hike | camp | paint
After a couple of weeks in which preparing for and holding my first art show proved to be pretty much all-consuming, I was keen to get out into the landscape again, and to do so before winter started to rear its ugly head. By which I mean not the winter of crisp days on snow-covered … Continue reading Above the Clouds
I really should have been on the Cambrian Way, but I just didn't fancy it. For once I wanted to do something I wanted to do. It's been 6 years since a truly memorable trip to Eskdale, and a couple of years since a less successful one - I was itching to retread some of … Continue reading The Eskdale Escapade
From far and wide they came - the south west, the south east, the bit in the middle, and one on foot from Langdale - the Social Hikers gathered near Keswick for our third crack at the 10-in-10 and 5-in-5 in aid of MS Society. Now less a gathering of people who know each other … Continue reading The Gathering of the Clan
The sky was dumping large amounts of water as Colin picked me up and we headed onto the motorway network for the long journey north. A combination of rush hour and large amounts of standing water made for unpleasant conditions, but the gradual change to better was discernable with every mile further north. A quick … Continue reading Ups and Downs: Referendum Night on Blencathra
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
Dirty cloud obscured the rising sun, with just a small distant patch of orange beyond Great Mell Fell and some reflected colour to the west to betray the start of a new day.  A cacophony of barking, baying and yelping accompanied the start of my climb above the kennels at Gategill, and I could still … Continue reading On My Tod
Cath was on a bus heading home, but I still had another night and a day to go. The weather was stunning for October, and the thought that was foremost in my mind was repeating the previous night's stunning camp. Could I take another night of fiery sunsets, 360° views and clear moonlit skies. Hell … Continue reading Moon, Mist and Matilda
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
Being the hostelry I'd visited for a restorative lunch on the day in 2008 when I decided what my final fell would be, it seemed fitting that I should mark the completion of the project in The Bridge. I sat in the pub with a pint and a pie and whilst taking advantage of the free wifi … Continue reading What Do I Do Now ?
Daylight’s fingers crept over the surface of the tent and the wind that had blown malevolently all night finally disappeared. It wasn’t supposed to be especially windy according to the forecast, but it seemed that it must have been funnelled in such a way as to enhance its force. Either that, or it’s just out … Continue reading And Then There Were None
I stood watching the black silhouette of the Scafells against a redish glow gradually infiltrating the sky above. As more light spread across the land, the glow became an intense orange concentrated behind Great Gable. A time for contemplation of the walk so far, and the walk ahead. Today was forecast … Continue reading The Valley of Sluggishness
The whistling and roaring sounds from outside that I heard whilst safely tucked up in my YHA bunk were all the confirmation needed that I’d made a good call last night. I didn’t feel a bit bad about taking the easy option this time. A deliberately leisurely breakfast took place before I went off to … Continue reading More Jam Than Hartleys
I woke knowing I had a little head start on the day’s walk, by virtue of my camp at High Nook Tarn. I was a bit slow packing up and it was nearly a quarter to nine before I was away. But it didn’t matter – it was likely to be quiet being midweek and … Continue reading Fog, fences and forests
A mere two sleeps after getting home from Dartmoor, and I was off again, riding my by now “usual” trains up to Penrith. With a flexible return ticket in my wallet, that was about the extent of the formal planning for this trip. Nearly at the end of the Wainwrights, maybe it was time for … Continue reading A Little Bit of Misadventure
...I'll be heading north to do battle with the last dregs of my Wainwright round. Â With 10 Western fells to do to complete the 214, plus another two nearby Southern fells that I want to redo as I used a car to get to them, I'm hoping that by the weekend I'll be celebrating the … Continue reading By the time you read this…