I had spent an entirely unwholesome day at my desk eating pastries and writing about how to be healthy. The irony is not lost on me. That evening, one day after midsummer, was a beautiful one and offered me the perfect opportunity to detox with a walk home. You’d be forgiven for thinking a walk … More A Tale of Two Cities – Walking Home Through London’s Grey and Green
Despite not growing up in the mountains, I did grow up with mountains. If Little Mell Fell in the Lake District was my baptism aged three, then Bruach na Frithe on Skye’s Cuillin a decade later was my confirmation – a coming of age for a boy for whom mountains then became a religion. The … More The Day A Mountain Changed My Life – Trail Competition Winning Entry
I recently joined a Facebook group dedicated to the conditions in the UK’s mountains. This is a uniquely British concept; we like to talk about the weather, but this is talking about the weather with added fervour. The changeable conditions that are part and parcel of our little island make such pages ideal for anyone … More Weather Window Panic – A Good Conditions Smash and Grab
With the notable exception of the Isle of Man, no man is an island. All of my mountain experiences have been shared with a ragtag clan of like-minded individuals who I believe deserve a mention. The Motivator If it had not been for Matt, I would not be here today and instead be smashed to … More My Mountain Family
If two is company and three is a crowd, then what on earth is 18.4 million? This startling figure was the number of visitors to the Lake District National Park in 2016, 450 times the number of residents within the national park’s boundaries. Some 582,000 people visited Snowdon alone last year, and across the pond, … More How Busy Is Too Busy?
As a teenager, despite being a thoroughbred city-dweller, I loved mountains and the British countryside, and always wanted to be walking in the hills or running gaily through fields of wheat like Theresa May. I appreciate (but still don’t fully understand) that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I believe everybody should at least … More A Hillwalking Introduction for a Grumpy Teenager
We pulled into the Cromlech boulders lay-by at about 1:30am. Somewhere to our right, through the mist and rain was the famous Dinas Cromlech walls, featuring some of the finest trad climbing in the UK. To the left was our route for the day, Parsley Fern gully up to Snowdon’s summit. We were disinclined to … More Bad Nights in the Hills – Part 1, Volkswagen Golf, Snowdonia
It was our second day on the Wainwright’s Coast to Coast walk and we were sampling some of England’s dreariest weather (simply known as “weather” in the Lake District). We’d spent the previous night sliding downhill in a pokey two-man tent perched on the flattest ground we could find, and by the time we reached … More Great Nights in the Hills – Part 1, YHA Black Sail
I, like many walkers, admit that my navigation could do with a bit of touching up. Or not so much touching up as gutting and a full renovation. Londoners don’t get lost in London, it’s impossible. If you have a vague sense of direction you can always find your way around in the centre of … More Lost on a Ridge
London Outdoorsman 