A trip to Scotland in early February can be risky in terms of decent weather for walking and that was the case when I stayed near Dalwhinnie for a walking weekend with my mates. Plans had been made based on one of the days being a hike (in my case) or a climb (for most of the others) up and around Creag Meagaidh. Which I was looking forward to. It’s a Munro I haven’t been on before but some research on blogs and YouTube (not least of which is a great bit of film from Muriel Grey from a few years back on ‘The Munro Show‘.) suggested that it would be a great walk. Alas, high winds and snow / sle ..read more

I had a Misty Mam Tor Hop, with the hound as part of my occasional ‘dad and lad’ van trips.  This was 10 miles ish of a mooch from Edale, up and along Rushup Edge and then onto a busy Mam Tor and along the ridge before descending back to Edale and into the Old Nags Head to dry out. And eat. And have a beer or two. I enjoy these occasional campervan mini adventures with Jasper, he’s a great walking and van buddy. He’s also thankfully great in the pub and loves being under the table for a post-walk snooze (and catching the odd stray chip of course). We settled back in the van about 9pm, onl ..read more

After a lockdown hiatus, the Marsden Walking Festival is back. This time we (Marsden Walkers are Welcome) are focusing on one jam-packed day (9th September) rather than a weekend but (falls into hack PR language) what a day it promises to be.. There is a great mix of guided walks, talks, stalls / outdoors and makers fair, a book stall, an evening film, food and drink. A range of shorter and longer guided walks will run across the day, some centred on the village and others heading out onto the moors, the walks take in a mix of elevation, woodland and canalside routes. Hopefully something ..read more

I had a long weekend away with mates, staying in Aviemore. The trip (as usual) saw various combinations of us walking Munros and ridges of differing difficulty and conditions. My ‘main walk’ was up a snowy Cairn Gorm with friend Roger, which was slow going for me with an ongoing painful Achilles tendon issue. I had some very effective physio 3 years or so ago but I have damaged it again.. too fond of walking off-piste on Marsden Moor I think. Roger at Cairn Gorm summit and Automatic Weather StationCairn Gorm summit as the snow became heavierHeading back down out of the snow Ankle hobble aside ..read more

Over the last couple of years, I have been heading off in the campervan when I can, for a weekend of walking with the hound. Anita fully endorses these trips, she gets a break from hyper hound and husband, to then have a relaxed weekend (usually focused on her mid-century vintage business on Etsy). For one such recent jaunt away, I had planned to walk from the campsite I’d booked into at Dalesbridge, along to Clapham and then up to Ingleborough for around a 10-mile circular. I have visited the summit of Ingleborough three times now on Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge Days but those stops had been r ..read more

Friend Jon celebrated his 50th by hiring Ennerdale YHA for a sociable, outdoorsy weekend with mates from different times and places in his life. I was part of the Marsden contingent. Or rather, I was part of Marsden contingent One: Marsden Peak Bog Runners (I’m one of 2 exceptions who don’t run) / Friday night pub group. Marsden contingent Two being Jon’s mates in his ‘other’ running group, Marsden Racers. It was like Jets v Sharks in lycra, but with a weekend truce and lots of ale. It was a great weekend, communal cooking, lots of beer, lots of chats and a big walk on Saturday. I had previous ..read more

I joined the National Trust Marsden Moor ‘seasonal saunter’ winter walk and Jasper came along to keep an eye on my mince pie consumption (he did a poor job, it was high). The circular walk was around 7 miles, out of the village from the National Trust office and up towards Shooters Nab before heading along the ‘top catch’ path up the Wessenden Valley. And then dropping down to the lower path and back to Marsden past Wessenden, Blakley and Butterley reservoirs. The weather couldn’t have been better. Or the views. I’m lucky to have this on my doorstep. Cheers @ian_ladbrooke109 , April, Kare ..read more

I headed to Castleton and the Great Ridge for a bank holiday hike and campervan stopover with Jasper hound. As I was setting up camp I wondered if I’d chosen the right spot, as Jasper hound was focused on the munching going on over the wall and wasn’t for budging when I tried to put up the windbreak where he stood. Was this to be a fixation that Would last all weekend? (a collie, get fixated on something? Never). The munching and follow-up coughing (wierdly like a 40-a-day smoker) emanated from one of the sheep in the field behind the campervan, below Woodseats Farm who are the owners of the c ..read more

I had ‘dad and lad’ (hound) weekend in the Lakes (staying in Glenridding) along with some of my mates (and their assorted dogs). It was a fairly impromptu jaunt after a call out from friend Ali to see if anyone fancied a stay in the Lakes. Anita had been incapacitated for a week or more at that point, with a bust knee / tendons (thankfully now much improved) and I figured (a) I would love to go and (b) it would give Anita a break from hound and me when she was trying to rest and elevate her leg. The weekend included (for me and Jasper) a hike up to Grisedale Tarn on Saturday, which was a 12 mi ..read more

I felt quite the old man as I trudged up the final steep stepped approach from the shore of atmospheric Goats Water to the snowy summit of Coniston Old Man. Jasper on the path that winds along the rocky shore of Goats Water before heading steeply up to the Old Man (hidden by clouds!). This was the longest and highest hike I’ve had for a while and the longest and highest ever for Jasper; totalling 8.7 miles of walking and summiting at 2,632 feet / 802.42 m. Despite the distance and the uphill climb, I still had to apply the brakes to him on the way down, keen as he was to roundup breakaway memb ..read more