Meet the Macclesfield grandad sharing his love of the outdoors online

Here in the North West we are fortunate to have incredible countryside, bustling cities, award-winning beaches and not forgetting incredibly friendly northerners.

This year I wanted to reflect on the pride we have of our wonderful region and the people that make it such a fantastic place to live.

So I came up with BBC North West Tonight’s 25 in 25, a series showcasing some of the best people and places in the north-west of England.

This week I met up with Roger Hordley – an 81-year-old walking, photo-taking grandad whose photographs have earned him a following online.

Roger’s daughter Daniele emailed me about her dad, who enjoys nothing more than walking in and around Macclesfield Forest.

I live in Marple. Macclesfield is, as we always say, “down the road” and yet somewhere I am ashamed to say I have never really explored.

After a morning spent admiring the views I know it is a place I will be returning to – especially with my girls who would love the chance to build a den in the forest, like the one me and Roger stumbled across.

However, not everyone has that opportunity and that’s one of the reasons why Roger takes photos for his blog.

“I take maybe 30 – 50 photos during a walk, I’ll whittle them down to 15 or 20, put them into a montage and share them.

“The family can see them and, apparently, I have followers who like them.”

At the age of 81, some might think it’s a time to sit back and relax but not Roger.

“Why do I walk? To keep fit? No. To keep the joints moving. I’m 81 and it keeps my limbs loose.

“Walking like this is for my knees, the future me is happy.”

Roger has walked five miles a day, at least five times a week for the past 10 years, so what motivates him?

“Look at it. It’s absolutely glorious.

“The walks are good, the exercise is good. It’s just lovely. Who would not want to walk in a place like this?”

Throughout our walk, Roger uses an app on his phone which tells him the name of the flower or bug he has found.

We stumbled across cotton grass, which looked like cotton wool balls on top of grass.

Nestled in the cotton a bug hid, Roger’s app established it was a slow bug.

“I see something new every time I come on this walk, no two walks are the same.”

His advice to those that perhaps haven’t got the motivation he shares?

“The only thing I would say is don’t think of the walking, think about what you’re seeing.

“I wouldn’t rather be sat inside watching the telly, I’d rather be here, watching this view.”