Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
I stepped off the train, made a more than usually efficient job of the pre-walk faff, and retraced my steps to the edge of the Forest to pick up the trail, after a mere six months absence. Gawd, is it really six months ? I suppose that's better than the 5 year gap in the … Continue reading Scouts, Cuckolds and an Inappropriate Wild Camp (London Loop Part 3)
With my current work contract drawing to a close, and more hill time coming, I've been mulling over some potential Lakes trips for the next few months. Trips which are getting harder and harder to plan as I home in on completion of the Wainwrights, reducing my stock of new hills to bag. Living such … Continue reading The bridal hill formula
Somewhere behind me the sun was falling headlong towards the horizon as I walked down the Royal Mile. First stop was Sainsbury's to pick up my hilltop supper, followed by the chip shop where I fuelled myself for the next few hours. I arrived at the bottom of the Mile and paused a few moments … Continue reading A Night in Holyrood Park
As Cath headed back to the bus stop, I turned my attention to the road walk out to Hartsop. Sat on the step of Patterdale post office while devouring my lunch, a battle had been raging in my head between what I knew I should do this afternoon and the easier option I'd banked on … Continue reading Out in the Eastern and Far Eastern Fells – Part 2
Preparation I walked back into the large meeting room that was our base of operations and immediately noticed the tenser atmosphere. All had been going swimmingly when I'd stepped out an hour or so before for another meeting, and we were looking good to complete this stage of the project over the coming weekend. I … Continue reading Out in the Eastern and Far Eastern Fells – Part 1
I knew it was going to be windy, and I expected the flight home from Edinburgh to be a bit bumpy, but the captain's announcement that City Airport was shut was not what I wanted to hear. Especially as we were pretty much in the air over my house at the time. Worse, all of … Continue reading Stranded
The folks at Go Outdoors have launched a new Walking Blog Award, with a varied shortlist of 15 blogs, and yours truly is one of them. It goes without saying that just making the shortlist is an honour, and especially so when I find myself in the company of such luminaries as Chris Townsend, Keith … Continue reading Go Outdoors Blog Awards 2014
Despite the ferocious wind, an automatic reverential silence descended  as we stepped into the midst of the dispersed metal. I stood among the frozen peat staring at the wreckage strewn about. Bits of engines and aeronautical bodywork lay scattered all around, interspersed with small floral tributes, mostly but not exclusively poppies, to mark the place … Continue reading Salvage
Adventure is relative. It completely depends on what your “normal” is. For those people we think of as adventurers, their normal would be considered extreme by most people, yet for some people walking to the shops in the rain would be an adventure. My normal is somewhere between the two, but I'd like to think … Continue reading An Urban Nano Adventure
We climbed on and up, the promised rain holding off but the wind strengthening as we got higher. False summit after false summit nevertheless led us to the eventual top and a struggle to remain upright and on the same patch of ground. To the south, shafts of sunlight broke through the sombre sky and … Continue reading Lakes or Bust
This year's plans were disrupted by a new work contract coming along at the start of the summer rather than, as I'd hoped, the end of the summer. This curtailed walking plans somewhat and even more so when I found out how much time I'd have to spend working away in Edinburgh. Here's a few … Continue reading Not a review of the year, just some nice pictures
So I was minding my own business, when the marketing bods at JD Sports (shiny new owners of Blacks) came up to me desperate to give me some gear and asking me to tell them what I needed. Not wanting to cause offence, a short while later I took delivery of two items - a … Continue reading Gear Review: Montane Atomic Stretch Jacket
Ennui, noun :Â a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement. Yep, that sounds about right. With a forecast 14 weeks of working away in Edinburgh spread over several months, this was always going to be a bit of an ordeal. Living in a hotel; working long hours, typically 7am … Continue reading Ennui in Edinburgh
I love beer. It's so liberating. It makes ideas that you'd never otherwise voice come to the fore and be shared with the world.I hate beer. It gets one into scrapes that one didn't intend. And makes one look a wally when you backpedal on what you'd said you'd do.An impromptu couple of swift pints … Continue reading Dithering (London LOOP Part 2)
I stepped out from the front door and headed for the river. With 15 miles to walk, I decided that starting by walking in the opposite direction to pick up the riverside path the easy way wasn't really the best idea, opting instead for a nondescript footpath between houses and a fence that should lead … Continue reading Asterix and the Defence of the Thames (London LOOP Part 1)