camping

I had only climbed the highest mountain in England once, from the east side 22 years ago. It was time for me to climb it from Wasdale on the west side, and it was time for Edita to climb it for the very first time.

A sunny bank holiday weekend in northern England was the signal for a visit to the Lake District. As we headed out for a backpacking and wild camping microadventure in Ennerdale, I couldn’t quite believe that it had been five years since my last visit.

Here’s some Christmas cheer for those of you who have been enjoying a plump turkey and a really good stuffing today. I tore the following page from the comic Viz when I was much younger than I am now, and it has been sitting quietly in a picture frame on my hallway wall for many years. I feel it’s time it received wider audience.

In the 1930s the valley of Mardale in Cumbria was flooded to create Haweswater and supply water to Manchester. I imagine it was pretty shocking at the time, but 80 years later only a fool would let it spoil their enjoyment of a very pleasant Lakeland walk. It was glorious weather when I strapped on my rucksack at the start of a two day backpacking adventure.

Perhaps I’ve only just noticed, but all of a sudden people have started using the term microadventure for things that used to be called walks. I used to laugh, but after my trip to the Mynydd Du hills last weekend, I’m going to stick my neck out and say that I have now become a microadventurer.

It’s not often you get great weather on Snowdon, but there was a good weather forecast the other day so I decided to head up there. Many people describe the highest peak in England and Wales as hill walking’s equivalent

The most talked about subject in Britain at the moment isn’t the upcoming London Olympics, but the crap weather we’ve been having. First it was the wettest April on record, then it was the wettest May on record. I happened

There are times when you pick the wrong option, and just have to shrug your shoulders with no regret. Last weekend was a bit like that for me. While the rest of the UK was enjoying glorious sunshine, I found

It’s taken a couple of visits, but I’ve arrived at the conclusion that the Cambrian Mountains in Mid Wales are a great area for backpacking and wild camping. They aren’t the most dramatic hills in the United Kingdom, but these

There are some hillwalking routes in the UK that everybody knows about, and in good weather are certain to be jam-packed with walkers, while others very close seem to remain known to connoisseurs only. I remember once being all alone

Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England, from Wasdale

The Ennerdale Horseshoe: a Lake District gem

The first man ever to have got on top

How Mardale came to be flooded and the Lake District drowned in silly names

The Mynydd Du microadventure

Snowdon via the Watkin Path

Backpacking in the Black Mount: a high level route for midges

A walk in the clouds

The Welsh Wilderness: backpacking in the Cambrian Mountains

The Rhinogs: Snowdonia’s best kept secret