It's a week today until I set off for my 5th TGO Challenge, this time walking from Kilchoan to (hopefully) Kinnaber Links via an insanely rambling route that heads west more than a west to east route really should. This is a route I've wanted to do for a while, and sitting in the bar … Continue reading TGO Challenge Preparations – Part 1: Warming-Up
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Walking the River Lea (Part 3)
Ponders End to Broxbourne *I didn't take many photos on this walk, and a lot of the more interesting images ended up on video (linked below)* A day starting and ending with rail replacement buses. Which reduced the available time to walk, and hence the distance walked. Back at Ponders End, I retraced my steps … Continue reading Walking the River Lea (Part 3)
Walking the River Lea (Part 2)
From West Ham to Lea Bridge following the actual River Lea I've just been editing the video for Part 3, and realised I hadn't actually published Part 2. So here it is, albeit in somewhat abbreviated form. One of the things that's irritated me about the Lea Valley Walk is its preference for following a … Continue reading Walking the River Lea (Part 2)
Walking the River Lea (Part 1)
From the confluence with the Thames to Lea Bridge Fresh from finishing the Jubilee Greenway, I quickly decided that the Lea Valley Walk was to be the next project. But unlike the JG, I'd make sure I actually finished it within a sensible time. The Lea Valley Walk runs from the source at Leagrave in … Continue reading Walking the River Lea (Part 1)
Glad That’s Done (Jubilee Greenway Part 4)
Only a few days after finishing the third section, I'm back out again to polish the rest off. As it's not very much distance, I decide to walk from Fenchurch Street to King's Cross rather than take the tube. That adds 4km. Back on the Regent's Canal, it's a similar diet of backs of industrial … Continue reading Glad That’s Done (Jubilee Greenway Part 4)
Thanks for the directions (not!) (Jubilee Greenway Part 3)
I decided some time ago that I'd not go back to finish this walk. The loss of momentum caused by the pandemic made me re-evaluate the worth of doing it compared with something a bit more rural and/or remote. And so nearly 4 years has passed, in which time I've accumulated several bits of uncompleted … Continue reading Thanks for the directions (not!) (Jubilee Greenway Part 3)
2023 Index
Rather than knocking out the usual self-aggrandizing post, going to great lengths to describe every adventure of the year, I thought this year I'd again make it more of an index to the year's content (which is what I mainly use it for anyway) and keep the remarks about how the year went to a … Continue reading 2023 Index
Flogging a Dead Horse (The Icknield way Part 1)
I've been a bit slack in posting over recent months, and the ever growing pile of things I was planning to write about has made catching up with the posts a bigger and bigger task. Last time I left you in Sanquhar at the end of the first chunk of the Southern Upland Way, which … Continue reading Flogging a Dead Horse (The Icknield way Part 1)
MYOG Tent Pockets
A friend recently asked me to make some tent pockets for him. A simple design - basically open pouches that would be secured to the tent inner with safety pins. After a bit of discussion we settled upon using my remaining scraps of Hilleberg inner tent fabric. I decided also, having seen a picture of … Continue reading MYOG Tent Pockets
MYOG Summer Quilt
A while ago, I decided I could do with something to use in the summer when it's warmer, as my other bedding options can be a bit too warm in the height of summer. So rather than spend loads of money buying one, I decided to make one. The design would be simple - it's … Continue reading MYOG Summer Quilt
Southern Upland Way – Part 3: St John’s Town of Dalry to Sanquhar
Day 5: St John's Town of Dalry to Chalk Memorial Bothy Rain at first light meant a bit of a lie in, and when I finally peeped out around 7am, I saw Afke packing up. She'd gone by the time I was properly up. I set off handrailing through the forest and went wrong almost … Continue reading Southern Upland Way – Part 3: St John’s Town of Dalry to Sanquhar
Southern Upland Way – Part 2: Beehive Bothy to St John’s Town of Dalry
Day 3: Beehive Bothy to Caldons A cold night and I never felt quite warm enough, but I seemed to have slept ok. Partly because I wanted to cherish what warmth I had, I was slow in getting up, and when I did emerge found Afke on the point of leaving, and Wolfgang and Sophie … Continue reading Southern Upland Way – Part 2: Beehive Bothy to St John’s Town of Dalry
Southern Upland Way – Part 1: Portpatrick to Beehive Bothy
Day 1: Portpatrick to Castle Kennedy A bowl of porridge with stewed rhubarb and scrambled eggs on toast inside me (I highly recommend the Harbour Lights Guest House in Stranraer), we headed to Tescos for a few lunch bits before getting the bus out to Portpatrick. Portpatrick seemed a pleasant seaside town. However, it had … Continue reading Southern Upland Way – Part 1: Portpatrick to Beehive Bothy
The Southern Upland Way – Planning and Getting to the Start
A bit of Background The Southern Upland Way is one of the "Big 4" of Scotland's Great Trails, being one of the 4 dating back from the days of Long Distance Routes, and predating the re-badging of the English and Welsh ones as National Trails, and the Scottish ones as Great Trails. The Long Distance … Continue reading The Southern Upland Way – Planning and Getting to the Start
Finishing the SWCP
When we started the South West Coast Path, back in 2008, we never expected that it would take until 2023 to finish it. At that time, we didn't even expect to do it all - it was just a pleasant revisit of the scene of some past family holidays. It was only after completing that … Continue reading Finishing the SWCP