Skip to content

British Mountaineering Council

Blinded by the Light…

I’ve walked the path from Mam Tor to Lose Hill more times than I can count.  Over the years it has changed dramatically as thousands of pairs of boots take their toll on rock, soil and grass.  Popularity has been punishing and pounding this beautiful place into dust.  Stone paving has been laid from Hollins Cross to Mam Tor in an effort to lessen the erosion, and the old six lane motorway of tiered paths is recovering.  Around the trig point another bed of stones has been laid as this is one of the most famous viewpoints in the Peak District.  Some people like the work, whilst others detest it.  I don’t like the countryside changing, but we are damaging it at an ever-increasing rate.

Read More »Blinded by the Light…

Walking into the New Year…

Around 25 years ago, I started leading a New Year’s Walk.  Initially it was for a small group of friends, brought together by shared experiences on expedition with Operation Raleigh, but it has grown to encompass so many more.  Adventurers from over 25 years of international travel, family, fellow speakers, school friends, neighbours, friends of friends etc. all turn up  to walk, eat, drink and talk.  I have never run the event as a route march, because to me, this is much more than a walk.  It’s an important occasion for people to meet socially and enjoy a day in the hills.

Read More »Walking into the New Year…

The Right Frame of Mind…

 

vale-of-edale

Some people will tell you that you must write regular updates on your website, but what if you’ve got nothing to say..?  What, in this modern world of Blogging and Social Media, do you do when nothing really happens.  I’ll tell you what happens.  You write rubbish, post rubbish and spread rubbish.  There’s plenty of it out there, with innumerable tales of people’s eating, sleeping and weeping habits.  What if we only wrote when we had something important to say..?  Lately I’ve not been in the right frame of mind to write.  A combination of medical tests, stress, lame excuses and let downs has distracted my creativity.  I didn’t want to write rubbish, so I wrote nothing at all.   As Cyril Connolly famously wrote in 1933 – “Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self’.

Read More »The Right Frame of Mind…

You and Yours – Here’s Me and Mine…

Cairngorm-Plateau

The 2012/2013 Scottish winter season has caught the eyes of the press on many occasions, due to the high number of avalanche victims.  There have been 13 deaths so far, with Journalist (and ex MSP) Dorothy Grace-Elder attracting much attention with her views.  Today, she appeared on the Radio 4 programme You and Yours, with the opinion that all Mountaineers should hold rescue insurance.  Here’s what I think…

Read More »You and Yours – Here’s Me and Mine…