Some places don’t just stay with you, they quietly weave themselves into your life. For me, Borrowdale is one of those valleys. One I’ve returned to across decades, through different stages of life, different friendships, different adventures. Every visit feels familiar the moment I arrive, as if the landscape itself remembers you. I’m fairly sure …
Category archives: Mountains
Walking Through Dresden, Saxon Switzerland and Berlin
Dresden The journey began in the familiar grey of a British winter, rolling steadily south by train towards Heathrow. We spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express at Terminal 4, a surprisingly calm pocket of comfort on the edge of one of the world’s busiest transport hubs. By morning, we were travellers again, setting …
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Tongue Tied and Skew Gill: A Borrowdale Scrambling Day
After a gentle, weather dampened day based out of Longthwaite Hostel in Borrowdale, wandering through the rain to the Bowder Stone (a glacial erratic from the last ice age), drying out in a café in Grange, pausing by the stream at the bottom of Gate Gill to soak up the atmosphere and heading up Castle …
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Evening Scrambles with the Mountain Mentor Crew. Stickle Ghyll & Tarn Crag
I was back at the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, we were last here on the Cumbria Way and took the chance to sneak in a quick recce of Tarn Crag Ghyll. With the dry weather it was good to get a feel for the line and confirmed that I’m still not the biggest fan of wet …
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AAC(UK) Edale Scramble: Crowden, Grindsbrook & an Ethel Summit Detour
Saturday 17th May saw me leading another scramble for the UK section of the Austrian Alpine Club (AAC(UK)). A full group of members gathered in Edale for a classic Peak District adventure: a Grade 1 scramble up Crowden Clough, a wander across the Kinder plateau to pick up an Ethel and a descent via the …
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Reflections on Duty, Care and Breaking Barriers Outdoors
“You might be the only person who asks if they’re OK and really listens.”That single line from Mountain Training’s new Leader Responsibilities e-learning course hit me harder than I expected. As someone who lives and breathes outdoor adventure, I’ve always focused on safety, planning, navigation, leadership. But this reminder about emotional trust. It’s not a side note. It’s …
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Crowden Clough, a Bivvy and Grindsbrook Clough Microadventure
An evening escape from everyday life can be every bit as rejuvenating as a full weekend away, if you know where to find it. For me, that meant a post-work dash to catch the train to Edale, then scrambling up Crowden Clough on Kinder Scout beneath a sky that would soon fill with stars. I …
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Mountain Leader Training – A Week in the Hills (1997)
Friday: The Journey to Plas y Brenin The week began in a blur of last-minute tasks. I had been working at East Cambridgeshire District Council in Ely, desperately trying to get all the loose ends sorted before it was time to get a lift across the country to Snowdonia with my father. The rush of …
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Whiteouts, Wildlife, and Winter Skills: A couple of winter mountaineering days out in the Cairngorms
A Winter’s Day on Creag Leacach and Glas Maol in the Cairngorms I woke at 6:00 a.m. for a 6:30 breakfast, fueling up for a day in proper winter conditions. Heading north from Perth, the road climbed deeper into the Cairngorms. As part of my Winter Mountain Leader (WML) preparation, I had studied both weather …
A Blocking High Over the Cairngorms
Last Adventure with Bloxham School When reflecting on my life so far, I see these transition points where one chapter closes and another begins. The summer of 1997 captured that feeling perfectly for me. One chapter was ending, and another was about to start. Fresh from A-level exams, I joined a group from Bloxham School …