[en] Portable spectrometers based on NaI or Ge detectors are now important additions to the tools available for monitoring and assessment of radioactivity and radiation dose rates in the environment due to both natural and anthropogenic sources. The high resolution of the Ge detector is of particular use in rapidly identifying and assessing radionuclides of significance. Portable spectrometry is of importance in assessing deposited activity and contributions to air kerma rates, and the rapid availability of these results would be significant in the event of a nuclear emergency in addition to the more usual application of measuring concentrations of radionuclides in environmental samples. In the course of developing a portable germanium detector system, spectra were measured at a number of locations in the environment near nuclear establishments in the UK. These spectra are presented and analysed in this paper in terms of the radionuclide contributions and gamma air kerma rates. Particular features are highlighted. First, background contributions are characterised using an example spectrum measured at Lowestoft beach, where anthropogenic influences are low. By contrast, near the Magnox nuclear power station at Bradwell, Essex there are contributions to the spectra due to photons from ¹⁶N, ⁴¹Ar and ⁶⁰Co. In the Ravenglass estuary near Sellafield, ¹³⁷Cs features prominently, with smaller contributions due to other radionuclides discharged in liquid waste from Sellafield. In the Ribble estuary which is influenced by discharges from the Springfields fuel fabrication plant as well as from Sellafield, measurements were made on a houseboat at high and low tide; there was a significant difference in the contribution due to ¹³⁷Cs from Sellafield. Upstream of the Springfields works, peaks in the spectrum were observed due to ²³⁴Th and ^234mPa due to discharges from the site, as well as ¹³⁷Cs from BNFL Sellafield. The paper highlights and comments on all these features. In addition, the spectra were analysed in terms of contributions to gamma air kerma rates and the components due to natural background. Dose rates to members of the public who may spend time at the relevant locations are well within the dose limit of 1 mSv per year recommended by the ICRP. The different contributions to dose rates are contrasted. By highlighting particular features, this study demonstrates the wide range of applications of portable Ge spectrometry in environmental situations. (author)