hike | camp | paint
Day 1 - Friday 6 June A few squirts of air into the Airbeam frame of my new Gossamer Gear Mariposa Pack and then I swung it up onto my shoulder and left the house for the short walk to the station. It's usually on the walk to the station that I begin to suspect … Continue reading Some Favourite Southern Fells
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
I lay in my sleeping bag nervously watching the tent flexing and straining under the force of the icy wind blowing down from the head of Eskdale, hoping it would hold as it was now too dark to shift camp to somewhere more sheltered. Memories of a past windy camp came back to both haunt … Continue reading A Snowy Saunter around the Southern Fells
I'm heading off to the Lakes for a week-long backpack at the weekend as a key part of my preparation for walking the Cambrian Way in April. Here are a few notes on the process of preparing for the preparation trip. The Concept The concept of this trip was simple: a multi-day route that mimicked … Continue reading Planning a Saunter in the Southern Fells
In between a busy couple of weeks where my current client project has reached a critical stage, I've not had time to do much outdoors and with miserable weather and feeling shattered from work, not much inclination either. But one thing has been drifting in and out of my thoughts - my project to complete … Continue reading Wainwrights update
I woke (yes actually woke, thereby signifying that I'd actually slept!) early and stuck my head out the door to see if there was any sort of sunrise going on. Â Not much happening of interest, so I had a lie in. Â Sleep had come courtesy of no musical wind, a better set of nocturnal sartorial … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 3: Drawing the Line
Some say that it's the wettest place in England. Â Many would say that it's not a great fell. Â All I know is that it is one of the places I most dream of being in the Lake District. Actually the title of wettest place in England is a bit of a moot point. Â It probably … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Seathwaite Fell
I reckon few have Lingmell in their top 10 fells, so why do I ? It’s quite remarkable considering it’s the most recently climbed fell on my list of favourites and has had to compete with the likes of Scafell, Bowfell, assorted Langdale Pikes etc.  All of which it has beaten. The answer is that … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Lingmell
At one point, I considered leaving Scafell to the end of my Wainwright round, and making it my last fell. If I had done, then clearly I wouldn’t be writing this post now. But I wanted something more symbolic for my final fell and chose Haystacks, leaving me free to visit Scafell sooner rather than … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Scafell
Bowfell has many admirers - and for good reason. Â It's great. Â This is the first of a run of favourite fells whose main virtue is that there is an interesting way up. Â Bowfell is a proper mountain, by Lake District standards, but it wouldn't quite win top prizes for beauty from me when up against … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Bowfell
You can't really go wrong with a mountain that looks like one - in terms of shape. Â And Harter Fell is definitely the right shape. Â Its pyramid is instantly recognisable from any angle, draws you in and summons you to the top. Â But Harter Fell is a favourite not just because of its shape, but … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Harter Fell (Eskdale)
Given my predeliction for the smaller fells, you might be surprised to find the big one in my list. Â But then again, it's a pretty obvious choice when you look at it. Â I've got to the point now where the gap between my favourite fells is quite narrow, and it wouldn't take much for them … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Scafell Pike
Before 2010, to me Green Crag was another of those peripheral Wainwrights whose main attraction was solving the problem of knocking it off efficiently. Â That's until I visited it, of course, and discovered a fell with many of the qualities that I look for. Â To start with the views are good across Eskdale, back … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Green Crag
People must wonder how bad the other fells must be after the experience I had on Holme Fell last year which still didn't stop it being a favourite. But like so many of the smaller fells, Holme Fell is interesting in a way that many higher fells just aren't. A variety of terrain and plenty … Continue reading Favourite Fells – Holme Fell