hike | camp | paint
It's been over 2 years since I met someone at a station to set off on an adventure. That time the station was Euston, the (well one of them) person was Darren, and the walk was the TGO Challenge. This time the station was again Euston, the person was again Darren, but the walk was … Continue reading A Slow Lake District Backpack
A hectic schedule of work, art fairs and the like suddenly opened up and I found I had a 3 day window to get some time on the fells. The forecast was for cold, so the winter bag was packed. A train delay saw me arrive in Windermere an hour later than schedule, and with … Continue reading A Mooch About the Middle
Some sad news from home had greeted me at the hostel, and it was in reflective mood that I set off for the last full day of the trip. After 15 miles of walking the previous day, I decreed that today would be a gentler one, a series of shorter walks, and spending some time … Continue reading March in the Lakes – Part 4: Reflections
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
The taxi dropped me at Grasmere Youth Hostel, my wallet lighter to the tune of a pony. It was either that or a long wait for a bus. A quick check-in and then a squelch around the lawn in the dark to find a suitably dry spot to pitch the tent. Matilda went up relatively … Continue reading A night on Madonna’s chest
The Day After the Night Before No one had seemed that bothered about staying in the pub, helped by the live music act's rather dubious renditions of what had up to that point been some well-loved songs, and so we all decamped to, errr camp. An evening sat around the camp, warding off midges and … Continue reading Beer and Bogs in Borrowdale
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
The observant among my readers will have spotted that I wasn't alone on last weekend's trip to the Lakes. Indeed it was hoped to be a small group, but in the end only my friend Cath (who can be found on Twitter as @wellycath) was able to join me, and the central theme of the … Continue reading Perceptions from a First Lakes Backpack
The creature stepped from the bog, covered in jet black ooze, spread its arms wide and started to lurch in my direction. I took out my secret weapon and brandished it in front of the foul wretch attempting to fend it off... Well, when I say "damsel", that's ordinarily the last word anyone that knows … Continue reading A Tour of the Tarns with a Damsel in Distress
All night the wind gusted around the tent, setting off metallic twangs as the crossing poles resonated. I lay shivering in my sleeping bag, barely dozing for much of the seemingly endless night, willing the dawn to come. Yes it really was that cold. So cold that the slightest movement brought me into contact with … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 2: Tired, Cold and Hungry
Quite literally, in fact... It was a struggle to get everything in my new Golite Jam, but I really wanted to avoid going up a rucksack size to my Lowe Alpine Khumbu 65:80 for what is a relatively short trip. So the Jam really was jam packed and bulging. I was also pushing the boundaries … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 1: Jam Packed
As I passed Lining Crag, two guys came towards me, clearly heading down to Stonethwaite. We stood and exchanged a few words as the wind drove rain in our faces and challenged the waterproofness of our outer layers. They’d come from Sergeant’s Crag and before that, Eagle Crag, but were now calling it a day … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Eagle Crag
Pavey Ark makes my favourites list for one main reason, and I imagine most people will guess what it is… Jack’s Rake. There, I’ve said it. Pavey Ark rises as a cliff above Stickle Tarn, and from the tarn at first glance appears impregnable. But it’s not. Jack’s Rake runs diagonally up from right to … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Pavey Ark
This has been an incredibly hard post to write. Â I've been trying to find the words to explain what this fell means to me, and the words that have come just haven't done it justice. Â But I can almost hear some readers asking what all the fuss is about. Â After all Pike of Stickle is … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Pike of Stickle
Like most of the others, I've actually only done High Rigg once, but I enjoyed the day (well couple of hours, really) so much that it's placed highly on my favourites list. High Rigg's Wikipedia entry describes it  as a bit like a model of the Lake District in minature - with "crags, intermediate tops, … Continue reading Favourite Fells – High Rigg