Crazy cows on public footpaths: is it time to change the law?

October 9, 2024 Opinion and advice britain, cows, fatalities, public footpaths, ramblers association, the guardian, walking 5 Comments

Twenty-two people in the UK were killed by cows in a 4-year period from 2019 to 2023. A quarter of these were walkers crossing fields on public footpaths. Is it time to address this hazard with simple legislation?

Why The Salt Path is one of the great books about long-distance hiking

August 7, 2024 Reviews and tributes britain, cape wrath trail, iceland, laugavegur trail, long-distance trails, raynor winn, scotland, south west coast path, travel writing 0 Comment

I don’t often read Sunday Times bestsellers, but this year I read three in quick succession, all by the same author, including one that has struck a chord with so many people over the last five years that it has transcended its niche and broken into the mainstream. The book in question is The Salt Path by Raynor Winn.

Is this the world’s most expensive boat trip? Climbing the Mullardoch Munros

July 24, 2024 Trip reports boat trips, britain, hill walking, munro bagging, munros, peak bagging, scotland 1 Comment

We left the longest walk of the trip until the second week, when we hoped to be more mountain fit. Even so, when we stood on the summit of Toll Creagach and looked across Loch Mullardoch to its four associated Munros (the ‘Mullardoch Munros’), we could see quite clearly that it was going to be a loooong day.

Peaks and pine forests: exploring the Glen Affric Munros

June 12, 2024 Trip reports affric kintail way, britain, glen affric, hill walking, munro bagging, munros, scotland 1 Comment

There are quite a few Scottish glens (or valleys) that get described as ‘the most beautiful in Scotland’. Obviously, they can’t all be, but Glen Affric is certainly up there among the best. There are 16 Munros in the surrounding area. Our plan was to climb as many as we could in two weeks.

Walking the Preseli Hills and Pembrokeshire Coast

April 17, 2024 Trip reports britain, county tops, long-distance trails, pembrokeshire coast path, preseli hills, wales 0 Comment

With crappy weather on the cards for the Easter weekend, we decided to do something a bit more relaxing. I had never been to the Pembrokeshire Coast, with its rugged cliffs and secluded coves, nor walked the coastal Preseli Hills that were the source of the giant stones of Stonehenge.

At long last, a guidebook to cycling Scotland’s North Coast 500

March 20, 2024 Reviews and tributes britain, cicerone guides, cycling, feet and wheels to chimborazo, north coast 500, scotland 2 Comments

Back in 2017 when Edita and I cycled the NC500, there wasn’t much information available and almost all of it was aimed at people with a vehicle. Imagine my delight when I was contacted by Cicerone’s marketing team asking me if I’d like them to send me a copy of their new guidebook.

Christmas in Glen Coe II: The Revenge of the Rainstorms

January 3, 2024 Trip reports britain, buachaille etive beag, corbetts, glen coe, hill walking, munros, scotland 0 Comment

Another Christmas, and another cottage in Scotland for a week. What would the weather hold in store for us this year, and would we get up any mountains? The forecast wasn’t promising, but one good day in the hills could make it all worthwhile.

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.

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

← Previous