Walks throughout Europe that can be completed in a day. Click on the walk to read the post or use the interactive map to locate the route.
I forget that it’s market day and we’re stuck in traffic crawling through the ancient walled town of Alcudia on ...
My first visit to Chamonix was in 1993 when I walked there from the shores of Lake Geneva doing a section ...
The ‘Bisses’ of the Valais region of Switzerland are long irrigation channels, many of them hundreds of years old, built ...
MacGillycuddy's Reeks may sound like a character out of a Roald Dahl book but is in fact an extensive mountain ...
I am back for a second attempt at walking up Puig del Vilar. My first, halfhearted and unprepared effort was ...
The walk over the Coll de Síller begins in the attractive tourist resort of Port de Pollença with its bars, ...
The Formentor peninsula is the rocky, volcanic spit of land that sticks out into the blue Mediterranean on the north ...
Of all the walks around Pollenca, the walk up Puig de Santuiri is perhaps not the most exciting one to ...
La Mola looks down onto the pretty seaside town of Cala sant Vicenc in the far north east of the ...
If you are a walker staying in the Pollenca area of Mallorca, the pretty walk along the valley de Boquer ...
We’ve been visiting Mallorca for decades. In the early days it was Santa Ponca in the South West but over ...
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It’s my second day parked up in a nice little spot on the Wrynose Pass. Last night it got down to -1°c in the van and it’s freezing as I walk up the road to the three shire stone, grateful for the steepness to warm me up. Yesterday I turned left and headed to Great Carrs, today I turn right towards Pike O’Blisco and Cold Pike. It’s another crisp and clear day in Lakeland with not a cloud to be seen in the cornflower blue sky.
Continue reading “Pike O’Blisco and Cold Pike from Wrynose Pass”
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I’ve had a summer away from Lakeland doing other things but as I drink my morning coffee a thousand feet up the Wrynose Pass watching the sun rise over Wetherlam it’s like meeting up with an old friend again. Shared experiences and years of familiarity mean the relationship is comfortably secure and time and distance apart is quickly forgotten. Every corner tells a story, and my particular memory here is of pushing an old mark three Cortina up an icy Wrynose Pass just after Christmas sometime in the mid eighties on our way to Eskdale YHA.
Continue reading “Great Carrs, Swirl How and Grey Friar from Wrynose Pass”
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In March 1988 Andy and I were enjoying a few days walking in a cold and frosty Lakeland. Having walked up Grains Gill from Seathwaite we were taking a break when we noticed two red clad walkers who were motoring up the path at some pace behind us. “They’re not hanging around,” remarked Andy and as the two speedy walkers drew level we recognised one of them to be non other than Sir Chris Bonington, one of Britain’s best known and celebrated mountaineers. We chatted for a few minutes before Sir Chris went off with his companion to climb Central Gully on Great End which was nicely compacted with frozen snow and Andy and I went off to climb England’s highest mountain for the first time. I’ve walked past that spot in Grains Gill many times since and will do so again today, in the heat of an English summer as I walk up Allen Crags and Seathwaite Fell. Each time I pass by I remember with fondness the day I met a mountaineering legend.
Continue reading “Allen Crags and Seathwaite Fell from Seathwaite”
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It’s always nice to start a walk straight from the campsite and Chapel House Farm has the added benefit that I can have breakfast looking up at my first hill of the day, Rosthwaite Fell. Wainwright dedicates his book on the Southern Fells, the book I’m currently walking through to “The Sheep of Lakeland, the hardiest of all fellwalkers”. In what has been a sustained spell of dry weather these hardy Herdwicks are suffering a little. Richard, the farmer and campsite owner tells me the dry weather has not been good for his flock of a thousand Herdwicks who are suffering from the lack of water and parasitic infestations growing in their wool. For his livelihood and the sheep’s well-being I hope Lakeland has some rain soon, maybe just not today.
Continue reading “Rosthwaite Fell and Glaramara from Rosthwaite”
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Before starting my book by book journey through Wainwright’s iconic 214 I had climbed many of them before, one hundred and one of them to be precise. Coniston Old Man was one of those and my walking journal tells me I climbed it on Friday 14th August 1987 with a couple of other guys and the weather was clear. To be honest I don’t remember much about that walk but the 80’s and early 90’s were years when long social evenings in the pub were as much a part of any visit to the Lakes as the walking itself so that may account for my somewhat hazy memory.
Continue reading “Three Wainwrights from Coniston Village”
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Tilberthwaite car park is almost full when I arrive, late in the afternoon on what has been a lovely warm and sunny Lakeland day. There are a dozen or so cars and three or four vans that I figure will be keeping me company overnight. By 8pm however everyone has departed and I have the place to myself. Dusk turns slowly into the ink black night of the countryside, far away from neon, where stars can shine bright. I enjoy a quiet evening followed by the sleep of the saved and the thankful with only the owls and the comforting sound of the newly born Yewdale Beck to disturb the silence.
Continue reading “A walk up Wetherlam from Tilberthwaite”
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The day is turning into a very fine one for walking as I park in the very same spot I occupied two months ago. The sky is cloudless and eggshell blue, the sun is beaming but it’s April and the temperature is still pleasant and there is not so much as a breath of wind to rustle the leafs. Busyness has been ruling out any visits north but the diary and the weather have both become clear and my season opener is to be a not too taxing leg stretch up Holme Fell.
Continue reading “A walk up Holme Fell”
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The unpredictable weather of January and trying to sync available time with rare windows of opportunity proved fruitless so it was the beginning of February before I headed up the M6. Knowing that commitments would be ruling out the rest of the month into March I was hoping, despite the mixed forecast, for a couple of cloud free days to keep some forward momentum on Book Four.
Continue reading “A walk around Tarn Hows taking in Black Fell”
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Walks throughout the UK that can be completed in a day. Click on the walk to read the post or use the interactive map to locate route.
A visit to the far north west of Scotland is an invitation to slow yourself down and reset to a ...
The car park for the Falls of Kirkaig is empty when we arrive with two steak pie and mashed potato ...
What they undertook to do they brought to pass; All things hang like a drop of dew Upon a blade ...
The Isle of Arran is often referred to as ‘Scotland in Miniature’ because the north of the island is mountainous ...
‘Everywhere peace, everywhere serenity, and a marvelous freedom from the tumult of the world.’ Saint Aelred Rievaulx Abbey sits on ...
I first read about Sandwood Bay in 1982 in that wonderful series of hardback ‘Classic Walks’ books written by Ken ...
“This oak tree and me, we're made of the same stuff.” Carl Sagan There has been a great outpouring of ...
Ogwen is a familiar and famous place to hillwalkers in Snowdonia. Surrounded on all sides by the high peaks of ...
It’s early but the summer sun has already lifted above the hills as I pull into a little lay by ...
It's a clear fresh Autumn morning as I pull into the top car park at the end of the Aber ...
Autumn in the Lake District can often be one of the most sublime times of the year, truly a "Season ...
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My walk up Lingmoor Fell starts conveniently at the National Trust campsite at the head of Great Langdale. I don’t even have to move the van and take full advantage by having a lazy breakfast. This may be my first walk of book four but it certainly won’t be my last from this location as Great Langdale is the launch pad for some of the big ones and a place I will get to know well over the coming months.
Continue reading “Lingmoor Fell from Great Langdale”
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What they undertook to do they brought to pass;
All things hang like a drop of dew Upon a blade of grass
William Butler Yeats
Ambitions and goals are important things in life. They give you purpose and hope. They keep you focused, moving forward and concentrating on the future instead of dwelling on the past or being indolent in the present. I have a fair number of goals, targets and projects or more poetically, dreams, hopes and aspirations. There are things I want to see and experience, walks I want to complete and places I want to visit before I go off to rest with my ancestors. And one long standing project is to stand on top of the highest points in the five nations that make up the British Isles, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Continue reading “A Walk Up Slieve Donard”
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All the hills of Wainwrights Book Three The Central Fells listed in height order with the eleven walks that took me over them and interactive map showing hill location and route. Click on the hill or the walk to read the post. Scroll down to use the interactive map.
| 1. High Raise 762m 2,500ft |
8. Loft Crag 680m 2,231ft |
15. Calf Crag 537m 1,762ft |
22. Grange Fell 415m 1,362ft |
| 2. Sergeant Man 736m 2,415ft |
9. High Seat 608m 1,995ft |
16. High Tove 515m 1,690ft |
23. Helm Crag 405m 1,329ft |
| 3. Harrison Stickle 736m 2,415ft |
10. Bleaberry Fell 590m 1,936ft |
17. Eagle Crag 525m 1,722ft |
24. Silver How 395m 1,296ft |
| 4. Ullscarf 726m 2,382ft |
11. Sergeant’s Crag 571m 1,873ft |
18. Armboth Fell 479m 1,572ft |
25. Walla Crag 376m 1,234ft |
| 5. Thunacar Knott 723m 2,372ft |
12. Steel Fell 553m 1,814ft |
19. Raven Crag 461m 1,512ft |
26. High Rigg 357m 1,171ft |
| 6. Pike of Stickle 709m 2,326ft |
13. Tarn Crag 550m 1,804ft |
20. Great Crag 450m 1,476ft |
27. Loughrigg Fell 335m 1,099ft |
| 7. Pavey Ark 700m 2,297ft |
14. Blea Rigg 541m 1,775ft |
21. Gibson Knott 420m 1,378ft |
|
It's the second day of a settled weather pattern that has brought crisp, calm and ...
Commitments and the never ending rain which makes planning clear summit days difficult have kept ...
From the campsite I can see a fair chunk of today's walk from the van ...
I have some personal rules which guide my journey through the Wainwright’s (here) one of ...
I’ve had company over the last couple of days. A Robin arrives regularly at the ...
Over the last few years I have become familiar with every twist and turn of ...
It’s summer, or at least that brief moment in time that passes for summer these ...
It’s the second time I’ve stopped at Chapel House Farm campsite in the last few ...
My last visit to Ullscarf was thwarted when the clouds which had been hovering above ...
Just as autumn seemed to have arrived, summer sunshine and warmth has returned for one ...
'If I should bow my head let it be to a high mountain' Maori Proverb ...
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‘If I should bow my head let it be to a high mountain’ Maori Proverb
I’m back in Great Langdale just a couple of weeks after my previous visit when I was fortunate to walk the Langdale Pikes in glorious weather. The weather isn’t so good today but it’s dry and the tops are clear which is what matters. I’m heading for a group of hills that form an outer circle around the rather compact Pikes, Blea Rigg, Sergeant Man, High Raise and Thunacar Knott. And in visiting these, I’ll also bring to a conclusion my journey through Wainwright’s Book Three, The Central Fells.
Continue reading “An Outer Langdale Round”
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All the hills of Wainwrights Book Two The Far Eastern Fells listed in height order with the sixteen walks that took me over them and interactive map showing hill location and route. Click on the hill or the walk to read the post. Scroll down to use the interactive map.
| 1. High Street 828m 2,717ft |
10. The Knott 739m 2,425ft |
19. Tarn Crag 664m 2,178ft |
28. Arthur’s Pike 533m 1,749ft |
| 2. High Raise 802m 2,631ft |
11. Kentmere Pike 730m 2,395ft |
20. Place Fell 657m 2,156ft |
29. Bonscale Pike 524m 1,719ft |
| 3. Rampsgill Head 792m 2,598ft |
12. Froswick 720m 2,362ft |
21. Selside Pike 655m 2,149ft |
30. Sallows 516m 1,693ft |
| 4. Thornthwaite Crag 784m 2,572ft |
13. Branstree 713m 2,339ft |
22. Grey Crag 638m 2,093ft |
31. Beda Fell 509m 1,670ft |
| 5. Kidsty Pike 780m 2,559ft |
14. Yoke 706m 2,316ft |
23. Hartsop Dodd 618m 2,028ft |
32. Wansfell 488m 1,601ft |
| 6. Harter Fell 778m 2,552ft |
15. Gray Crag 699m 2,293ft |
24. Shipman Knotts 587m 1,926ft |
33. Sour Howes 483m 1,585ft |
| 7. Caudale Moor 763m 2,503ft |
16. Rest Dodd 696m 2,283ft |
25. The Nab 576m 1,890ft |
34. Steel Knotts 432m 1,417ft |
| 8. Mardale Ill Bell 760m 2,493ft |
17. Loadpot Hill 671m 2,201ft |
26. Angletarn Pikes 567m 1,860ft |
35. Hallin Fell 388m 1,273ft |
| 9. Ill Bell 757m 2,484ft |
18. Wether Hill 670 m 2,198ft |
27. Brock Crags 561m 1,841ft |
36. Troutbeck Tongue 364m 1,194ft |
Endings and Beginnings are, as Mufasa might say all part of the great circle of ...
The low morning sun is glistening off the still waters of Haweswater and the bright ...
I arrive at the little hamlet of Sadgill at the far end of Longsleddale just ...
It’s the second day of my stay in the little hamlet of Sadgill and I ...
I knew that I had to get away before Christmas otherwise the festive season with ...
When I leave my warm sleeping bag and look at the thermometer it tells me ...
My wife and I have very different interests and hobbies. She is a creative, an ...
It’s a promising morning, the sun is shining and blue sky is all around. As ...
From the car park at Hartsop the lush green tree peppered slopes of Brock Crags, ...
The morning sunlight is casting soft shadows over the quiet valley of Martindale as I ...
Putting my boots on in the car park of the Brotherswater Inn, my eyes are ...
It’s a dank grey day in Lakeland with a cloud filled leaden sky hovering worryingly ...
Place Fell is one of Lakeland’s iconic and best known mountains. The walk up it ...
It’s been a while. My summer has been spent elsewhere but the seasons wait for ...
Troutbeck Tongue is a small mound of a hill, separated from the higher hills surrounding ...
Winter has arrived in Lakeland. Which is a day early for the Meteorological calendar and ...
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Just as autumn seemed to have arrived, summer sunshine and warmth has returned for one last hurrah and I’m fortunate to be in Great Langdale to enjoy it. The Langdale Pikes are an iconic group of hills whose relative accessibility, moderate height and interesting routes have made them emblematic of all that is attractive about the English Lake District. From the moment their shapely and unique outline is glimpsed across Windermere on the road to Ambleside you know you have entered into the heart of Lakeland with its mountains, lakes and rivers. It’s time to relax, breathe out, and for a while leave your workaday stresses behind and allow your heart to be stirred in anticipation of adventures that lie ahead. And today, in the sunshine, I’m walking the Langdale Pikes.
Continue reading “The Langdale Pikes”
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My last visit to Ullscarf was thwarted when the clouds which had been hovering above it all day decided to lower onto the summit plateau just as I reached it. As I have a rule that I will be able to see the view from each top on my journey through the Wainwright’s this unfortunately meant a return visit. At least going up again gives me a chance to try a different route and today I’ll be ascending via Harrop Tarn and returning down the Wythburn valley which means I don’t have to walk back on myself.
Continue reading “A walk up Ullscarf from Thirlmere”
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All the hills of Wainwrights Book One The Eastern Fells listed in height order with the sixteen walks that took me over them and interactive map showing hill location and route. Click on the hill or the walk to read the post. Scroll down to use the interactive map.
| 1.Helvellyn 950m 3,117ft |
8.Great Dodd 857m 2,812ft |
15.Great Rigg 766m 2,513ft |
22.Middle Dodd 654 m 2,146 ft |
29.Low Pike 508m 1,667ft |
| 2.Nethermost Pike 891m 2,923ft |
9.Stybarrow Dodd 843m 2,766ft |
16.Hart Side 756m 2,480ft |
23.Little Hart Crag 637m 2,090ft |
30.Little Mell Fell 505m 1,657ft |
| 3.Catstycam 890m 2,920ft |
10.St Sunday Crag 841m 2,759ft |
17.Seat Sandal 736m 2,415ft |
24.Birks 622m 2,041ft |
31.Stone Arthur 500m 1,640ft |
| 4.Raise 883m 2,897ft |
11.Hart Crag 822m 2,697ft |
18.Clough Head 726m 2,382ft |
25.Heron Pike 612m 2,008ft |
32.Gowbarrow Fell 481m 1,578ft |
| 5.Fairfield 873m 2,864ft |
12.Dove Crag 792m 2,598ft |
19.Birkhouse Moor 718 m 2,356 ft |
26.Hartsop above How 570m 1,870ft |
33.Nab Scar 450m 1,476ft |
| 6.White Side 863m 2,831ft |
13.Watson’s Dodd 789m 2,589ft |
20.Sheffield Pike, 675 m 2,215 ft |
27.Great Mell Fell 537m 1,762ft |
34.Glenridding Dodd 442m 1,450ft |
| 7.Dollywaggon Pike 858m 2,815ft |
14.Red Screes 776m 2,546ft |
21.High Pike, 656 m 2,152 ft |
28.High Hartsop Dodd 519m 1,703ft |
35.Arnison Crag 433m 1,421ft |
My first visit to the Lake District was in 1982 and from that day on, ...
I arrive early at the National Trust car park just South of Dockray and am ...
So today is the day. The day when I start my quest to complete all ...
Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike, the objects of today’s walk form the northern wall of ...
It’s a bright, sunny morning and the birds are singing as I’m dropped off at ...
I last walked up Gowbarrow Fell in the summer of 1992. We were stopping in ...
As I leave Side Farm campsite I can see the three hills of my intended ...
The cloud is hanging low in the valleys as I leave the campsite. It is ...
Starting today’s walk at Dunmail Raise, nearly 800ft above sea level does seem a little ...
Last night I stepped out of the campervan at Aira Force and was greeted by ...
Standing on top of High Hartsop Dodd with the snowfall becoming increasingly heavy I wondered ...
I’m back at Sykeside campsite to complete a walk that was cut short a few ...
It’s not often, hardly ever in fact that you get to see the summit of ...
It’s my first trip to Lakeland this year. The busyness of life has kept me ...
Having had the pleasure of walking down Dovedale last summer after climbing Hartsop Above How, ...
Gazing out at the glorious views of Lakeland from the summit of Great Rigg I ...
It’s the Queens Platinum Jubilee Weekend and Seventy years of Her Majesty on the Throne ...
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It’s the second time I’ve stopped at Chapel House Farm campsite in the last few weeks and the second time I find myself walking towards Stonethwaite looking to climb two Wainwright’s. Last time I was on my to Great Crag and Grange Fell. Today I’m looking towards Eagle Crag which rises up rather dauntingly from the valley floor and peeking out from behind it, Sergeant’s Crag.
Continue reading “A walk up Eagle Crag and Sergeant’s Crag”
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It’s summer, or at least that brief moment in time that passes for summer these days. It’s also a Sunday on one of the hottest days of the year so I know today’s walk up Silver How and Loughrigg Fell, two of the lower lying and popular fells around Grasmere is likely to be a busy one.
Continue reading “Silver How and Loughrigg Fell from Grasmere Village”
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