Happy Anniversary to me and to you, my readers! 🎉🏆

It has been one year since I started this blog (though the idea had been percolating in my mind for some time before that) and I want to take a moment to say thank you for reading, liking, commenting, and most importantly loving all things medieval.

In honour of this anniversary, let’s look at some of the highs and lows of my last year:

Do you remember what my first post was about?

Maybe you weren’t following me then, or maybe it’s just a bit too long ago 😉

What about my first castle post?

I’ve posted about castles at least 13 times on my blog, but which one came first?

Highlights of this year

I posted most frequently in my first month, April 2023, but my busiest month for views was August 2023 – I wonder why?

I wrote about some truly stunning places in August, including Loch Linnhe, Dean Village and Leith Walk, Carcassonne, Toulouse, and the Glenfinnan Viaduct. What a busy bee I was…

🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Most of my readers come from the US or UK, which is no real surprise. Please do keep sharing with anyone interested in hiking, history, or my unique thoughts.

I mention my thoughts, because I was somewhat surprised to see that my most popular post of the year was not a Highland Hike or a Crumbling Castle or even an Ancient Abbey. Instead, it was a post simply about my opinion on a topic I could talk about for some time (and have)…

Your interest in this post has motivated me to look at writing some more specific reviews, particularly of those movies who have most inspired my love of the Middle Ages. Perhaps I will even share some of my more academic writings about movies, in time.

A few reflections…

The idea for a blog came to me in the depths of pandemic lockdown in 2020, and it took me almost three years to find the time and headspace to get it up and running. In that time I had countless ideas for posts and opinions I wanted to share, and I’ve made a small dent in the long list I made.

Overall, it has been a fantastically fun experience. I have learned so much and perhaps more importantly allowed myself the time to learn about editing, photography, and how to put together a post that is not too long and not too short (though there may be a few of those). I’ve been exploring with page design, spending lots of time playing with Adobe, and I am much less afraid of the ‘manual’ setting on my camera. I have been more thoughtful about books I’ve read and movies I’ve watched, considering if they are something I might want to share, and I’ve been learning a bit about self-promotion (not my strong point).

Most of all, it is incredibly rewarding for me to have a creative outlet, to have a place to share my thoughts and pictures and hope that you will enjoy them. I have even been encouraged to turn back to my first love of creativity – writing. In time, I may even work up the confidence to share some of it with my audience.

In the meantime, I am excited to see my readership slowly growing, and hope it will continue to do so. I have plans that the next year will allow me to focus more on creative than I have for many years – even decades – and I cannot wait to see what will come of it. Creative has been missing in my life for too long, and I am welcoming it back with open arms, and remembering the value it adds to my life.

What else is next for the Wandering Medievalist?

I’ve got a few posts already planned, and hopefully some day trips to add to my collection. Look out for:

• Balvaird Castle
• Castle Campbell
• Glencoe and Fort William
• Highlights of Puerto Rico
• My favourite drive in Scotland
• Film review of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty
• a visit to the newly-reopened Crannog Centre on Loch Tay
• and much more!

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