Regular reader(s) will know that I am not averse to starting a list. The Robin Hood Trail. The Yorkshire Three Peaks. As we hiked up Ben Nevis last June on what seemed like the busiest day of the year, it seemed the most obvious thing to do to propose completing the proper Three Peaks. I … Continue reading »
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Winter redux
Earlier this week, I chuckled along with my colleagues as we welcomed the official start of Spring with an icy blast and a sprinkling of snow. This winter has seemed never-ending, though frustratingly I am no closer to getting any real UK experience of climbing up slippery stuff with pointy things in my hands and … Continue reading »
On breaking promises
I remember it clearly, the point at which I said “I promise I will never, ever again suggest a holiday like this”. It wasn’t when I looked like this: No, when I was paddling furiously across a boat lane, being sluiced with cold, brackish water and swaying from side to side in the not-insignificant … Continue reading »
Thinking of Vancouver: two years on
While Dave is sunning himself in Vancouver (or, more likely, injuring himself – he is going mountain biking, after all), my mind keeps wandering to the year we spent in Canada. After a summer that most people could only dream of (the end of the Tour de France; Wimbledon; the Olympics; then the Paralympics; at … Continue reading »
When the going gets tough…
…the tough go walking, climbing, biking and swimming in rivers I'll be honest; things are a bit tough at the moment. Work is keeping me busy (not least with an hour's commute each way) and Dave is settling in to a new job up at BBC North. Working nights, weekends and bank holidays, I'm left … Continue reading »
The final assault of Carnedd Llewelyn
It is possible to grow to dislike a mountain. A hill, even. Perhaps it’s making a mountain out of a molehill (ba-dum tish!) to start to dislike inanimate objects, especially ones of significant age. But by the end of 2011, I was beginning to dislike Carnedd Llewelyn. Now, don’t get me wrong, I respect the … Continue reading »
It’s just like learning to ride a bike
Almost without noticing, the summer of 2011 has become the official ‘summer of learning’. Earlier this year, I took the decision to learn how to lead climb; the worst summer weather since 1993 has conspired against me, so that practice hasn’t been as frequent as I might like, but then again I’ve also realised that … Continue reading »
The tall tale of Mr Frog
“EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” went the noise outside my window. I tapped away at my computer keys; it barely registered. “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” it continued. Now it penetrated my consciousness. What is that noise? It sounds like a squeaky toy, or a balloon being let down very slowly. “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”. Nothing makes that noise. Nothing happy, anyway. I could hear the … Continue reading »
How to have an entirely unsuccessful bouldering trip
With a few days to fill while Dave is on a mountain-biking holiday in France, and with a climbing trip to Wales having fallen through, I was left with a dilemma. Should I head to the hills for some hiking? Get out on my bike? With weather undecided, I made an early dash up to … Continue reading »
Walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks
"Surely it's got to be Paul Simon?" "Got to be." This was not how I'd expected my day to end, coming last in a pub quiz in Long Preston, having a few drinks and enjoying the free chips. But then it had been a day in which I'd already learnt a lot: that Grenadine is … Continue reading »
