About Me
I’m Richard Glover, a storyteller, photographer, and moorland explorer from Saddleworth. I uncover forgotten places, using old maps, fieldwork, photography and film - to keep local history from fading.
I have spent years exploring the outdoors and my travels have taken me from the wilds of Iceland to the heart of Australia, yet the landscapes that move me most are the ones nearest to home.
Over the last few years I began to uncover traces of stories I had never been told before. Tales of giants and druids, of mystical stones and malevolent fairies - a history that stretches back centuries to the Neolithic age, where hunters once called this place their home.
Three strands, one mission: To walk with old maps, document what remains, and keep Saddleworth’s forgotten places alive — through film, photography, and field research..
I have recently launched the Field Journal — a blog series that follows my explorations across Saddleworth in search of forgotten sites, ancient myths, and overlooked fragments of our cultural heritage. It’s part photography, part investigation, and part tribute to the explorers and poets who came before me. Through this, I hope to rediscover Saddleworth’s past, using modern technology.
Saddleworth’s beauty is rich with history and emotion. I hope that through my work, you too can experience the magic of this landscape and see it in a way you never have before.
Three strands, one mission
I use historic maps and texts, plus modern tools, to rediscover lost places - before they vanish.
Investigations
This is the “workbench” behind everything: a field journal where I share the process — the old references, the map overlays, the walking routes, the false leads, and the moments where the landscape confirms (or contradicts) the record.
I’m especially interested in how places disappear quietly: when a name drops off a map, when a site isn’t signposted, when a story survives only in a line of local writing. Field Notes are where I document those threads while they’re still traceable.
Exploration Films
These are short documentary-style films made on the moors - part investigation, part journey. I combine archival research (old Ordnance Survey maps, local writers, historic accounts) with on-the-ground exploration to find places that are slipping out of memory: lost wells, ancient mounds, half-erased landmarks, and the stories attached to them.
These films are uploaded weekly and can be viewed on my YouTube channel.
Fine-art photography
Photography is how I pause the exploration. Alongside the films, I create a body of still work that captures Saddleworth in close detail: weather moving over ridgelines, stonework and boundary markers, water sources, forgotten paths, and the small textures that carry a sense of age.