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BOATING IN BANGLADESH
DECEMBER 2025 Bangladesh might not be most people’s first choice of holiday destination, but then most people have never heard of a Masked Finfoot. This bizarre bird, looking like a cross between a duck and a grebe, used to be widespread across south-east Asia and relatively easy to see. Now, as a result of
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BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
September 2025 It feels slightly anachronistic to be showing my passport at a land border in Europe. With most countries now in the free travel Schengen Area, border formalities on the continent are largely a thing of the past. Still, here I am at the Croatian checkpoint standing in the hot mid-morning sun and
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CROATIA’S DALMATIAN COAST
September 2025 It would be a massive understatement to say a lot has happened here since my previous visit. I’m in Croatia, and last time I was here it was 1990 and it was still part of Yugoslavia. As young, carefree backpackers, we were mostly ignorant of Yugoslavian politics and had no idea that
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WHALES AND WINDBIRDS IN MADEIRA
May 2025 The Portuguese island of Madeira strikes you as a remarkable place before your plane has even landed. Forming the tip of an oceanic volcano, the main island is steep and mountainous. This leaves very little flat land to work with, so Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport is a marvel of engineering with the
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 115
7th April 2025 LYMINGTON PIER TO CHEWTON BUNNY The trains are running again this morning, so I head out before dawn and catch the first train from Southampton to Lymington Pier at the end of the line, passing through the woods and heaths of the New Forest and seeing some Fallow Deer from the
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 114
Sunday 6th April 2025 HILL TOP (BEAULIEU) TO LYMINGTON PIER Thirteen months after my last bout of coast walking I return to Southampton by train and catch a bus to where I left off in the heathland of the New Forest National Park. The weather is forecast to be warm and sunny, and I
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WINTER IN THE BROKEN LAND
In the heart of eastern England, straddling the border between Norfolk and Suffolk, lies an area known as the Brecklands (or ‘Brecks’ for short). The name is derived from ‘Broken Lands’, as they were known in medieval times. A large expanse of open, sandy country cleared of trees during the Neolithic, by the Middle
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WHAT LARKS! SOUTH AFRICAN MEGA-BIRDING
NOVEMBER 2024 For those of my generation, growing up in 70s and 80s Britain, South Africa will forever be associated with the dark days of apartheid. Never far from the TV news, this was the era of protests outside the embassy in Trafalgar Square, boycotts of Sun City and Cape apples, necklacing, and “Free
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THE PASTON WAY
29th September 2024 ‘Poppyland’ is a quaint name given to an area of coastal north-east Norfolk, UK, between the seaside towns of Sheringham and Mundesley. It was popularised by the 19th century poet and theatre critic Clement Scott, who first visited the area from London in 1883 and coined the term Poppyland in his
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ORCHIDS OF DEVIL’S DYKE
One of my favourite local walks runs along the top of the ancient earthwork known as Devil’s Dyke in east Cambridgeshire. I have been going there for five decades, ever since my dad used to take me there as a child. Back then we didn’t really know who built Devil’s Dyke or for what
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ON THE PINGO TRAIL
8th June 2024 A pingo is a geological phenomenon found in some of the coldest parts of the world. It is a small, dome-shaped hill that forms on flat areas of permafrost when water from an underground aquifer freezes into a lens of ice below the surface. The overlying soil and sediment is pushed
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TAIWAN BIRDING DIARY 2024 – Part 2: Lowland Birding
26th April 2024 We left the mountains of Dasyueshan and Wushe with 29 of Taiwan’s 32 endemic birds under our belts. These are the birds that are found only in Taiwan and nowhere else in the world. With the slightly alarming earth tremors and the relentless rain hopefully behind us, we descended back into
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TAIWAN BIRDING DIARY 2024 – Part 1: Mountain Birding
Following a few days in Taipei, my main reason for visiting Taiwan was to join a birding group and travel around the rest of the island searching for Taiwan’s unique wildlife. Taiwan is classified by Birdlife International as an Endemic Bird Area which, at the time of writing, hosts 32 endemic bird species (in
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TAIWAN DIARY 2024 – TAIPEI
DAY ONE – 18th APRIL 2024 Taiwan is often in the news these days. Usually because of the ongoing friction with China, but recently also due to the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that hit the city of Hualien on 3rd April 2024. This was Taiwan’s strongest earthquake for twenty-five years and, when I first heard
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SEALS INCOMING!
I wouldn’t normally expect to see seals this far inland, and I was surprised the first time I saw one swimming in the River Great Ouse in the landlocked county of Cambridgeshire. That was in late January 2016, and my first instinct identified it as a European Otter, before quickly realising that it was
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 113
Saturday 9th March 2024 HARDLEY TO HILL TOP (BEAULIEU) I set off early today and catch the bus back to where I left off yesterday, stepping off into a light rain shower. Fortunately it doesn’t last long, but the day remains cold, cloudy and windy, apart from a few sunny spells. I won’t
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 112
Friday 8th March 2024 WARSASH TO HARDLEY After camping for five nights it felt luxurious to sleep in an actual bed and not have to walk across a field to have a shower. The guesthouse is lovely – nice and quiet, very clean, and not far from the trains, buses and city centre.
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 111
Thursday 7th March 2024 WARSASH TO BURSLEFORD Last night was my last night on the campsite. It was much warmer, and I slept well. This morning I surprise a fox that was lurking around the shower block and it runs off. I have to carry all my stuff again, but I’m not planning
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 110
Wednesday 6th March 2024 PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR TO WARSASH With the sky clearing overnight, the temperature has dropped again and I wake up early to another frosty morning. This time even the zip on my tent has frozen solid and I’m trapped inside. Eventually I manage to work it open enough to create a small
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 109
Tuesday 5th March 2024 HAYLING FERRY TO PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR Today my luck runs out with the weather and I wake up to a showery morning. I wait for a break in the rain before walking back to the ferry and crossing back over to Portsmouth, arriving on the coast again at a bleak-looking Eastney
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 108
Monday 4th March 2024 HAYLING ISLAND TO HAYLING FERRY (PORTSMOUTH) In broad daylight it’s much easier to find my way back to where I left off last night. The footpath up the western side of the island is very pleasant, following the course of an old railway through a narrow strip of woods, with
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 107
Sunday 3rd March 2024 AROUND HAYLING ISLAND Last night was very cold and I didn’t sleep well, waking up numerous times in the night. However, I had gone to bed early and, in the long period of time I was in my sleeping bag, I managed to cobble together a full night’s sleep. This
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 106
Saturday 2nd March 2024 EMSWORTH TO HAYLING ISLAND Last September I completed the coast of Sussex, and next up is the county of Hampshire. Sitting more-or-less dead centre of the English south coast, Hampshire feels like a watershed between the south-east and the south-west of England. Sussex is definitely in the south-east, still within
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A CONGREGATION OF WAXWINGS
I’m fairly sure a ‘congregation’ isn’t the correct collective noun for a group of Waxwings, but then I’ve never really seen the point of collective nouns for birds. Who comes up with them? Who actually uses them? Ok, some of them are poetic I guess: ‘a charm of Goldfinches’, ‘a murder of Crows’, ‘a
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A SHORT TRIP TO KUWAIT
NOVEMBER 2023 Visiting Kuwait was mostly about ticking a new country off the list. I had a few days of annual leave to use before the end of the year and an air miles account that they were threatening to close due to lack of activity. Kuwait was the nearest destination outside of Europe
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A LITTLE CRAKE IN MILTON KEYNES
11th November 2023 Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire is more often associated with concrete cows than with rare migrant birds. The iconic cattle have long since gone, but now there’s a Little Crake in town. Or rather at Linford Lakes Nature Reserve on the edge of town. Only about 100 of these secretive birds have
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FAT MERMAIDS OF THE NORTH SEA
28th October 2023 There are Mermaids living around the coast of Britain. Plus-sized, meaty Mermaids inhabiting an ever-shifting domain where the land meets the sea. With their legendary beauty and seductive voices, these corpulent creatures come ashore on the beaches of Norfolk every winter to birth their podgy progeny. Half human and half
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 105
Thursday 7th September 2023 BOSHAM TO EMSWORTH In the morning I pack up my tent and leave the campsite for the final day’s walk of this leg. Today’s walk consists of a hike around the shores of two peninsulas in the north of Chichester Harbour, and it should be a relatively short day.
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 104
Wednesday 6th September 2023 CHICHESTER Today is something of a rest day while I do a bit of sight-seeing around Chichester. What I am most keen to see are the remains of Fishbourne Roman Palace. Chichester was known as Noviomagus Reginorum to the Romans and was an important staging post immediately following the invasion
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 103
Tuesday 5th September 2023 EAST WITTERING TO BOSHAM Today will be another long day, even longer than yesterday in fact. The route meanders up and down the channels of a large estuary, rather than straight along the coast, so it’s difficult to estimate its length by glancing at the map. Fortunately I don’t get
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 102
Monday 4th September 2023 ALDWICK BAY TO EAST WITTERING I wake up on the beach at dawn and start walking almost immediately. Today will be a long day in order to get to the campsite I’ve chosen. The distance straight along the coast isn’t too far, but there are two large inlets that I
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 101
Sunday 3rd September 2023 LITTLEHAMPTON TO ALDWICK BAY By the time I arrive on the south coast of England it’s almost midday. I’m continuing my years-long hike/pub crawl around the coast of Great Britain from where I left off last November: Littlehampton in the county of Sussex. The weather is forecast to be hot
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LOST IN THE LUMINARIUM
The Luminarium is an interactive art installation inspired by natural forms, geometry, and sacred architecture. It’s a fully immersive sensory experience and a place for quiet contemplation. What it ISN’T, and I really can’t stress this enough, is a bouncy castle. Got that? Good. It was designed by an artist named Alan Parkinson
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HIKING THE RIDGEWAY – day 6 of 6
WENDOVER TO IVINGHOE BEACON 6th July 2023 Wendover is a very attractive small town with all the facilities you might need on a hike. I got off the train from Aylesbury and continued where I left off by walking along the High Street, which today had a market. Before leaving, I ate a full
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HIKING THE RIDGEWAY – day 5 of 6
WATLINGTON TO WENDOVER 5th July 2023 I didn’t sleep as well as I expected. When I had woken up at about 1.45am and gone out to the toilet, the rain had stopped and some stars were visible in the sky. It took me a while to get back to sleep, and the last thing
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HIKING THE RIDGEWAY – day 4 of 6
GORING TO WATLINGTON 4th July 2023 Hiking the Ridgeway is a game of two halves. The Chiltern Hills in the eastern half are very different from the open grasslands west of the Goring Gap – more wooded and with more facilities, but with fewer ancient monuments and less of a ‘wild’ feel. The
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HIKING THE RIDGEWAY – day 3 of 6
COURT HILL TO GORING 3rd July 2023 There was no cooked breakfast available at Court Hill hostel in the morning, but the manager had kindly left me a few things to eat – cereal and milk, bread for toast, apples, bananas and tea bags. Today’s walk passed through Oxfordshire and Berkshire, before crossing
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HIKING THE RIDGEWAY – day 2 of 6
LIDDINGTON HILLFORT TO COURT HILL 2nd July 2023 I got up at 6am to a completely dry tent, thanks to a good breeze blowing up all night from the valley below. The town of Swindon looked a lot better from up here than it did the day before when I got off the train
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HIKING THE RIDGEWAY – day 1 of 6
INTRODUCTION The Ridgeway is said to be Britain’s oldest road. In use for at least 5000 years, it forms part of an ancient trading route from Wales and the English West Country to East Anglia. These trackways developed naturally as ancient travellers made their way across the drier, higher ground. Initially a series of
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THE NIGHT HERONS ARE COMING!
The Black-crowned Night Heron has a huge worldwide distribution, right across North and South America, Africa, Europe and Asia…but it isn’t usually found in the UK. In the last decade or so, one of the big stories in British ecology has been the colonisation of these islands by, and increased breeding success of, long-legged
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LARK VALLEY PATH
11th June 2023 MILDENHALL TO BURY ST EDMUNDS This is another short riverside walk in Suffolk, this time in the west of the county. It mostly follows the River Lark between the towns of Mildenhall and Bury St Edmunds. I was born and raised in nearby Newmarket, so I’m familiar with some short stretches
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WALKING TO SLOVAKIA
VIENNA AND BRATISLAVA – part 2 of 2 Day Four – 20th May 2023 This morning it is hot and sunny as I catch a train to Marchegg, a small Austrian town near the Slovakian border. The journey takes less than an hour across flat arable land and from the window I see a
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HAMSTER HUNTING IN VIENNA
VIENNA AND BRATISLAVA – part 1 of 2 The wild hamsters of Vienna have become tiny wildlife celebrities in recent years, especially since featuring in David Attenborough’s Seven Worlds, One Planet series in 2019. The European Hamster (or Black-bellied Hamster) is a different species from the domestic hamsters kept as pets – these are
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NEITHER HERE NOR THERE – Book Review
NEITHER HERE NOR THERE: TRAVELS IN EUROPE Bill Bryson (1991) If you have any interest at all in travel writing then Bill Bryson will already be familiar to you. He is one of the most popular and recognisable authors in the genre, and in Neither Here Nor There he turns his eye towards continental
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GIPPING VALLEY RIVER PATH
29th April 2023 STOWMARKET TO IPSWICH The sun is shining and it’s a perfect spring day for another local walk. This time it’s a one-day meander through beautiful countryside in the county of Suffolk. ‘Meander’ is exactly the right word for it as well, as this walk follows the twisting course of the River
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PATHFINDER LONG DISTANCE WALK
The Pathfinder Long Distance Walk is a 46 mile (74km) circular hiking trail in Cambridgeshire. Sandwiched between Cambridge and Huntingdon, it passes through mostly arable land, crosses the River Great Ouse twice, and visits many attractive villages, often with amusing names like Pidley and Yelling. The walk was designed to celebrate the Royal Air
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THE WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD – Book Review
“The weirdest bird’s-nesting expedition that has ever been or ever will be.” Apsley Cherry-Garrard The “worst journey” referred to in the title was a kind of side quest to Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated 1910-1913 voyage to the South Pole aboard the Terra Nova. Published in 1922, it was written by the wonderfully named
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ARCTIC ENCOUNTERS – part 3 of 3
ARCTIC OCEAN 9th – 12th March 2023 I have to catch the boat early this morning, so I miss out on the buffet breakfast. It’s a shame as this hotel, as well as the usual buffet items, serves a selection of fish, and I’m enjoying the novelty of having toast with salmon, herring and
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ARCTIC ENCOUNTERS – part 2 of 3
NORWAY’S VARANGER FJORD 6th – 8th March 2023 I wake up to a morning that is bright and sunny, but still cold at -20°c (-4°F). I hear that I’ve chosen a good week to come here as the previous week was snowy and windy and the roads were blocked. There are four onward buses to
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ARCTIC ENCOUNTERS – part 1 of 3
NORTHERN FINLAND 2nd – 5th March 2023 This isn’t my first trip to the Arctic. In 2019 I rode the Inlandsbanan, a slow summer train that runs through the centre of Sweden and stops as it crosses the Arctic Circle so that we could step down and take photos before continuing on to Gällivare at
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LOUD-QUIET-LOUD: TREASURE HUNTING IN BRIGHTON
I couldn’t be bothered to write this post. I’ve recently written about Brighton on my UK coast walk, and about treasure hunting (in Liverpool) even more recently. However, those posts have yielded a whopping total of ELEVEN(!) views between them, and you just can’t argue with that kind of box office. The people have
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SEARCHING FOR THE LAST WILLOW TITS
No one would say a Willow Tit was a glamorous bird. Few people will ever see one, and even fewer would be impressed by one if they did. Closely related to the Chickadees of North America, it is mostly pale brown with a black cap and chin. Its call is harsh and unattractive. When it
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WINTER WILDLIFE AT WICKEN FEN
After a couple of wet weekends, I’m keen to get outdoors again and look for some wildlife. I decide to spend a day at Wicken Fen, one of Britain’s oldest nature reserves and one of only four areas of wetland left behind when the large fens of eastern England were drained for agriculture. I arrive
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MULTICULTURAL MAGIC DARTS
Last month we lost a key figure in British music – Terry Hall, lead singer of The Specials, Fun Boy Three, and numerous other projects died at the age of 63. In August of the previous year another lead vocalist died with none of the same media attention. His name was Bob Fish. I’ll get
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TREASURE HUNTING IN LIVERPOOL
The week between Christmas and New Year is a strange time. With a bit of forethought it can be a fun and productive period of eclectic activities, or it can be wasted in front of the TV eating festive junk food and drinking weird drinks that you wouldn’t allow into your house at any
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 100
Friday 18th November 2022 WORTHING TO LITTLEHAMPTON I go out early into the sunshine for a walk along the prom, a visit to the pier, and a look around town. Worthing seafront looks splendid today. After breakfast in town, I check out of the hotel and continue walking west. I had originally planned
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 99
Thursday 17th November 2022 BRIGHTON TO WORTHING As forecast, the rain of the past two days has blown through, and I leave the hostel and continue west along the prom in bright sunshine. It’s a bit chilly and the wind is still fairly strong, but otherwise it’s a fine Winter’s day and I’m in
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 98
Wednesday 16th November 2022 NEWHAVEN TO BRIGHTON The other man in the dorm gets up early and leaves as suddenly and silently as he arrived. The lights come back on at exactly 5.30am and I happen to already be awake. I get up to switch them off, as well as a tap in the
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 97
Tuesday 15th November 2022 EASTBOURNE TO NEWHAVEN If yesterday felt like June, today slaps me in the face and reminds me that it’s definitely November. I can already see it’s raining when I check out of the lovely Burlington Hotel and step out onto the prom, but I’m unprepared for the force of the
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 96
Monday 14th November 2022 ST LEONARDS TO EASTBOURNE Today I’m back on the walking – St Leonards to Eastbourne this time. So, after a huge breakfast I catch the train back to St Leonards. Something has gone terribly wrong at Southern Rail and the train leaves on time. I’ve a good mind to demand
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 95
Sunday 13th November 2022 I check out of the hotel and have my backpack with me again. This is another sightseeing day – Pevensey Castle this time, site of William the Conqueror’s landing in England. I flash my English Heritage card and take the audio tour. A little bit Roman, a little bit Norman,
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 94
Saturday 12th November 2022 I’m not doing any walking today. I’ve factored in a couple of sightseeing days over the weekend. This is one of the reasons this coast walk is taking so many years – lots of faffing around when I should be walking. Today I’ll visit the Battle of Hastings site. Earlier
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BRITISH COAST WALK – DAY 93
Friday 11th November 2022 RYE TO ST LEONARDS Despite what my last couple of posts might suggest, I’m not always on the East coast. Sometimes, like this week, I’m on the South coast. This is the latest chapter in a long-running challenge to walk all the way around the coast of Great Britain. I
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EAST SUFFOLK REVISITED
TWITCHING ALDEBURGH’S ALPINE ACCENTOR 29th October 2022 I’m back on the east coast of Suffolk again. Two weeks after the Red Deer rut weekend and a week after a London theatre trip, I had intended to stay at home this weekend and do some long-overdue housework. My oven needs cleaning and Henry the Hoover
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STUCK IN A RUT
A ‘STAG WEEKEND’ WITH SUFFOLK’S RUTTING RED DEER 15th and 16th October 2022 East Anglia is arguably the best region of Britain for viewing deer in the wild. While many people might associate deer with the Highlands of Scotland, I would say that the presence of five out of the six British deer species
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Pennine Way Diary – POSTSCRIPT – Practicalities and Stats
GETTING HOME From Kirk Yetholm I caught a 9.20am bus to Kelso and then another bus at 11.15am to Berwick-upon-Tweed, from where I caught the train south. The bus rides were very scenic and Kelso is a very attractive town, with a continental-style square, some grand old hotels, a ruined abbey, and many independent shops
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Seventeen
ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER Tuesday 20th September 2022 Lamb Hill Refuge Hut to Kirk Yetholm After an uncomfortable night I get up at 6.30am. I’m feeling unbearably grotty now, having not showered since the camping barn in Greenhead – that’s 72 hours ago, and it will be another 10 to 12
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Sixteen
FLIRTING WITH SCOTLAND Monday 19th September 2022 Whitley Pike to Lamb Hill Refuge Hut My tent is dry when I get up early this morning, so I pack up and move on. Grouse are calling all around me. ‘Go back! Go back! Go back!’ they say… but they’ve been saying that since day two,
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Fifteen
I AM BECOME DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS Sunday 18th September 2022 Haughtongreen Bothy to Whitley Pike I wake up at 6.15am but don’t want to get up and disturb everyone. By 7am they’re all still snoring away, so I get up anyway. I quietly get all my poop in a group and take everything
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Pennine Way Diary – Day XIV
VENI, VIDI, VOLE-Y Saturday XVII-IX-MMXXII Greenhead to Haughtongreen Bothy I sleep really well and wake up long before my alarm, feeling much more optimistic than yesterday. Shave for the first time on the trip and have coffee and cereal bars. I pay a quick visit to Thirlwall Castle just outside the guesthouse before moving
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Thirteen
STUBBORNNESS AND PRIDE Friday 16th September 2022 Alston to Greenhead I go out early and stock up on “food” for tomorrow as this will be my last chance to shop for a while. Back at the hostel I have a huge full English, plus cereal, toast, orange juice and coffee. I ask the lady
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Twelve
ICE COLD IN ALSTON Thursday 15th September 2022 Little Dun Fell to Alston After a bad night’s sleep I emerge to a fine but cold morning, just in time to see a sunrise every bit as sublime as last night’s sunset. I eat some cereal bars (always with the bloody cereal bars!) and, since my
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Eleven
THE HIGHEST PEAK Wednesday 14th September 2022 High Cup Nick to Little Dun Fell I must have really needed sleep last night because, despite the discomfort, I sleep right through my 6am alarm and wake up after 7am. Emerging into a thick fog, I immediately regret not taking a walk around last night and admiring
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Ten
HIT THE NORTH Tuesday 13th September 2022 Middleton-in-Teesdale to High Cup Nick I’m definitely in The North now. Past the mid-point of the PW and onto Harvey’s ‘Pennine Way North’ map. From here it gets wilder and more remote, with fewer amenities. Consequently, I may have to become more feral. On the plus side, I’ve
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Nine
THE MIDWAY POINT Monday 12th September 2022 Tan Hill Inn to Middleton-in-Teesdale Best night’s sleep so far, for all the reasons already stated. My shin is still painful and now very swollen. If anything makes me quit it could well be this. Breakfast is included and it’s here that I realise just how many other
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Eight
BLACK GROUSE COUNTRY Sunday 11th September 2022 Hawes to Tan Hill Inn I sleep really well, either from the beer or from the blissful silence of the campsite. Just outside the site, the view over Wensleydale looks gorgeous in the morning sunshine. I walk back into town and have coffee, a large sausage bap and
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Seven
BALLS–DEEP IN HAWES Saturday 10th September 2022 Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Hawes “Seriously, Davies? ‘Balls-Deep in Hawes’? Is that the best you can come up with?” Well… I, er…erm… “Are you proud of yourself right now? I thought you were supposed to be a smart guy. First you slut-shame Malham Cove and now this bullshit!” But… but…
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Six
GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP SLUT Friday 9th September 2022 Malham to Horton-in-Ribblesdale I’m on the right side of Malham to continue the PW without going back into the village. I don’t think there is anywhere to have breakfast this early anyway. My guidebook tells me that there is nowhere to buy food on today’s walk so
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Five
CARAVAN OF LOVE Thursday 8th September 2022 Ickornshaw to Malham This morning is grey, misty and drizzly and most of the day’s climbing is in the first four miles. The walk is an uninspiring yomp through one sheep paddock after another – boring Beltex sheep as well, not even sexy Swaledales. Three Snipe flush from
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Four
EATEN BY LESBIANS Wednesday 7th September 2022 Hebden Bridge to Ickornshaw “You’ll get eaten by lesbians there”, says a man in reception, with a beautiful Mancunian drawl, when I say I’m going to Hebden Bridge. “Then again you might enjoy that”, he continues with a throaty laugh. I catch the tram back to Victoria Station.
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Three
EVIDENTLY TROUSERTOWN Tuesday 6th September 2022 Standedge to Hebden Bridge Wake up to thick fog. Empty my tent to find the water situation has mostly sorted itself out but everything is still damp. I continue walking and leave the Peak District behind. Visibility is poor but there are numerous Wheatears along this stretch, their eponymous
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Pennine Way Diary – Day Two
IS IT TOO EARLY TO CRY YET? Monday 5th September 2022 Bleaklow Head to Standedge I get up to a clear sky at 6.30am, just as the sun is coming up. Unseen Red Grouse are chuckling away in all directions, a Mountain Hare is foraging on a nearby slope, and small parties of Swallows are
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Pennine Way Diary – Day One
LET’S GO FOR A LITTLE WALK… Sunday 4th September 2022 Edale to Bleaklow Head As it’s a Sunday the trains to Edale don’t start particularly early, and this is made worse when the first one is cancelled, so I don’t get to the start of the Pennine Way until after 11am. I hadn’t been in
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Pennine Way Diary – INTRODUCTION
“Walking for hours and miles becomes as automatic, as unremarkable, as breathing. At the end of the day you don’t think, ‘Hey, I did sixteen miles today,’ any more than you think, ‘Hey, I took 8,000 breaths today.’ It’s just what you do.” Bill Bryson – A Walk in the Woods (1997) In September 2022
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Vole Explosion 