Exploring and learning while out on outdoor adventures.
And off we go again, another Saturday, another early start. Last weekend was spent indoors at the National Outdoor Expo; this time it was the train to Edale, leading a group out with the Austrian Alpine Club. The plan was a classic Kinder loop: up Grindsbrook Clough, across the plateau via Kinder Low and Kinder …
Continue reading “A Landscape in Motion: Grindsbrook Clough Scramble & Kinder Scout Walk”
Up early, down to the station and onto a busy train to Birmingham. There’s always that small moment of relief when you find a seat. This wasn’t a last minute decision; we’d planned to come back after enjoying it last year although this time there was a bit more intent behind it. Partly it was …
Continue reading “National Outdoor Expo 2026: Reflections on Adventure, Community and the Outdoors”
The laptop went into the locker and my bag grabbed from my locker. Then a quick walk, almost a jog, to catch the 5:15 train from Sheffield to Edale. It felt like a small escape. I’d always had 20th March in my head as the start of spring; the equinox, that clean, scientific moment when …
The journey north always carries a subtle shift in mood for me; leaving the familiar roads behind, travelling between the Lake District and the Howgill Fells, the call of the mountains gets stronger. Our first stop came just over the border at Gretna Green. For centuries this small village has been famous for one thing: …
Just off the A1, somewhere many of us must have driven past countless times without ever really noticing, lies Langford Lowfields. This is a place that doesn’t immediately announce itself and yet sits quietly waiting beside one of the country’s great rivers. We arrived early to a simple car park, one that lacks the comforts …
Continue reading “At the Tidal Edge: A Wet Day at Langford Lowfields”
It started in the most ordinary of ways: the office slowly emptying, colleagues slipping away, the hum of computers powering down. I waited until the space had stilled, then quietly shouldered my rucksack and stepped out into the city night. Within the hour, I was on a train heading out of Sheffield and into the …
Continue reading “A Microadventure in the Peak District: From Office Desk to Dawn Light”
As usual, we roll in early, creeping down the last stretch of lane that falls away towards the Humber. The small car park by the disabled bays has only a handful of spaces and was already quite busy. As we headed off from the car, the reedbeds quickly came into view and beyond them, two …
There’s something special about London at dawn. The city is barely awake, the streets are quiet. While most of the 15,000 people heading to Big Data LDN are still stirring in their hotel rooms, a small group of us from the DataFitClub lace up our shoes and head into Hyde Park for what has become …
Continue reading “Sunrise Runs at Big Data LDN: A Tradition of Movement and Community”
Some of the finest scrambles in the Peak District are hidden in plain sight. Nether Red Brook is one of them. It’s marked clearly on the 1:25k OS Explorer, yet oddly absent from the BMC’s mountain map. A small oversight, considering this delightful gully is among the best hands-on routes in the Dark Peak. It …
There’s a rhythm to travel when you blend outdoor ritual with discovery: a morning run at sunrise, a pause for yoga, then the road unfurling towards castles, coastlines, and waterfalls. My few days in North Wales followed that rhythm, part adventure, part heritage trail, part mindful escape. Day One The trip began at Basecamp Wales. …
Continue reading “Legends, Castles, and Coastlines: A Road Trip Through North Wales”