Only a short report today because it’s late – I’ve been in the pub (Theakston Black Bull, 3.8%) – with the Brothers and Andy from Richmond. It was the local chippy’s grand reopening tonight – good food but quite amusing seeing some staff going through the learning curve. Today was Patterdale to Shap – so […]

Day 1 short report. Today I: was impressed by the punctuality and ease of using the trains, that ticket will be the best value purchase all trip; enjoyed whistling the Great Escape theme tune (not from you dear!); nearly had a Neil Kinnock moment when trying to photograph my boot dipping ritual; started walking at […]

Well, I’m now all packed and ready to go; this will be my last post before the off (I bet you thought they’d never end!), so I thought I’d add a few final thoughts. If the upside to blogging was providing extra motivation for proper preparation, the main flipside is very definitely the fear of […]

During the last few weeks I’ve been reading a few books written by, or about, Alfred Wainwright – what a great thing the Library reservation service is! I started with two of his novels: the story of his 1938 ‘Pennine Journey’ (written at the time, but published many years later) and ’Memoirs of a Fellwanderer’. They both gripped […]

Since 1996, a new partner and two girls (currently 8 and 11) have come along, plus a fairly serious addiction to scuba diving and boating. Amidst all of this watery stuff, I’ve also dragged the family on several camping trips (of the duvets and kitchen sink variety), and on a fair few weekend trips to various YHAs. We’ve even managed […]