Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
Every year close to Easter, we get together with a group of old university friends - a tradition that's been going on for 20 years now. Consequently we're running out of new places to go, and as we've evolved into family groups and acquired children and dogs, additional criteria that further restrict our choice of location … Continue reading Tors and Beaches – A week in Devon
Sunday: Tonbridge to Ashdown Forest I got off the train at Tonbridge, and was immediately struck by the relative cold compared with both home and London. It was also trying to rain, but thankfully without much success. I'd planned this walk to fit nicely in a period of forecast dry weather and really didn't fancy another couple … Continue reading Deer and Detours (Wealdway: Tonbridge to Uckfield)
Tuesday The sense of aborting my foray into the Western Fells in favour of getting the Northern Fells to 100% soon became even more obvious. With today being travelling home day, there wasn’t much else I could do that hadn’t already been done, and Carrock Fell was, sort of, on the way home. The forecast … Continue reading Finishing Off the Northern Fells – Part 3: Carrock Fell
Sunday Afternoon …The bus departed for Penrith, and I turned round and headed in the opposite direction. With Cath now on her way home, here on in was a solo trip. The Western Fells were waiting. The plan was much simpler than that for the Northern Fells – simply a two day walk from Buttermere … Continue reading Beach Boys, Buttermere and A Bail-Out
Friday The forecast for the weekend was poor, maybe even bordering on lunacy, and was the main reason why we’d decided not to camp this time out, preferring instead the security of hostels and especially the chances they afforded to get dry and warm after a day out on the fells dicing with the conditions. … Continue reading Finishing off the Northern Fells – Part 2: Blencathra & Friends
The bus shook as the first evidence of the weekend’s weather forecast collided with the moving vehicle. And today was supposed to be a “good” day. The bus dropped me off at Scales and I set off along a lane to the path that paralleled Comb Beck for the climb into Mousthwaite Comb. Behind me … Continue reading Finishing off the Northern Fells – Part 1: Souther Fell
Barren fields and remnants of our industrial heritage are sweeping by as the train is whisking me northward. I'm on my way to my first Lakes trip of the year. After 8 visits last year which tidied up most of the stragglers caused by a rather haphazard approach to the Wainwrights, I've deliberately left it … Continue reading Off to the Lakes
It's not often that I get this excited about a walk in the days leading up to it, and I don't think it's ever happened for a local walk. But I sat there at the weekend, finalising the route map for the Wealdway and giving some thought to where I might camp on the first … Continue reading Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud (Wealdway: Gravesend to Tonbridge)
The Wealdway is a long distance path that runs from Gravesend in Kent, on the south bank of the Thames, to Eastbourne in East Sussex, where the South Downs terminate in chalk cliffs rising above the English Channel, making it the primary coast to coast walking route in the extreme South East. The path is … Continue reading Planning the Wealdway
Once again I needed to pop into London and once again it was art related. There seems to be a pattern emerging here. This time it was the Works on Paper Fair, for which I’d been sent a free ticket by Matt Forster, an "überpainter" of stylised mountain landscapes in watercolour. With this unlikely to … Continue reading Art meets Science
With the others departed, I spend most of the last evening at the bunkhouse with maps and laminated tors spread out on a table in front of me, trying to come up with a route that fits my needs. With a forecast for a couple of virtually clear days with little wind, an overnight route … Continue reading Dartmoor: A North Eastern Backpack
I pull into the car park at the Plume of Feathers and find Phil, settle into the bunkhouse, while Phil proudly shows me his recent additions to his library - Crossing's book and the Dartmoor 365 book. As I unpack, Phil regales me with extracts from both. First impressions of Crossing aren't great - it's closely printed text and … Continue reading Dartmoor: A Tale of Two Hessaries
The first thing that strikes me as I exit the car after the long drive from home is the cold. It's a four-layer, hat and gloves sort of cold. I soon warm up as I stride onto the hill in pursuit of my first objective: the Coffin Stone. I top a small rise and see … Continue reading Dartmoor: The Quest for Vag and a Coffin
"Now there is an extra dimension to the charms of The Road - it takes me to, or almost to, Dartmoor - a place that is rapidly taking its place among my favourite upland areas. But unlike journeys to other areas, there is no desire to hurry to get there, no wishing the journey were … Continue reading Dartmoor: Paradise Road
A deadline has been pressing on me. The Late Turner exhibition at Tate Britain is due to finish this coming weekend, and I hadn't been to see it yet, even though it had been on since September and I've not had work as an excuse. So I set about rectifying that. Whilst the visit to the Tate … Continue reading A Walk Among the Artists