Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
The sky was dumping large amounts of water as Colin picked me up and we headed onto the motorway network for the long journey north. A combination of rush hour and large amounts of standing water made for unpleasant conditions, but the gradual change to better was discernable with every mile further north. A quick … Continue reading Ups and Downs: Referendum Night on Blencathra
Dover was miserable as I stepped off the train. A walk through town saw me narrowly avoiding being accosted by some rather dubious-looking characters. Not responding to their calls was probably the smart thing to do. Ironically, by the time I found the Market Square and then followed the NDW I was almost back at … Continue reading The North Downs Way 11: The End
Looking down from Lynch Tor, I see the valley spread below, lush, green and beckoning us onward. Legs tired, water running low, and still a fair way to walk. The map shows a well-defined path leading down a valley between two ridges, and seeing the same on the ground we take it. Some way down the path, … Continue reading A Nemesis and the Noble and Ancient Art of Tor-sitting
There's really not much to tell about this walk. It simply involved lots of trees. Ducking, diving and twisting around them trying to find odd bits of rock secreted in the depths of the forest. Some of them may even have been a touch naughty to visit. The Tavy was crossed a few times before … Continue reading A Spot of Bushwhacking
I sit in the car awaiting developments: Jim is on the last stretch from Exeter, Paul is due a little later. The rest of my flask of tea is sipped while the car doors are pressed into service as a makeshift clothes horse - a mishap with my Camelbak having dumped 3 litres of water … Continue reading A Camp above Belstone
There's a nasty rumour making the rounds that I like bagging Dartmoor tors from the comfort of the car - so much so that tors very close to a road have been dubbed "hillplodder tors". Obviously there is no truth in this vile accusation at all. But I have been known to visit tors requiring … Continue reading A spot of Dartmoor “Carbagging”
This trip had been in the diary for a very long time, ever since the day I signed-up to support Terry Abraham's Blencathra film in March 2015. With me opting for the VIP premiere tickets package, this meant I knew pretty much what I'd be doing this particular weekend. Hopes of a more extended trip … Continue reading A Short Jaunt in the Lakes
Dad and I spent a week walking along the coast path from St Ives to Padstow. I'm not going to write a long story about this as it tends to get repetitive, so will confine myself to a few remarks and then leave it to the photos to tell the story... We headed down to … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2016
WHEN that Aprilis, with his showers swoot.... So pricketh them nature in their corages; Then longe folk to go on pilgrimages, And palmers for to seeke strange strands, To ferne hallows couth in sundry lands; And specially, from every shire's end Of Engleland, to Canterbury they wend (From the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey … Continue reading The North Downs Way 10: The Missing Canterbury Tales
Cath (@wellycath), being the incredibly juvenile middle-aged person that she is, could not let the opportunity to visit a comically-named mountain go, and so the Tuesday of Easter week saw Cath, Andy and I set off on the quest. To where I hear you ask ? To here of course.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlRrdbkyV8w A route having already … Continue reading Three for his Knob
Somehow over the last month my mojo has gone awol. I've looked high and low for it and nothing has turned up. Until this weekend... This always seems to happen to me when I'm approaching a period where work takes a back seat and backpacking takes to the fore. The initial euphoria of knowing I'll … Continue reading The Mislaid Mojo
So I was reading this review by Catherine Redfern, aka London Hiker (@LondonHiker), and picked up on the point that these atlases include OS 1:25k mapping, which we all know is the best kind possible. I'd been vaguely aware the atlases existed but somehow this had passed me by. I had a look at A-Z's … Continue reading Review: AZ Adventure Atlas
After last week's 14 mile jaunt around Canvey, the plan was to up the mileage a little bit - essential if I'm to have a hope at completing the 10-in-10 in June (feel free to sponsor me by the way). 16 miles was the target and I plotted a route of just about that - … Continue reading A Walk on the Essex Fens
Plans for the year have been formulated, potential weekends for escapes to the hills have been identified, but still it feels like 2016 is yet to get off to a proper start walking-wise. The New Year trip to Dartmoor was almost a wash out, with only one walk of a respectable length, and then I … Continue reading A Slow Start to the Year
By now anyone who's stuck to rash New Year's resolutions to get fit after the excesses of Yuletide is probably struggling to keep it up, what with the novelty having worn off and the generally depressing state of being back at work for a few weeks now. What's needed is some additional motivation. A few … Continue reading Review: Hi-Tec Trek Go Activity Tracker