The sorrowful tale of Little Mo the moorhen chick

July 1, 2020 Good causes animal rescue, britain, edita, wildlife, wildlife photography

This post doesn’t have anything to do with mountains, so please forgive the indulgence, but it’s a salutary tale about interaction with nature that may interest you. It contains some useful lessons (for me, at least) and a few schoolboy errors that I expect will have some of you shaking your heads in despair.

Cool Conversations: experience the mountains during lockdown by social distancing Kenton Cool-style

April 22, 2020 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, britain, cotswolds, everest, global health, kenton cool, mountain talks, nirmal purja, sir ranulph fiennes 0 Comment

So far I’ve not been finding lockdown too bad. I don’t know whether this makes me unusual. I know I’m lucky in many respects. We have a nice garden beside the river here in the Cotswolds and we’re able to

What I’m learning from Robert Macfarlane’s reading group about Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain

April 1, 2020 Reviews and tributes britain, cairngorms, mountain literature, munro bagging, nan shepherd, nature writing, robert macfarlane, scotland, wildlife 0 Comment

As coronavirus lockdown takes hold, the nature writer Robert Macfarlane has started running a reading group on Twitter about Nan Shepherd’s classic nature book The Living Mountain. It was a no-brainer for me to join, and it’s helping me to see the world differently.

Why the outdoor community should not ignore coronavirus restrictions

March 24, 2020 Good causes britain, global health, hill walking, walking 12 Comments

I’m posting early this week, because this is an important message that can no longer be delayed. There are no jokes in this week’s blog post. Normal service will be resumed next week with more light-hearted banter to see us

How the Duke of Cornwall stole a footpath and I rediscovered it

February 19, 2020 Good causes bodmin moor, britain, cheesewring, cornwall, hill walking, ordnance survey, public access, public footpaths, ramblers association, walking 5 Comments

The Ramblers Association has launched a campaign to reclaim some of Britain’s lost footpaths before legislation comes into effect that turns them permanently into private land. The campaign was accompanied by the launch of a clever app which I had some fun with last weekend.

What the North Coast 500 has in common with Everest

September 4, 2019 Opinion and advice britain, cycling, everest, feet and wheels to chimborazo, media sensationalism, north coast 500, scotland, tourism 1 Comment

Queues of slow moving traffic, people who don’t know how to drive, human faeces by the side of the road – are we talking about Everest again? No, it’s the North Coast 500, a magnificent road trip in north-west Scotland which I once pedalled round.

The Ring of Steall: a Scottish hill walking classic

August 14, 2019 Trip reports am bodach, an gearanach, ben nevis, britain, hill walking, mamores, munros, ring of steall, schiehallion, scotland, scottish highlands, sgurr a mhaim, stob coire a chairn 5 Comments

A short distance south of Ben Nevis is a hidden sanctuary encircled by mountains. This hanging corrie has a single outlet which drains into Britain’s second highest waterfall. A full circuit of the ring of mountains involves 4 Munros and 7 peaks in total.

My journey along the Great Glen Way on a mountain bike

July 24, 2019 Trip reports britain, cycling, edita, great glen way, north coast 500, scotland, scottish highlands, ticket to ride 5 Comments

Edita wanted to do another bike ride in Scotland. I suggested the Great Glen Way because it went along a glen rather than over hills, so it should be pretty flat. I was surprised when the cycle hire shop recommended a pair of mountain bikes.

Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, via the CMD Arête

June 19, 2019 Trip reports andy hogarth, ben nevis, britain, carn mor dearg, edita, hill walking, munros, scotland, scottish highlands, viewranger, walkhighlands 5 Comments

An estimated 160,000 people climbed Ben Nevis last year, but it has a not-so-secret route around the back that follows a stunning ridge, and if you’re lucky you’ll have it to yourself. It was the obvious choice for Edita’s first ascent of Britain’s highest peak.

Why I prefer hiking to biking

June 5, 2019 Opinion and advice britain, cycling, great glen way, hill walking, scotland, scottish highlands 12 Comments

If you’ve been following my adventures on a bike in Scotland and Ecuador, you will know that cycle touring is an acquired taste that I’m still struggling to acquire. By contrast, I love hiking and I was recently given a good lesson why.