Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
A bit of light rain is falling, timed to coincide exactly with me packing away the tent. It's that infuriating sort of rain that's too light for the warmth of the jacket, but too heavy to go without. A few hundred metres up the road I switch to my windproof which is a relief. The … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2018: Day 3 – Glen Etive to the Black Corries
A lovely fine and warm day greets me, accompanied by the sound of water gently lapping close by. Six feet away there's a bit of loch that wasn't there last night. I soon see, though, that it's retreating, although this does beg the question how close it actually got to me during the night! I … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2018: Day 2 – Loch Etive to Glen Etive
This year, not having been bullied into signing out early, I'm downstairs in Oban youth hostel just a few minutes before 9am, and sign out for that time. I then linger a few minutes and find myself talking to David from Dartmoor. About Dartmoor, of course. The pair of us cross the road to the … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2018: Day 1 – Oban to Loch Etive
It's two weeks before the Challenge, and I'm at work when a ping on my phone heralds a message from Paul. It's a message I expected, just a bit sooner than anticipated: he's pulling out of the Challenge. He was going to give it until the weekend, but clearly he could see the writing on … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2018: Getting to the Start
Things were looking good: the forecast was encouraging, workdays were slotted into place, and I was ready to drift off to Dartmoor for a few days of backpacking as a warm up for the big event, just as I did last year. And then Paul messaged me to say he was ill (again), and that … Continue reading Making it up as I go – The pre-TGO Challenge shakedown trip
I'm having a clear out of various items. Having recently upgraded my cook system to a Stormin Cone, I'm a bit oversupplied with stoves and cookware, so it's time some of this went to a good home. A few other bits listed below that I no longer need, including a camera and a backpack. Item … Continue reading Spring Gear Clearout
As a kid, I was engrossed by Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of books, and must admit to having re-read them as an adult too. The same goes for Cath too, and she's been trying to get her son into them (I gave up on this with my offspring years ago after being constantly … Continue reading The Secret Achipelago Expedition
After the big skies and open views of the previous sections, this one was a bit unexciting in comparison. Also, I did this section as a daywalk rather than planning to sleep out - which was just as well as there didn't seem like much of a choice of spots to secrete a tent either. … Continue reading The Essex Way: Part 4 – West Bergholt to Mistley
Three years ago, I took my son for the Official Annual Birthday Camp (mine, not his), and chose a spot on the North Downs that has forever after been known in this house as Slug Meadow - you can probably imagine why. Well this weekend, my daughter, who's the same age The Boy was at the … Continue reading Return to Slug Meadow
It has been a month, and high time I ventured out to knock off the next section. Luckily the forecast was for two days of bright weather, little or no rain and wind and reasonable temperatures. It would have been wrong not to go for it. I dumped the car on the outskirts of Witham, … Continue reading The Essex Way: Part 3 – White Notley to West Bergholt
Last weekend was the first trip to Dartmoor of the year, as a combination of illness and uninspiring forecasts made me decide to forego the now traditional Dartmoor New Year. Consequently I was itching to get out to camp somewhere I didn't have to hide, both overnighters so far this year having been in lowly … Continue reading Dartmoor: Not Quite as Forecast
A little over a week later from my first section of the Essex Way, I was back and ready for more. This time the plan was to pick up where I left off, conveniently at a bus stop, and walk to White Notley where there's a station. My mapping software, into which I'd imported a … Continue reading The Essex Way: Part 2 – A1060 to White Notley
The Essex Way is a long distance route of 130km (81 miles) stretching from Epping in the West to Harwich in the East. It was created as a result of a competition organised by the CPRE in 1972, and some of the original CPRE-branded waymarks can still be seen on the route (although now largely replaced … Continue reading The Essex Way: Part 1 – Epping to the A1060
Artistically, 2017 has been increasingly busy, with my first London exhibition to prepare for, a couple of art fairs, and I also began teaching. I have, however, had some time to produce a few paintings - so here is a selection of this year's work. All items are available for sale, so feel free to … Continue reading Art of the Year 2017
This is just a selection of a few favourite memories and pictures from what's happened this year.