Tag Archives: mountain

Jul 30 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape, Sport

Stromness and Ward Hill: a combination of pleasures

Tuesday 29th July 2025, 7.05pm (day 5,087)

Stromness FC and Ward Hill, 29/7/25

The first part of my day was spent up the hill in the background, Ward Hill: not an easy lump of sandstone to get up or down, thanks to its steep sides (evident in this shot), but worth the bother. The second part of my day was spent at the easier-to-reach environs of Stromness FC, members of the Orkney ‘A’ League, and their match against Dounby (here in blue). I couldn’t decide which one was worth making Pic of the Day so let’s just choose one that accommdates both these pleasures.

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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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Daily Post, Landscape

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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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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Jan 20 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape

High Knoll Fort

Sunday 19th January 2025, 12.35pm (day 4,896)

High Knoll Fort, 19/1/25

I spent the day entirely in my accommodation, marking. Something I could have done at home (whether on a Sunday or otherwise). The options for a photo were of the garden at the flat, or its view, so let’s try the latter. I have a decent view at home, too… but the day was what it was. Anyway this is High Knoll Fort, or one end of it anyway: a significant St Helena landmark, visible from most of one half of the island, which is, of course, why they built it there.

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Jan 14 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna, Landscape

Tableau: cows, turbine and Flagstaff Peak

Tuesday 14th January 2025, 12.40pm (day 4,891)

Cows, turbine and Flagstaff, 14/1/25

Whatever the wind farm on Deadwood Plain is doing to help St Helena generate power in a sustainable way, this particular turbine ain’t contributing. The cows seem stoic about the situation, though, as cows so often do. I passed on my way up Flagstaff Peak behind, at 2,257 feet above sea level. A century and a quarter ago, this place would have been crowded with tents and huts — it was a prison camp for those captured in the Boer War (fought so the British state could get its hands on gold and diamonds, before anyone tells you it had worthier motives).

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Jan 12 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape

Resting in peace, on St Helena

Sunday 12th January 2025, 10.55am (day 4,889)

Grave and the Peaks, 12/1/25

I wasn’t flying from Cape Town back home, in case you were wondering, but instead to St Helena, for my fourth visit. Who can ever say these things for sure, but it’s possibly my last — put it this way, it’s the last, for now, for which I have the money, or rather, for which someone else has given me the money, in this case the British Academy (to whom thanks are due).

Whomever resides in this particular spot these days has definitely made their last visit to this remote little island, though. There are worse places to spend eternity.

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Jan 09 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape

The Tablecloth

Thursday 9th January 2025, 12:00 noon (day 4,886)

Tablecloth cloud, 9/1/25

I had hoped to ascend Table Mountain whilst here, but today was my only real chance and, all day, it was draped in what is locally known as ‘The Tablecloth’ — and it’s a very accurate description of this particular cloud. Surely there are very few cities in the world with such a monumental lump of rock sat right by the downtown area.

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Jan 01 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape

Coniston Old Man, from afar

Wednesday 1st January 2025, 3.00pm (day 4,878)

Coniston Old Man, 1/1/25

As a location, the Lake District has featured 171 times on this blog, so about once every 28.5 days, or roughly every four weeks. But in 2024 the place appeared only three times, the lowest yearly total by some distance. Finishing the commitment to hoik myself twice around the Wainwrights has made an obvious difference. This shot is taken from no nearer than Morecambe, with a very long zoom. Will I be back more in ’25? In all honesty — probably not.

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Nov 12 2024
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Daily Post, Landscape, Transport

Train at Blea Moor

Monday 11th November 2024, 9.45am (day 4,827)

Train at Blea Moor, 11/11/24

The 09:47 service from Ribblehead (ex Carlisle) to Leeds is more or less on time. This is the Settle-Carlisle railway, one of the country’s finest. In the background, Ingleborough, definitely the best-looking English mountain outside the Lake District — it’s 3,730 days (or 10 years, 2 months and 16 days) since it made its first appearance on here, on my 45th birthday day out (26/8/2014). And as it’s a good place to come for a day out, on the first appearance of sunshine for about two weeks — it was worth coming back.

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