Other Locations
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29.03.21 The Malverns at night. Lockdown restrictions eased and we were allowed to travel for exercise again. Still feeling a little itchy about the situation, we chose to avoid the masses and go out when very few would. The Malverns, although not close to us, is still our closest substantial hills to travel to. |
10.07.20 Yorkshire Three Peaks Back here again on the Yorkshire Three Peaks. This time I was bringing along some friends from work. One of by oldest and best friend's Colin along with 2 great american friends we work with at our fire department. Kyle and Dan's time in the UK was coming to an end so I was itching to get them out on a hike and one that would be a good challenge. |
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14.06.20 Simon's Seat and Trollers Gill My second time doing this walk and I was pretty excited about showing Catherine and Noah what was beyond Bolton Abbey. It seems that 202, although being a bit on the crap side has had it's moments, most of which were in Yorkshire. |
31.05.20 Grassington Circular The Lockdown finally eased and we were allowed to travel again for our exercise. I chose the Grassington area because judging by online car parking levels, this area seemed quieter. We set off for an early start and arrived in Grassington for 9am. When we arrived it was very quiet. We walked through the pretty streets past all of the closed businesses and out into the surrounding fields. |
21.03.20 Sutton Bank This was pretty much the start of strange times across the globe and our last venture out for several months due to the Covid19 Lockdown. With safety in mind we met up with friends, Andrew and Michelle. No hugs or handshakes and gloved up for any negotiating of gates, we set off from the Sutton Bank National Park Center. This walk was planned out to take in the superb views from Sutton Bank but also, a lowland walk through the pleasant fields below to Gormire Lake. |
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04.09.19 Matterhorn Base Camp - Switzerland Earlier on this trip we ticked the Eiger off our bucket list. Now we were about to visit the Matterhorn too!! The day before was spent exploring the amazing mountain town of Zermatt. I definitely drank too much beer which meant spending too much too. It's EXPENSIVE! That evening we walked up to a great viewpoint of the town which I had found on google maps. It was amazing to see the sun setting on the Matterhorn in the distance. It was a great teaser for the hike the following morning. |
02.09.19 Gorges de la Jogne- Switzerland Our plan for this day was to hike the Gastlosen. It's an amazing mountain range in the cheese region of Switzerland. Unfortunately we woke that morning to a drear foggy day. We wouldn't have seen a thing. So with that plan squashed out day changed dramatically. The morning was spent in a swiss chocolate factory near Gruyeres. Yes the cheese! A walk around the medieval town, a visit to a cool bar designed by the designer of the Alien films and then a hike through a stunning gorge. |
30.08.19 The Eiger Trail - Switzerland I'm a mountain geek and I'm also a big fan of the book 'The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer. so whilst in Switzerland, walking the Eiger Trail was a must do. We were staying just outside of Lauterbrunnen so we took the train up to Kleine Scheidegg. The trail starts just a short walk beyond the hotel and traverses the foot of the Eiger. The most common route is to follow the path down to Alpiglen and get the train back, but we chose instead to continue the traverse and make our way down to Grindelwald. |
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19.08.19 Mount Etna - Sicily Work sent me to Sicily for a course and seeing as it was a location to get excited about, Catherine came too. Mount Etna was only an hour drive away so it was a definite excursion. I booked the guided trip online and we drove up the southern slope of the volcano to 1900m. This is the main tourist point where the majority of the tours go from. It was then a case of meeting the group, taking a cable car to 2500m and then a 4x4 bus to the start of our hike.
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13.07.19 The Mullerthal Trail - Route 2 I cant say too much about this hike as I really don't know much about the area or the names of the places we passed through. What I can say though, is that it is absolutely one of the best hikes I have done. The Mullerthal Trail in Luxembourg consists of 112km of trail split into three very different large hikes. We chose Route 2 from Echternach which promised spectacular rock formations. |
29.06.19 High Cup Nick It doesn't happen often, but today I let someone take me on a hike. This meant that I didn't have to research anything, didn't have to find where to park the car, didn't have to load up my gps. It was great! Not only that, but it was a really cool hike that I've been wanting to do for a long time. Thanks to our friends Andrew and Michelle for taking us to High Cup Nick. |
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23.03.19 St Bees to Whitehaven Seeing as we were spending the night at St Bees, I decided to investigate coastal walks. Turned out that St Bees to Whitehaven is a bit of a special stretch of coastline. The path hugs tight to the cliffs making it an exciting route and there is lot to see along the way. I was really fascinated by the information boards that described the mining achievements near Whitehaven. It's incredible to think that back in the 1700s we were digging so far out beneath the sea from the coastline. Great walk! |
20.01.19 Crummack Dale It's great finding new places to explore and here is one almost completely new to me. I've done the nearby yorkshire three peaks but this felt like something very different with a load of limestone pavement to play on too. Another great thing about this route was the many points of interest. I was so impressed with this walk! I'll definitely do it again!! |
06.10.18 Beyond Settle First Yorkshire Walk of the year and we visited an area I have not been to before. The Walk started from the pretty town of Settle following the River Ribble north to Stainforth. It was relatively flat and occasionally boggy along the way but we passed some impressive waterfalls, the most impressive being Stainforth Force. After a cheeky pint at the Craven Heifer our route finally started to climb. We stopped to explore Catrigg Force. It's a great feature but you have to risk wet feet if you want to get a good look at it. We then pushed on ascending higher and we greeted by some great views across to the Yorkshire Three Peaks. We explored Jubilee Cave and Victoria Cave but didn't want to risk going in too far. Getting trapped in a cave isn't high on my bucket list! |
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01.01.18 Caer Caradoc A few weeks ago we ventured into Shropshire, somewhere I know little about. We climbed Wrekin which is located right next to the M4, a pretty straight-forward drive from home. From Wrekin we could see some peaks over to the west which looked interesting. It turned out one of them was Caer Caradoc. I little bit of research online and we had a new route to aim our sights on. |
26.11.17 The Wrekin Today, Shropshire was the only part of the country that was forecast to be dry. It's an area I haven't really seen much of so, I was pretty keen to explore more. On many of my drives through Shrophire on the M54, I've looked up at Wrekin with curiosity. It's pretty much the first decent sized hill you see when heading west beyond Birmingham. |
07.10.17 The Malvern Hills Itching for a hike today but it seemed to be raining throughout the country. Well, everywhere except here. We did the same route as before but this time after completing the ridge, we walked back along the road to Great Malvern. Forntunately it stayed dry but it was pretty blowy up on North Hill. |
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02.09.17 Kjeragbolten (Norway) This is the day we had been quietly nervous about. You will have seen Kjeragbolten all over the internet in recent years, a boulder wedged into a cliff side due to the forces of nature, a long long time ago. This route is pretty demanding. In terms of distance, it's not that far but boy it is steep! |
31.08.17 Priekestolen (Norway) It seems the attraction most advertised in Norway is Priekestolen (Pulpit Rock). That makes sense, Tour operators run out of Stavanger throughout the year, it's not too demanding and the views are epic. Apart from being on the fjords, this could be the best way to take in their incredible beauty. After our slog the previous day to Trolltunga, this was a much welcomed short hike. |
30.08.17 Trolltunga (Norway) Heading to our accommodation and before we even get our first hike in, we were blown away by the views from the road, we were compelled to pull over and take pictures of the towering cliffs to the left and right, the views looking ahead to the seemingly endless Fjord beyond and the waterfalls at the side of the road appeared around every bend. |
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20.08.17 Yorkshire Three Peaks Just as it was getting bright enough to see, Matt and I set off from the café in Ribblesdale. Our clocking in time was 05:50.
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02.04.17 Malham A return trip to Malham. I stuck to the exact same route as last time I visited... It's just perfect! |
18.02.17 Stipperstones I hadn't seen much of Shropshire before so I was pretty excited to find this route. I'd not even heard of Stipperstones either so I searched up on youtube and saw some great videos of this interesting ridge. When we first arrived we sat around in the car hoping the fog would shift. It didn't look like it was going to though so we headed off with our fingers crossed that we would eventually be able to see something today. |
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10.08.16 Hole of Horcum A short early morning walk visiting the Hole of Horcum. Initially not quite the dramatic void I had imagined and it wasn't until I was down in it that I really appreciated it's charm. My route initially took me onto moorland around the west side of the hole. The wide track made this section quick walking which is good as it was pretty featureless. That's moors for you though but I must say I like that about them. Things got a lot more interesting though when entering the hole.
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08.08.16 A Walk to Whitby OK So I don't have a great deal to say about this walk. I downloaded the gpx file from another site, loaded it onto my GPS and we just went for it. The idea it seems was to create a walk that leads to Whitby with a short coastal section. I didn't really enjoy it that much to be honest. There was a large section that went though the edge of a housing estate, walking along a very busy road and then around the back of a business park that I didn't really like. The second half (coastal part) was better. I'm not knocking Whitby though as it's probably one of the most gorgeous seaside towns I have visited.
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07.08.16 Cold Moor and Hasty Bank I found this route online and as there weren't many photos to look at I really wasn't sure what to expect. The reason I chose this route was because there was one thing I knew I would get and that is something it seems the North Yorkshire Moors seems to lack... Rock!
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06.08.16 Roseberry Topping A family trip to the North Yorkshire Moors and I finally got to visit Roseberry Topping. This entire area is completely new to me so I was really excited about being somewhere new. Today's walk was recommended to us by my old Everest Trek friends, Andrew and Michelle. They joined us on the walk too.
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29.07.16 Cadair Berwyn and surrounding area Back yet again to the Berwyn Range. It must be good as I've been here enough times now. It's got a huge waterfall, great peak to climb, a mountain tarn and some really great scenery. It's also usually a very quiet area so what more could you ask for? Slightly different today as we chose to explore a little bit further around the area. Unfortunately I don't really know anywhere else in this area to walk so I was determined to find yet more reasons to come here.
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21.07.15 Fimmvörðuháls Pass (Iceland) Here it is, the last day of trekking, an extension beyond the Laugavegur on to the Fimmvörðuháls Pass. Everyone since 2010 has heard of Eyjafjallajokull when it erupted and grounded air traffic across Europe. There is great footage of the eruption on youtube. So it was pretty intense to think that we would be passing beside it today and also passing between two glaciers. We also knew that it was going to be a long day.
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18 - 20.07.15 Laugavegur Trail (Iceland) The day of the Laugavegur had finally arrived. I leant about this trail several years ago after my previous visit to Iceland. Photos I had seen online revealed an alien landscape packed with dramatic peaks, glaciers and lava flows. I knew that if it was even half as good as yesterday's climb up Blahnukur then we wouldn't be disappointed. |
17.07.15 Blahnukur (Iceland) After a late night arrival to Reykjavik we woke early and set off on the bus to landmannalaugar. 4 hours of humps, bumps and river crossings later and we arrived in glorious sunshine. first job was to set up the tent and it wasn't easy. The camp ground is very rocky and this made driving in tent pegs particularly difficult. fortunately though the site wardens have boxes of large rocks laid out around the site to help secure the tents. |
18.04.15 Simon's Seat and Trollers Gill Finding somewhere to walk where I haven't been is starting to get difficult unless I go further a field. Recently friends of mine told me about Simon's Seat in the Yorkshire Dales and how great it's views are. I looked around online and came across a route on www.walkingenglishman.com . Me and Alan are doing some serious walking in Iceland later this year so I wanted a full day's walk and fortunately there is plenty of natural features to explore in this area. It's also a very varied walk which is always good! |
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02.04.13 Cadair Berwyn (The Berwyn Range) Driving along on the A14 with Mark, our initial plan was to visit the Peak District. We both fancied something a little higher though and considered the Berwyns instead. From where we live it's roughly the same distance as the High Peak region so our decision was made. It's always nice to take someone to a location they haven't visited before. This route offered something new for Mark, plus the immediate 'Wow Factor' of Pistyll Rhaeadr falls.
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29.06.12 Isle of Rum Adventure (Scotland) After an exhausting 10 hour drive to Mallaig Harbor!! We boarded the ferry with 4 days worth of food and a loose itinery. Seeing Rum across the Scottish waters was exciting. The sun was beaming down on the Cuillin and it was surprisingly warm on deck. We docked at the Loch Scresort terminal in about 1 Hr 20 Min's and walked to the campsite. A very small campsite but picturesque overlooking the loch. We pitched the tent and left enough money for our stay in the Honesty Box. Our adventure began here. |
25.05.12 The Yorkshire 3 Peaks The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge has been going since 1887 when J.R Wynne-Edwards and D.R. Smith summited Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in a time of 10 hours. There is no official start point and you can chose the order of summits and the route you do it. Most people start in the village of Horton in Ribblesdale. The Pen-Y-Ghent Cafe in the village offers a clocking in and out system via an antique clock card machine which we intended to take advantage of. |
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25.11.11 The Malvern Hills (West Midlands, England) A day off work and an itch to scratch. I didn't fancy traveling for long on the roads on a friday but where were the closest substantial hills? From my house The Malverns are only a 2 hour drive. Yes! 2 hours is close for me :( We parked up in Great Malvern close to the Clock Tower and zigzagged our way up to the top of North Hill. From here it was clear to navigate our way by following the line of summits, Worcestershire Beacon, Summer Hill, Perseverance Hill, Jubilee Hill, Pinnacle Hill, Black Hill, Herefordshire Beacon, Millennium Hill and down Hangman's Hill. At the bottom of the hill is an Old Priory (check your map) and from the roadside here, we intended on getting the bus back to Great Malvern. These times aren't too frequent and we just missed the bus. We actually saw it!! |
07.09.11 Goat Fell (Isle of Arran) A trip to the Isle of Arran isn't complete without completing the slog up Goat Fell. Fortunately there was a small good weather window where we managed to escape the comfortable nearby hotel resort and headed out for much needed mountain walking. Fortunately it held off. We set off from Brodick and made our way up through Cnocan Wood to the moorland plateau before the finial ascent of the Goat Fell ridge to the summit. We took a good battering from the wind at times but made it back down relatively dry. Goat Fell is a stunning looking mountain and certainly the most memorable image of Arran. |
05-09.09.11 Isle of Arran (Scotland) 4 days on miniature Scotland. Strange stones, waterfalls, beaches, mountains and rain ...and some more rain. My friend Dave, at work has been going on about Arran for years. He's been telling me how beautiful and diverse it is and how it is like a miniature Scotland. A walking trip in the Highlands was long long overdue so I figured it would be nice to see what he had been harping on about. I can now say that the island didn't disappoint...but the weather did! |
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01.07.11 St Govan's to Elegug Rocks (South Pembrokeshire) During a family break in Pembrokeshire me and Noah managed to sneak out one evening for a little adventure. I'd recently seen some pictures of the sea stacks and cliffs in this area and i felt the need for a walk that was a little different than my usual trips. It certainly was the flattest! This walk is actually on an MOD firing range. You must contact 01646 662367 for the days firing schedule as the roads may be closed due to military training. The roads opened at 4:30pm so we set off a little later and parked at St Govan's Head. First stop was St Govan's Chapel, a 14th century chapel built into a sea cliff. We then headed east either following the cliff edge or the path towards Elegug Stacks. During our journey we came across some really impressive bays, blow holes, sea stacks and arches. Apart from a couple of climbers and cyclists it seemed very remote and wild. It was probably the nicest evening so far this year even though Noah ended up on my shoulders for the return journey.
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07.04.11 Cadair Berwyn (The Berwyn Range) A friend of mine from work decided to come along on a mid week amble to the Berwyn Range. I think I may have to do some more investigating into what other walks are in this area but today decided to revisit a route I did back in 2009.( If you know any other walks, please share!) Great thing about this route is it really packs a punch from the start point at Pistyll Rhaeadr. Not only is this incredible waterfall impressive from the bottom but Andy soon realised it was just as fantastic from the top as well. He was full of ideas which involves us wild camping on the top sometime. I might just have to take him up on it. From here we chose a steep ascent up Trum Felen to the summit of Moel Sych and stopped for a coffee break on the edge of Craig y Llyn. After a long break molded into the soft peaty cliff edge we continued on to the summit of Cadair Berwyn and then retraced our steps and descended down to the side of Moel yr Ewig to the waters of Llyn Lluncaws. After a bit of a boggy trudge we got onto the path which lead us through the valley following Nant y Llyn and back to Pistyll Rhaeadr. Just like last time we rarely saw anyone :)
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18.09.10 Malham Cove and beyond (Yorkshire Dales) I've been wanting to visit Malham Cove for some time now so a week ago I decided that this would be a great hike for Noah's age group. There is plenty of features to capture their imagination and a lot of fun to be had on the limestone.This was my first trip to the Yorkshire Dales and after the day I have had, I will be returning soon. As we walked I found myself imagining how this landscape once looked due to the constant reminders by the glacial erosion which is evident in many forms. We were walking through 100m deep ravines, scaling rock walls up a cascading beck, walking across Limestone Pavements and visiting the location of a huge ancient waterfall. Oh! not forgetting the highest lake in England and munching on my finest flapjack creation yet, White Chocolate and Sultana!
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04.07.10 Ystradfellte Waterfall Walk (Brecon Beacons National Park) Waking up in the tent at Priory Mill Farm campsite in Brecon (brilliant by the way) the weather was mild and warm. This all changed in the car journey over to the part of the national park called Waterfall Country. By the start of our walk from Pen-y-Porth it was raining. The walk involved following the Afon Mellte river to four waterfalls. The trail branches off giving you a few different options but we stuck to the one that would keep us close to the river. This trail consisted of sections of high narrow paths with sheer drops down to the river below. Considering it was raining we had to be extra careful not to slip or trip on the exposed tree roots that covered the floor on sections of our journey. The waterfalls were stunning and the valley had a very amazonian feel to it. Definitely somewhere i would like to take Noah in the future. We returned following the path by the farm at Hendre-Bolon. If you go there you will notice the well maintained path that looks like a long green carpet. I would have photographed it but my camera was hiding from the rain in my my pack. |
03.07.10 A Beacons Horseshoe (Brecon Beacons National Park) Parked up approx 1km from the Filter House we set off into the unknown. This was our first trip to The Brecons. We followed the path to the right of the Neuadd Reservoir up onto Cribyn for a brief rest and admired the view over to Fan-y-Big. We then took a steep descent and then back up just as steeply onto Pen-y-Fan (highest peak in southern Wales) Here is where i gave Natalie what I had promised her. No, not an engagement ring!, but a chocolate flapjack. This route has some very good paths that are gradual and not at all bumpy. Unfortunately there was a brief tarmaced section that i wasn't too keen on. After another breather on Pen-y-Fan, we then crossed over for a quick visit of Corn Du and made our return via Craig Gwaun Taf, Graig Fan Ddu and down the cairn marked scree slope to the Filter House. |
12.03.10 Everest Base Camp Trek Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Kathmandu A slightly different format for these photos. I'm not all that knowledgeable of this area so i wont be able to list all of the peaks. Instead of going through the huge task of detailing each day, i'm just going to load up the photos and I may interject the occasional detailing for some of them. Completing the trek was definitely one of my biggest dreams coming true. Our trip started and ended with some time to explore Kathmandu and 12 days of trekking through Sagamartha National Park in the Himalayas. |
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06.03.09 Cadair Berwyn (The Berwyn Range) Today I got up at 5am and drove to the Berwyn Range in North Wales. I hadn't been here before and didn't know what to expect. I parked near the tea shop at the incredible Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall. I then followed the route that took me up to the top of the waterfall. Following the river I took a sharp right off the path and took the long steep ascent to the summit of Moel Sych. I then followed the ridge to the summit and trig point of Cadair Berwyn. After a brief rest I took the ridge down to Llyn Lluncaws tarn. Then it was just a case of following the path down the valley back to the car at Pistyll Rhaeadr. The great thing about today was that I didn't see a soul for four hours and the forecasted rain didn't reach me. |
Oct 2008 South Iceland
Five days in Iceland with Paul, Lee and Geordie. Waterfalls, national parks, glaciers, geysers, volcanoes, northern lights but unfortunately no Elves. Considering it was October, we fluked it with the weather. Hiking season in Iceland is usually June to September.
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11.07.08 Glen Nevis Range (Scotland) By Geordie Starting at Achriabhach car park in an anti clockwise direction i reached the summits of Mullach Coirean, Stob Ban, Am Bodack, Sgurr An Lubhair and Sgurr A Mhaim. Because Matty wasn't there i ate healthy snacks ie Bananas. The walk took 10 hours and the weather was mostly good with some heavy drizzle later in the day. |
