Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
A tale of butchery, outer space and gritstone. Friday 30 March - Sunday 1 April 2007 I woke to a sense of freedom and a burning lip. The sense of freedom arising from having left work for a three month sabattical, made all the more stark by a frantic last minute rush to get things … Continue reading A week in the Peak District
This was my first solo trip to the Lake District and little did I realise how significant it would be or how many subsequent trips would follow. It's only in hindsight that these things come into perspective.The PlanThe previous weekend I was sitting at home, my parents were around and I'd just had a really … Continue reading Ambleside Ambles
I rose early, for a Sunday, to make sure that I got to the start point in good time, as getting there involved a train into London, a walk across London and a train out the other side. Â But just my luck that engineering works mean the first train from home I can get is … Continue reading North Downs Way 2: Guildford to Westhumble
With walking now firmly established as my main hobby, I wanted a project that could keep me ready for the hills inbetween trips, and I settled on the North Downs Way. Â It's an obvious choice really as I live just over the Thames in Thurrock, and so is relatively easy to get to. Â Also having … Continue reading North Downs Way 1: Farnham to Guildford
Friday 28 October 2005 - Skiddaw Yesterday was such a frantic day, that it was good to finally get out into the hills today, even though it certainly wasn’t the weather we would have wished for.  At least I took a day off work to prepare – I hate to think how bad it would … Continue reading A Wet Weekend in the Lakes
Somehow I made it down to breakfast the next morning, although my thighs were on fire and from the waist down I felt like a combination of John Wayne and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Â And then the journey home in the minibus went by in a blur. Â I braved the strange looks again on the tube as … Continue reading UK Three Peaks (2005): The Aftermath
Sunday 17 July 14:00ish What a way to spend my wedding anniversary. Â Dave is thrashing the van down the M6 in a desperate battle to get to Llanberis and avoid being pulled out of the challenge. Â It feels strangely motivating. Â Dave also seems to take a proactive approach to sheep on the road and seems … Continue reading UK Three Peaks (2005): Snowdon
Sunday 17 July 03:50 Â We arrive at Southwaite Services on the M6 for our Scafell Pike briefing. Â It's annoying to see people in sleeping bags, indicating that there's a fair chance they've had some sleep. Â I take the opportunity for a wash, a fry-up and, most importantly a cup of tea. 04:32 We set-off for … Continue reading UK Three Peaks (2005): Scafell Pike
Friday 15 July 10:30 Â Amazingly, we set off only half an hour late, which we put down to our strategy of telling Rik an earlier time than the rest of us. Â We all assembled in Wembley, because there was a tube station, but also because that was where we were picking the minibus, that would … Continue reading UK Three Peaks (2005): Ben Nevis
It's March 2005, and one day at work, the IT Director's personal assistant circulated an email inviting people to sign-up to enter the 3 Peaks challenge. Â Now I don't usually go for things like this, as I'm not that fit and whilst I enter these things with good intentions, my actual performance tends to fall … Continue reading UK Three Peaks (2005): Start of the Adventure
So, having signed up a couple of weeks ago to do the Three Peaks with a bunch of work colleagues, I started to really look forward to the annual university friends reunion that we do every year around this time. Â We're in the Peak District, the first time I've been here and I'm really liking … Continue reading The Peak District (2005)
My first ever mountain ascent was, like many other people's, Helvellyn in the Lake District. Having just graduated, my fiancée and I were on a week's holiday in Cumbria during the summer of 1992 - a holiday consisting mainly of visiting 'attractions' rather than being an outdoors type holiday. Nevertheless, one day we had the … Continue reading My first mountain