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It will be clear from the last post that the trip didn't go quite to plan, as I stopped short of my intended end point of Llandovery. But that's not to say it was a failure, and I'm looking at it as simply having altered the plan further as I went. Nevertheless, there were some … Continue reading Cambrian Way Phase 1 – Post Mortem
Hopefully you can see where I'm going with the title of this one... As early as the first day of this trip I started having thoughts about its success or failure and the learnings that could be taken from it. And if I'm honest with myself, the seeds of that conversation with myself were sown … Continue reading Snowy Learnings of Cumbria for Make Benefit Glorious Walk of Cambrian Way
Considering that the first attempt at this trip went tits up due to the weather taking umbrage at my presence in the Lakes, this second attempt went really well. This is a short post on why. How good was the planning ? This was a strange trip in that I deliberately tried not to plan … Continue reading Far Eastern Odyssey – The Debrief
In case you were wondering, this isn't a post about Dale Winton. Although I'm sure that would be a most worthy subject for a blog entry. No, this was inspired by a piece I read on sectionhiker.com where our man was talking about his routines for making and striking camp, It struck me that I … Continue reading Improving My Camp Routine
There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes. Or so goes the proverb. But it's a load of sanctimonious bollocks... If there's one piece of so-called outdoor wisdom that really gets on my tits, it's this. Not because I totally disagree with it, but because of the way that people trot it … Continue reading A Far Eastern Odyssey – Part 4: Bad Weather ? Bad Gear ? Bad Decisions ?
Ok, maybe the title is a bit dramatic. It wasn't anything like a complete failure, unless you only measure it against the original plan to walk as far as Falmouth over 7 days rather than to Par over 4. Indeed, the irony was that in some ways this trip was the best of the 5 … Continue reading SCWP 2012: Post Mortem
Monica is in the garage, sprawling languidly over a selection of discarded furniture and old boxes, as she dries out from the trip. It was sods law that having been dry as a bone both nights up high, that she should be sopping wet on the morning I travel home. I lay in my sleeping … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 4: Job Done
Today's been quite special, as it's exactly one year since I walked out of the permanent job I'd had for getting on for 15 years. And I'm surrounded by reminders of how right that decision was. 12 months ago to this minute I was in a bar in Canary Wharf surrounded by about 40 colleagues … Continue reading Happy Days
Not everyone is interested in the stats, so let's keep the analysis in a separate post. Summits bagged The 29 Wainwrights "bagged", in order, are: Dodd (Skiddaw) Whinlatter Barf Lord's Seat (M) Broom Fell Graystones Ling Fell Sale Fell Barrow Outerside Mellbreak (M) Rannerdale Knotts High Crag (H) High Stile (Wainwright summit) Red Pike (Buttermere) … Continue reading A Lakeland Round (2011): The Stats
This has been a bit of a strange trip, and I have to say after 15 trips to the Lake District, I didn't expect to still be learning lessons about my walking capabilities. This trip was really two in one, and if I'd just done the first, longer, part it would have felt about right, … Continue reading A Lakeland Round (2011): Debrief
A week after the end of the trip, I can now look at what went well and what didn't..... The route Overall, I did all of the key elements that I had planned except Black Fell and Blencathra & co, both of which were abandoned due to conditions. Although at the time I wrote that … Continue reading Cumbria Way – afterthoughts
Well this trip has been a bit of a journey. Not quite the journey, either literally or figuratively, that I was aiming for though. I've had some massive lows - on the first day when I realised I'd screwed up big time by travelling too heavy and being over-optimistic with how much I could do … Continue reading A Lakeland Round 2007: The End
Despair I sat on a rock and cried for my mummy. The rain was still sheeting down, visibility was zilch and I couldn't be entirely sure where I was - not that I could have seen through my misted up and droplet-covered glasses anyway... Ok, maybe I wasn't quite as much in the shit … Continue reading A Lakeland Round 2007: Day 9 – Tuesday 24 April
The Crummock Horseshoe It was quite windy last night, but somehow I slept better than Monday night. I lay awake listening to the wind and wondering if the tent would stand up to it. Which it did. When daylight came, I fell asleep and later after a lingering breakfast I found myself running for the … Continue reading A Lakeland Round 2007: Day 4 – Thursday 19 April
Buttermere I went to bed last night clean, refreshed and with a new plan formed, that would see me claim 21 peaks between now and Sunday. So I woke in a more positive frame of mind and set out round the shops first thing to secure the kit that the whole plan relied upon - … Continue reading A Lakeland Round 2007: Day 3 – Wednesday 18 April