Tag Archives: photography

#79 – The Clwydian Hills (Bryniau Clwyd) – Gateway to North Wales

Those of you who have read #73 will remember that Chris and I have recently bought a house in the Clwydian Hills in North Wales, but on our recent trips over there we’ve been ‘flat-packing’  instead of ‘back-packing’  – IKEA … Continue reading

Posted in 5. North Wales | Tagged , , , | 31 Comments

#78 – Witches, hitches and follies

The Aire Gap has been an important travel route over the Pennines since Neolithic times, with the Aire and Ribble Valleys allowing a sheltered crossing of the Pennine Hills that doesn’t rise higher than 170 metres – the nearest crossing … Continue reading

Posted in 4. Northern England | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

#77 – A Witch, a Slippery Peak and a Black Dog!

When I first visited Wales, many years ago, I found the Welsh language to be confusing to say the least, with most of the words looking like a bad game of scrabble.   It started to make more sense when I … Continue reading

Posted in 5. North Wales | Tagged , , , , | 21 Comments

#76 – “Are you playing on the computer AGAIN?!!

A few months back a friend asked me about my outdoor writing, along the lines of “But what do you DO?”  I explained it something like this – “I go for a walk, I write about it, people throw money … Continue reading

Posted in 1. Scotland, 2. Lake District, 3. Yorkshire Dales, 4. Northern England, 5. North Wales, 6. Mid and South Wales, 7. Everywhere Else! | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

#75 – Access to the hills and The Mass Trespass of 1932

 For those who missed it, 24th April was the 80th anniversary of the Mass Trespass on Kinder Scout in 1932.  The Trespass was part of a working class movement in the first half of the 20th Century to secure the … Continue reading

Posted in 4. Northern England | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

#74 – A challenging day? Or a piece of pie!

Sometimes a day in the mountains turns out to be more challenging than expected.  The weather changes unexpectedly or the rock on a scramble turns out to be wet and greasy.  The mist is more of a problem than expected, … Continue reading

Posted in 3. Yorkshire Dales | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

#73 – “I bought a mountain”

Only a madman would buy a Welsh hill-farm on a whim, to become a sheep farmer without having any previous farming experience – that madman was called Thomas Firbank, and his fascinating book “I bought a mountain” was published in … Continue reading

Posted in 5. North Wales | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

#72 – “It looked like a canny way down….”

After twenty five years, I can still remember those words being spoken as if it was yesterday –  “It looked like a canny way down….”   The person speaking was the survivor from a mountain accident that I became involved … Continue reading

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#71 – Buckden Pike (with dry feet!)

After plundering other great blogs for inspiration for walks, I thought it was time to come up with an original idea – less easy when you only have a short walking day and have walked all the obvious local routes, … Continue reading

Posted in 3. Yorkshire Dales | Tagged , , , , , | 19 Comments

#70 – Castles in the Sky (Alport Castles near Ladybower)

After a successful raid last week on Mark Kelly’s blog in search of ideas for a walk, it was time to go plundering again.  I already had a walk in mind, from another Mark.  Mark’s Walking Blog had recently featured … Continue reading

Posted in 4. Northern England | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments