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A wander on the wild west coast of Jura pt2
Considering the weather I had one of my most enjoyable nights camping for a long time. Warm and dry and with the wind and rain battering the tent I felt extra cozy and comfortable. It had been worth...
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A long night on Fountains Fell
Arncliffe was deserted as I drove through the picturesque village huddled around its green. I parked the car just past the bridge over Cowside Beck where there is space for a couple of vehicles. It...
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24hrs on Kinder Scout
The weather has been pretty apocalyptic recently, constant heavy rain making the short November days even more miserable. At this time of year it is easy for outdoors lassitude to set in, especially...
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Back from treasure island
My dream of playing castaway on an uninhabited island was realised this weekend. For the three nights that we spent on Scarba we had the island entirely to ourselves. A fantastic way to spend a stag...
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Scarba – Stags on treasure island pt1
The stag weekend got off to a fine start with a curry lunch at Nottingham’s Indian community centre. A thali dish filled with curry, daal, rice, salad, chapati and desert all for £3.70. An essential...
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Scarba – Stags on treasure island pt2
The day was too good to waste, so with daysacks packed we left the bothy and set off up the hill. Our destination was Cruach Scarba, the highest point on the island at 449 metres. Pete had previously...
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Backpacking Ardgour – the Cona Glen Corbetts pt1
I sneaked out of Nottingham before dawn on the Good Friday, heading north fuelled on pain au chocolat and strong coffee. Surprisingly traffic was light and seven hours later the Real food Cafe in...
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Backpacking Ardgour – the Cona Glen Corbetts pt2
Day 3 – 9 kilometres with 800 metres ascent After another very cold night I enjoyed festering in my sleeping bag for a couple of hours whilst the morning sun warmed the tent. There is something deeply...
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Two nights on the moors – the sounds of spring above Allendale
The drive to Northumberland was punctuated by a gear stop in a middle class suburb on the outskirts of Leeds. A shiny new Trailstar was waiting for Rich at his parents house. He sat for a while with...
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Suitably challenged
My hope was that with the last two TGO Challenges being a wash out, this year would see a return of settled May weather. This was not to be and Challengers were all battered by rain, gales, snow, hail...
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TGO Challenge 2013 – days 1 to 3
My TGO Challenge this year started in the first class waiting room at Nottingham station. When I had booked my train ticket many months ago, there was only a few quid difference between first and...
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TGO Challenge 2013 – Days 4 to 7
Day 4 – 25 kilometres with 1,160 metres ascent For some reason I slept badly in the exceptionally comfortable double bed. When I opened the curtains in the morning I was surprised to see that there...
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Wild camping – the one in a hundred weekend
The actual walking this weekend often had me swearing and wondering to myself why I do such things. Mostly this was when I was lurching through giant tussocks that were doing their best to break one...
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TGO Challenge 2013 – Days 8 to 10
Day 8 – 19.5 kilometres with 540 metres ascent I had a second sociable night in the Tipsy Laird, this time with an Aussie couple who were staying in the same b&b as me. They were spending a few...
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TGO Challenge 2013 – Days 11 & 12
Day 11 – 26 kilometres with 860 metres ascent I think that one of the reasons I’m veggie is because I crave disappointment. This is certainly always the case at breakfast time in a Scottish b&b....
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Backpacking the Merrick and the Range of the Awful Hand
The Range of the Awful Hand conjures up images of fire-breathing dragons, goblins and orcs. A land not out of place in the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. The Galloway Forest park has plenty of other...
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Backpacking Great Whernside and upper Nidderdale
Sometimes it’s possible to over plan and plan too far in advance. A long-standing commitment to spend a couple of nights in the Snowdonia Mountains with my good friend Rich was postponed because of...
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Backpacking hot dogs on Wild Boar Fell
It was late afternoon when I parked up off a minor lane in a scenic spot opposite the Howgill Fells. I had picked Chrissie and Dixie up from the Western Peak District after she had finished work....
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Summer slackpacking in the Moelwyns
As I sat in the car it was rocked by the wind that was rushing unimpeded through the valley. Soggy curtains of rain drifted down from the mountains which were hidden under a steely grey blanket of...
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Standing on the edge
The summit cairn is right on the edge of a two thousand foot drop straight down into the loch below. It had turned out to be a lucky Friday the thirteenth, with warm sun and barely a breeze on this...
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