Tag Archives: hiking

Jun 12 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape

3,000-foot staircase up Big Hill

Tuesday 10th June 2025, 10.00am (day 5,038)

Ben More path, 10/6/25

The lump to top right is Ben More. Its Gaelic name literally means “Big Hill”, and it can join the ranks of places that have clearly been named for their physical characteristics. On the left of this shot, the start of the path up it, and it’s representative of the whole — a 3,000-foot climb, all like this. Imagine climbing one of the staircases up the Eiffel Tower, three times in succession. Do I do these things for fun? Yes, I suppose I do. (See also the other blog.)

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May 25 2025
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Yr Elen

Friday 23rd May 2025, 2.30pm (day 5,020)

Yr Elen, 23/5/25

At 3,156 feet/962m, Yr Elen — it may just mean Helen or Eleanor, or it might mean “The Leech”; you decide, that’s Welsh for you — is apparently the ninth-highest mountain in Wales. The last of five biggish lumps of rock that I negotiated today. More details on the other blog, as ever.

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May 19 2025
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The Clyde

Saturday 17th May 2025, 1.20pm (day 5,014)

The Clyde, 17/5/24

When I realised the weather forecast was going to stay much the same — that is, warm and sunny — throughout our visit to Scotland, a walk became by far the best choice for a Saturday activity. It wasn’t too hard to rearrange things accordingly, and I did not regret doing so. Below, the River Clyde, winding its way from Glasgow, over in the distance, to the sea, and crossed here by the Erskine Bridge. More photos and details of the day are on my County Tops blog.

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Apr 08 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape

Sisters’ Peak, from Green Mountain

Sunday 6th April 2025, 12.10pm (day 4,973)

Sisters' Peak, 6/4/25

Ascension Island is greener than I expected, although this is mainly due to the spread of an invasive weed, Mexican thorn, which authorities are trying to control (with some recent success it seems). But the peak in the centre of the island has long been known as Green Mountain for good reason. It was on this mountain that, in the 19th century, botanist Joseph Hooker embarked on a giant horticultural project to plant a forest and bring more rain to the island — and the jungle in the foreground of this shot is evidence that he succeeded. In fact, as far as I can tell this view is shrouded in cloud most of the time — some more is just visible drifting in from the right, but I nabbed the shot in a rare clear spell on my Sunday morning walk up to the island’s summit. Note also the Perfect Crater — that’s its official name — visible to the right of the cone of Sisters’ Peak.

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Dec 24 2024
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Daily Post, Landscape

Above Dove Stones reservoir

Monday 23rd December 2024, 10.10am (day 4,869)

Dove Stones hiker, 23/12/24

Well, I didn’t have anything better today, and by the signs of it, neither did he. I hope he enjoyed his bout of exercise as much as I did. (For more details see my other blog.)

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Oct 12 2024
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Daily Post, Landscape

Crossing England

Friday 11th October 2024, 1.20pm (day 4,796)

Walkers above Huddersfield, 11/10/24

The Pennines are, definitely, the vertebrae of Britain (supporting the large, shaggy head that is Scotland). And today I, definitely, walked from one side of them to the other, starting a hike in Greenfield on the west and ending it in Marsden to the east: with the town seen in the background here being Huddersfield. Today, therefore, I definitely crossed England, in watershed terms anyway. The two guys seen here may or may not have done the same.

Can I note, though, that a lot of England’s spine is comprised of peaty, boggy shit. Get it cleaned up, England!

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Aug 04 2024
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Daily Post, Landscape

The Top of Yorkshire

Saturday 3rd August 2024, 10.35am (day 4,727)

Ruin on Mickle Fell, 3/8/24

By British standards, Yorkshire has always been a big county. Chopped around with a bit since 1974, nevertheless, in terms of its historic boundaries it was the largest in the country. And Mickle Fell, at 2,585 feet/788m above sea level, was its highest point. Truly, therefore, between about 10.30 and 11.00 am, I was Top Yorkshireman — geographically, at least.

Of course, since 1974 this territory was allocated to County Durham instead — but let’s gloss over that little detail. If you want to find out more about my walk today, please do have a look at my other blog.

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Jul 14 2024
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Daily Post, Landscape

Above Grains Gill

Saturday 13th July 2024, 2.00pm (day 4,706)

This blog has been going long enough (we approach 13 years next month), but my regular walks in the Lake District predate it: it was 19th July 2009 when the LD blog recorded ‘walk 1‘. Fifteen years have since passed, and with walk 215 today — I haven’t published the page just yet but will do so soon — I completed my bagging of every one of the 330 Wainwright fells therein: twice. Well, it’s certainly given me something to do (and to spend money on) in that time: but I am not upset it is finished, quite relieved, in fact. No broken legs, you know?

These guys stand at the top of Grains Gill, which runs into the heart of the District south from Borrowdale. I have just come off Great End, which would, toponymically, made a good finishing point but it turned out to be my penultimate fell — from here there is still Seathwaite Fell to come, just to the left of this shot.

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May 27 2024
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A walk up Dumgoyne (or not)

Saturday 25th May 2024, 11.10am (day 4,657)

Dumgoyne, 15/5/24

Dumgoyne is a steep little volcanic plug that rises on the edge of the Campsie Fells, north of Glasgow. On the map it looked like a nice little prologue to the actual destination of my hike, which was Earl’s Seaat, one of the County Tops, although less photogenic. But in fact, I never made it to the top of Dumgoyne: one of those climbs that the nearer I got to it in actuality, the less appeal it had. No matter: CT #81 was duly bagged about two hours later.

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Mar 31 2024
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Daily Post, Landscape

Let’s not go there

Sunday 31st March 2024, 11.45am (day 4,602)

Soggy parrot delusions, 31/3/24

I get the point of What Three Words, but should all combinations be permitted? If I were an emergency services operator and got told that my attention was required to Soggy Parrot Delusions I think the conversation would end there in gales of (my) laughter.

Wold Newton, where this path goes, was my 80th County Top, if you are interested in my other blog…

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