ROUTE STATS (including map) Warnscale Round I’ll start with an apology. There aren’t many photos of this walk to share with you. It was just too wet and windy to even think about testing the limits of my camera. So it’s mainly words today, with the odd washed out picture thrown in for good measure. It was cold too. Particularly for the end of June. And particularly since I’d promised to show off the best of the Lake District to…
ROUTE STATS (including map) Blencathra scrambling I don’t often feel nervous on the morning of a mountain walk. It’s normally a mixture of excitement, anticipation and longing for being in places where I feel most at ease. But today, parked in a lay-by just off the A66, I’ll admit to noticing the odd butterfly in my stomach. This walk has been almost 30 years in the making. Today I’m visiting the spikier ends of Blencathra: Sharp Edge and Hall’s Fell…
ROUTE STATS (including map) Martindale Expedition The rain, accelerated by the strengthening wind, stings my face like hundreds of tiny pin pricks. Ominous clouds have gathered throughout the morning, jostling for position before choosing their moment to move in on the ridge. I pass a pair of fell runners. We don’t speak a word but the looks on their faces tell me they won’t be hanging around either. Sometimes there’s no need for a weather forecast to tell you to…
ROUTE STATS (including map) The Easedale Skyline Mountains are the classic metaphor for strength, resilience and fortitude. Always there to reassure us with their perpetuity, they are steadfast and strong, oblivious to the troubles of the world. When you frame the mountains in our human timelines, the metaphor holds true. Even with the passing of the seasons, their underlying presence is undoubtedly permanent. ‘The mountains will always be there’ has been an oft-quoted phrase during lockdown. But switch your eyes…
ROUTE STATS (including map) Aber Falls and the Northern Carneddau I’ll admit to feeling a little nervous about heading across the border. Even a casual glance at the headlines in 2020 would have you convinced the entire population of the British Isles could be found jostling for position on the summit of Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa. I certainly don’t want to add to the pressures and become part of the problem. But equally, I’ve learnt that the press is rather…
ROUTE STATS (including map) The Northern Fells The light is fading. I am cocooned in my sleeping bag. Alone, yet surrounded by old friends. My belly is full of warm pasta as I lay gazing at the inky-blue sky. I have completed the ritualistic tasks of collecting water, cooking a meal and erecting my shelter. There is nothing more to do. My phone is switched off – the only thing requiring power now is my head torch. Everything else I…
ROUTE STATS (including map) The Deepdale Round I have never understood potholing. Why anyone would want to head underground in their wellington boots, in the dark, to squeeze through tight passages filled with water is beyond me. I’ve visited a couple of show caves in my time and can appreciate the beauty of a delicate stalactite or stalagmite as much as the next person. But I’d still rather be standing on a lofty ridge knowing I can always get back…
ROUTE STATS (including map) The Swindale Fells It was all going so well. Two summits in the bag. Two more to go. Despite the fog, cold wind and distinct lack of views, this is my kind of walking. Striding out beside a dry stone wall, I am guided reassuringly through the gloom. My lockdown legs are injected with new life. This is the first walk of 2021 I’ve not had to start from my front door. I inhale the damp…
Making Plans Making any sort of plans at the moment seems futile. Lockdowns, new variants and ever-changing rules and regulations beat back our objectives with the stick of disappointment. Many of us are resigned to taking each day as it comes, while living our lives takes a back seat. It’s why I’ve held off posting my aspirations for 2021. But despite the potential for knock backs, it’s still important to make plans. Having a focus for when this miserable period…
Like many of us gathered around the wireless on Monday evening, I felt a range of emotions. Despair, sadness, fatigue, fear, anger. This tiny virus certainly seems to have us by the short and curlies with no signs of letting go. I’d ordinarily turn to the mountains to escape. But even they are closed for most of us right now. ‘The hills will still be there waiting when this is all over’, I hear you cry. That’s right, of course,…