legislation to protect and extend access to nature.
We stand poised to rally, in defiance or celebration.
Win or lose, we call on the government to put in place legislation to protect and extend access to nature.
Easter Sunday visitor to the garden!
April 20, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Easter Sunday visitor to the garden!
On Sunday @tonydartmoor.bsky.social @guyshrubsole.bsky.social and I responded to a tip-off from a wild camper of burns high on Dartmoor - suspected on deep peat.
We're still waiting to hear back from @naturalengland.bsky.social - was permission given, or was this an illegal burn of a blanket bog?
We're still waiting to hear back from @naturalengland.bsky.social - was permission given, or was this an illegal burn of a blanket bog?
March 27, 2025 at 12:31 PM
On Sunday @tonydartmoor.bsky.social @guyshrubsole.bsky.social and I responded to a tip-off from a wild camper of burns high on Dartmoor - suspected on deep peat.
We're still waiting to hear back from @naturalengland.bsky.social - was permission given, or was this an illegal burn of a blanket bog?
We're still waiting to hear back from @naturalengland.bsky.social - was permission given, or was this an illegal burn of a blanket bog?
If you're near Falmouth, there's a screening of Dartmoor Calling on the 2nd April -charting the radical history of the national park, from Syliva Sayer to modern campaigns for access and nature.
Q&A with @hollyastle.bsky.social and I included!
@righttoroam.bsky.social
thepoly.org/whats-on/eve...
Q&A with @hollyastle.bsky.social and I included!
@righttoroam.bsky.social
thepoly.org/whats-on/eve...
March 12, 2025 at 5:04 PM
If you're near Falmouth, there's a screening of Dartmoor Calling on the 2nd April -charting the radical history of the national park, from Syliva Sayer to modern campaigns for access and nature.
Q&A with @hollyastle.bsky.social and I included!
@righttoroam.bsky.social
thepoly.org/whats-on/eve...
Q&A with @hollyastle.bsky.social and I included!
@righttoroam.bsky.social
thepoly.org/whats-on/eve...
Excited to be speaking at the new Dartmoor Tors Festival this May alongside @campaignerkate.bsky.social @guyshrubsole.bsky.social and @matthewjkelly.bsky.social in Ashburton -- loads of great events across the weekend.
Come and join !
dartmoortorsfestival.co.uk/dartmoor-ope...
Come and join !
dartmoortorsfestival.co.uk/dartmoor-ope...
March 7, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Excited to be speaking at the new Dartmoor Tors Festival this May alongside @campaignerkate.bsky.social @guyshrubsole.bsky.social and @matthewjkelly.bsky.social in Ashburton -- loads of great events across the weekend.
Come and join !
dartmoortorsfestival.co.uk/dartmoor-ope...
Come and join !
dartmoortorsfestival.co.uk/dartmoor-ope...
I built this tawny owl box with my daughter as a gift for my parents-- two weeks after putting it up, look who's moved in!
Thank you @barnowltrust.bsky.social for the plans. 🦉
Thank you @barnowltrust.bsky.social for the plans. 🦉
March 5, 2025 at 9:34 AM
I built this tawny owl box with my daughter as a gift for my parents-- two weeks after putting it up, look who's moved in!
Thank you @barnowltrust.bsky.social for the plans. 🦉
Thank you @barnowltrust.bsky.social for the plans. 🦉
With the return of beavers to the wild in England, sights like this will, in time, become part of the backdrop of a weekend walk-- we will forget they were once gone, and celebrate their place in our countryside.
February 28, 2025 at 8:52 AM
With the return of beavers to the wild in England, sights like this will, in time, become part of the backdrop of a weekend walk-- we will forget they were once gone, and celebrate their place in our countryside.
There is life in the cracks, waiting to bounce back.
Here, a holly, stunted by grazing and wind, clings on between two granite boulders on Sharp Tor, Dartmoor.
Here, a holly, stunted by grazing and wind, clings on between two granite boulders on Sharp Tor, Dartmoor.
January 13, 2025 at 9:52 AM
There is life in the cracks, waiting to bounce back.
Here, a holly, stunted by grazing and wind, clings on between two granite boulders on Sharp Tor, Dartmoor.
Here, a holly, stunted by grazing and wind, clings on between two granite boulders on Sharp Tor, Dartmoor.
This island in the River Teign on Dartmoor is safe from sheep browsing which has ravaged the national park. Contrast its flora to that of the surrounding moor.
Places like this are proxies for the possibility of ecological recovery.
Places like this are proxies for the possibility of ecological recovery.
January 3, 2025 at 7:23 PM
This island in the River Teign on Dartmoor is safe from sheep browsing which has ravaged the national park. Contrast its flora to that of the surrounding moor.
Places like this are proxies for the possibility of ecological recovery.
Places like this are proxies for the possibility of ecological recovery.
Spot the odd one out.
January 1, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Spot the odd one out.
Ah amazing! Sorry to hear about the access situation there. It shows up on our map of inaccessible scheduled sites too, which includes Cadw data.
Was there once informal / permissive access to the site then?
www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
Was there once informal / permissive access to the site then?
www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
December 31, 2024 at 6:21 AM
Ah amazing! Sorry to hear about the access situation there. It shows up on our map of inaccessible scheduled sites too, which includes Cadw data.
Was there once informal / permissive access to the site then?
www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
Was there once informal / permissive access to the site then?
www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
Over the years the tomb has been variously raided for stone and treasure, and more recently has been damaged by the installation of a trackway to the quarry. Nevertheless it has been loved by modern stone-tenders of the local history group.
Here's a more complete chamber tomb in the Scilly Isles.
Here's a more complete chamber tomb in the Scilly Isles.
December 27, 2024 at 12:10 PM
Over the years the tomb has been variously raided for stone and treasure, and more recently has been damaged by the installation of a trackway to the quarry. Nevertheless it has been loved by modern stone-tenders of the local history group.
Here's a more complete chamber tomb in the Scilly Isles.
Here's a more complete chamber tomb in the Scilly Isles.
As we continued to skirt the field, we saw - nestled in the hedge - the tip of a stone.
We got closer and there it was - the Stone Age tomb. Over 5,000 old, enveloped by hedge. The oldest human structure in this most populated part of Devon.
We got closer and there it was - the Stone Age tomb. Over 5,000 old, enveloped by hedge. The oldest human structure in this most populated part of Devon.
December 27, 2024 at 12:10 PM
As we continued to skirt the field, we saw - nestled in the hedge - the tip of a stone.
We got closer and there it was - the Stone Age tomb. Over 5,000 old, enveloped by hedge. The oldest human structure in this most populated part of Devon.
We got closer and there it was - the Stone Age tomb. Over 5,000 old, enveloped by hedge. The oldest human structure in this most populated part of Devon.
As we crested the hill we entered an old quarry, shrouded in trees. Once a source of stone for local farms, today used for feeding livestock.
Watched over by a twisted ash tree we went on our way, continuing our search for the tomb.
Watched over by a twisted ash tree we went on our way, continuing our search for the tomb.
December 27, 2024 at 12:10 PM
As we crested the hill we entered an old quarry, shrouded in trees. Once a source of stone for local farms, today used for feeding livestock.
Watched over by a twisted ash tree we went on our way, continuing our search for the tomb.
Watched over by a twisted ash tree we went on our way, continuing our search for the tomb.
A desire path pointed the way, under a fence - leaving the footpath - and into a field.
December 27, 2024 at 12:10 PM
A desire path pointed the way, under a fence - leaving the footpath - and into a field.
A Boxing Day adventure with my dad, tying together a few recent headlines:
A tale of connecting with place, responsible access, and uncovering the past...
🧵
A tale of connecting with place, responsible access, and uncovering the past...
🧵
December 27, 2024 at 12:10 PM
A Boxing Day adventure with my dad, tying together a few recent headlines:
A tale of connecting with place, responsible access, and uncovering the past...
🧵
A tale of connecting with place, responsible access, and uncovering the past...
🧵
A solstice adventure with friends into the heart of 'Holne Chase', on Dartmoor.
This vast private woodland, hemmed in on three sides by the River Dart belongs to the Spitchwick Estate (registered offshore).
An arbitrary exclusion magnified by its proximity to the open commons of the moors.
This vast private woodland, hemmed in on three sides by the River Dart belongs to the Spitchwick Estate (registered offshore).
An arbitrary exclusion magnified by its proximity to the open commons of the moors.
December 23, 2024 at 11:22 AM
A solstice adventure with friends into the heart of 'Holne Chase', on Dartmoor.
This vast private woodland, hemmed in on three sides by the River Dart belongs to the Spitchwick Estate (registered offshore).
An arbitrary exclusion magnified by its proximity to the open commons of the moors.
This vast private woodland, hemmed in on three sides by the River Dart belongs to the Spitchwick Estate (registered offshore).
An arbitrary exclusion magnified by its proximity to the open commons of the moors.
From today the first hint of a tip toward lighter days can be felt.
Sunsets begin to progress, while sunrises will continue to get later until the new year.
We're not quite at the shortest day, but here's to _slightly_ later sunsets! 🌅
Sunsets begin to progress, while sunrises will continue to get later until the new year.
We're not quite at the shortest day, but here's to _slightly_ later sunsets! 🌅
December 11, 2024 at 9:24 AM
From today the first hint of a tip toward lighter days can be felt.
Sunsets begin to progress, while sunrises will continue to get later until the new year.
We're not quite at the shortest day, but here's to _slightly_ later sunsets! 🌅
Sunsets begin to progress, while sunrises will continue to get later until the new year.
We're not quite at the shortest day, but here's to _slightly_ later sunsets! 🌅
Scotland now in the temporary calm of the eye of Storm Darragh; West Wales bearing the brunt.
Pretty darn windy down here in the South West though!
Pretty darn windy down here in the South West though!
December 7, 2024 at 3:31 AM
Scotland now in the temporary calm of the eye of Storm Darragh; West Wales bearing the brunt.
Pretty darn windy down here in the South West though!
Pretty darn windy down here in the South West though!
December 6, 2024 at 10:23 PM
We made it to Storm Lilian last season, with a record-breaking 12 named storms...
How far through the alphabet will we get this year?
How far through the alphabet will we get this year?
December 5, 2024 at 11:44 AM
We made it to Storm Lilian last season, with a record-breaking 12 named storms...
How far through the alphabet will we get this year?
How far through the alphabet will we get this year?
What's going on with this headline?
If this had happened in - say - Shrewsbury, would it have read 'English residents'?
I think not.
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
If this had happened in - say - Shrewsbury, would it have read 'English residents'?
I think not.
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
December 3, 2024 at 9:26 AM
What's going on with this headline?
If this had happened in - say - Shrewsbury, would it have read 'English residents'?
I think not.
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
If this had happened in - say - Shrewsbury, would it have read 'English residents'?
I think not.
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
Desire paths on the urban fringe.
November 26, 2024 at 12:07 PM
Desire paths on the urban fringe.