Browsed by
Tag: Walk

2021 Challenge – 20 Quality Mountain Days

2021 Challenge – 20 Quality Mountain Days

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…

Read More Read More

Memories of Wainwright’s Favourite Walks

Memories of Wainwright’s Favourite Walks

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,…

Read More Read More

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks: The Fairfield Horseshoe

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks: The Fairfield Horseshoe

ROUTE STATS (including map) The Fairfield Horseshoe It’s not hard to see the appeal of horseshoe walks. After the initial effort of reaching high ground, that’s where you’ll stay all day until it’s time to come down again. Look around and you’ll see the route that’s gone before you, plus what’s on offer later in the day. And whether you are an ardent ticker of hill lists or not, there’s no denying people will be impressed when you tell them…

Read More Read More

Defer your success and never fail again

Defer your success and never fail again

‘The past is history. The future’s a mystery. But today is a gift – that’s why it’s called the present’. Master Oogway, Kung Fu Panda Goals My goal for 2020 was simple: complete 18 classic Lakeland fell walks, each one inspired by Alfred Wainwright’s excellent book, ‘Fellwalking With Wainwright’. By this time last year, I’d read the book from cover to cover, spread maps across the kitchen table, scribbled notes on scraps of paper and formulated a plan. Things didn’t…

Read More Read More

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – Skiddaw

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – Skiddaw

ROUTE STATS (including map) Skiddaw Some well-known mountains in the Lake District go by more than one name. Which one you go for could depend on the map you read, the people you talk to, or even just the one you like the sound of. Let’s start with Blencathra. You might know it as the more descriptive (but less poetic) Saddleback. While you’ll still find both names printed on Ordnance Survey maps, Wainwright made his opinions on this very clear,…

Read More Read More

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – The High Stile Range

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – The High Stile Range

ROUTE STATS (including map) The High Stile Range November is another month of 2020 we’d all rather forget. A second national lockdown brings challenges and pressures for everyone, be they economic, health, lifestyle or even just the boredom and uncertainty of sitting around at home. On the eve of this difficult month away from the fells, a special walk was definitely called for to get me through. Introducing the High Stile Range. A classic and somewhat underrated route. It has a bit…

Read More Read More

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – The Mosedale Horseshoe

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – The Mosedale Horseshoe

ROUTE STATS (including map) The Mosedale Horseshoe What’s the best view in the Lake District? Take a straw poll from one hundred different people and you’ll get as many answers. There’s such variety out there that you can spend a lifetime in pursuit of the perfect one. So while I’m not ready to settle on my favourite just yet, it did get me thinking about the ingredients I’d throw into the pot when cooking up the perfect view. Close your…

Read More Read More

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – Scafell Pike

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – Scafell Pike

ROUTE STATS (including map) Scafell Pike Scafell Pike is the tallest mountain in England. It could be a terrible mountain in every single way and it would still attract the crowds by virtue of being the biggest. Thankfully it’s not a terrible mountain. It’s a bloomin’ good one which has all the attributes you’d expect of England’s highest ground. It’s rocky for a start. A rugged mass in England’s otherwise green and pleasant land. There are many routes to the…

Read More Read More

Why hillwalkers need to take injury seriously

Why hillwalkers need to take injury seriously

The mechanics of taking a single step are anything but simple. Each time our feet make contact with the ground, the impact creates a shockwave that erupts through our limbs. Our brains subconsciously anticipate each footfall and make tiny adjustments to ensure the energy efficiently dissipates through our limbs. And it’s not just our legs. Our head, spine, hips and arms all have a part to play in keeping us balanced. Hillwalking and running, although good for us, can increase…

Read More Read More

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – Bowfell and Esk Pike

Wainwright’s Favourite Walks – Bowfell and Esk Pike

ROUTE STATS (including map) Bowfell and Esk Pike Think of a cloud. Chances are you’re picturing something resembling a sheep with no legs. Those fluffy, cottonwool, cumulus clouds floating across the blue skies above Springfield in the title sequence of The Simpsons. All pretty idyllic. But a hillwalker’s relationship with the imagery of clouds is quite different. After all, clouds in a mountain setting rarely bring good news, right? They obscure the views for a start. And when they are…

Read More Read More

error: Content is protected !!