My 2007 Knoydart diary: a winter backpacking trip that didn’t quite go to plan

September 13, 2023 Trip reports backpacking, britain, hill walking, knoydart, luinne bheinn, munros, scotland, travel diaries 1 Comment

My visit to Knoydart with Edita that I wrote about in my previous post, was so different from my first visit in 2007 that I could have been walking in a different world. I thought I would dig it out my diary of that first trip for a laugh, so here it is.

Bothies, boats and backpacks: climbing the Knoydart Three Munros

August 30, 2023 Trip reports backpacking, boat trips, bothy nights, britain, hill walking, knoydart, ladhar bheinn, luinne bheinn, munro bagging, munros, scotland 4 Comments

Sixteen years ago, I set out on a 5-day winter backpacking trip to climb three Munros in Knoydart, a remote peninsula in northwest Scotland. It turned into an epic that I was lucky to survive. Earlier this year, unexpectedly, I found myself with a chance to make amends.

In memoriam: Dave Fowler, West Coast mountain guide

August 23, 2023 Reviews and tributes aonach eagach, climbing fatalities, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, glen coe, mountain guides, obituaries, scotland, west coast mountain guides 18 Comments

It was with great shock and sadness that I learned of the death of Dave Fowler on Aonach Eagach earlier this month. Dave guided Edita and me on the Cuillin in 2020. He was a great character, ever talkative and cheerful, and extremely careful as a guide.

Why don’t we see yetis anymore? I may have found the answer

August 2, 2023 Humour bill tilman, himalayas, legends and folklore, mountain literature, nepal, sherpas, showell styles, steve berry, the ascent of rum doodle, travel writing, yetis 5 Comments

Himalayan travel writing is peppered with stories of yeti sightings or yeti footprints. But if yetis still exist why hasn’t someone filmed one by now? I may have stumbled upon the answer in a long-forgotten work of Himalayan travel writing.

The Dubh Slabs: the most iconic scramble in the British Isles

July 26, 2023 Trip reports boat trips, bothy nights, britain, cicerone guides, cuillin ridge, danny macaskill, hill walking, isle of skye, karl smith, munros, scotland, sgurr dubh mor 2 Comments

We decided to continue our Cuillin reconnaissance. But what to reconnoitre? Our guide Karl suggested climbing the Dubh Slabs and staying overnight at Camasunary. I’d known about the Slabs for years, but never imagined I would ever climb them myself

Essential Skye reading: The Black Ridge by Simon Ingram

July 12, 2023 Reviews and tributes alexander nicolson, britain, cuillin ridge, history of mountaineering, isle of skye, john mackenzie, mountain literature, norman collie, scotland, simon ingram 6 Comments

I’m only just starting to delve into the literature of the Black Cuillin, but I’ll be surprised if I come across a better book than this one. Erudite and poetic, yet marvellously accessible in places, this is simply a great book by a great writer.

The four summits of Sgurr a Mhadaidh: another Cuillin reconnaissance

July 5, 2023 Trip reports britain, cicerone guides, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, hill walking, isle of skye, karl smith, munros, scotland, sgurr a mhadaidh, west coast mountain guides 5 Comments

It was time for another Cuillin reconnaissance, and there was one section of tricky scrambling that we hadn’t done: an unavoidable obstacle in the form of the four summits of Sgurr a Mhadaidh. I was keen to complete this section before committing to a full traverse of the ridge.

First British man to climb Manaslu then narrate an audiobook about it from a converted stable in the Cotswolds

June 14, 2023 My books and writing 8000m peaks, audiobooks, manaslu, mountain literature, nepal, the manaslu adventure, travel diaries, travel writing 1 Comment

Yes, that’s right. A sensational headline, I know, but it’s absolutely true. Not only did I climb an 8,000m peak, but over the last few months, I’ve been producing an audiobook about it, The Manaslu Adventure, from our little cottage in the Cotswolds.

The Buttermere Round: an epic walk for sensible people

May 10, 2023 Trip reports alfred wainwright, britain, cumbria, dale head, high stile, hill walking, lake district, red pike, robinson 4 Comments

We live in an era of epic endurance challenges, where people believe there’s no point getting outdoors unless you do something bigger, longer or quicker than everyone else. But it’s possible to do a challenging walk while thoroughly enjoying yourself, and without running.

A Grasmoor and Grisedale Pike horseshoe via Grasmoor End

April 26, 2023 Trip reports alfred wainwright, britain, crag hill, cumbria, grasmoor, grisedale pike, hill walking, lake district 2 Comments

It’s been four years since my last visit to the Lake District. A return visit was long overdue and the Easter weekend offered a good opportunity. We set our sights on the Northwest Fells, an area of peaks that I’ve only explored in impenetrable hill fog.