21st April 2019: Keld to Aysgarth – 14.5m When I set out this morning I had every intention of walking from Keld to Reeth along the new low route, beside the River Swale, that I’m adding to the fourth edition of the guide book. As it turned out, I ended...
20th April 2019: Keld to Reeth – 12m I slept like a log (an expression that has always baffled me), that is to say I slept soundly. Soft pillows helped immensely of course as did not having to listen to a neighbour’s TV all night. I stirred about 5am and...
19th April 2019: Hawes to Keld – 11.8m I dozed off about 8pm last night, but never got a decent period of sleep, thanks to the inconsiderate twat in the room next door who decided that full volume was the only way to listen to the TV. He/she was also...
18th April 2019: Aysgarth to Hawes – 13.1m I set out from Aysgarth in a mixed frame of mind this morning. It was good to be walking again, but the disappointment from last night was still weighing heavy on me. City’s Champions League quarter final against Spurs was one of...
Next week I’ll be driving to Aysgarth to begin 5 days walking around some of my favourite northern Yorkshire Dales. The primary motivation for this is to do a complete re-walk of the Herriot Way route in preparation for the latest update of the guide book. For those unfamiliar with...
I wrote a similar post to this one, in March last year, setting out my plans for the coming year (see here) and I didn’t do too badly in the end. I walked the Eden Way and completed the guide book for that walk. I only managed a couple of...
A couple of weeks ago I finished writing my latest guide book; The Eden Way. This is the third and final book in a series of three guides, following the rivers that rise on the ridge above the Mallerstang valley on the border of Cumbria and North Yorkshire. The other two...
Another early night resulted in another early rise, I was conscious by about 5am and snoozed until 7am. A quick look out the bedroom window revealed grey skies but I could see all the hills and it looked like it should be a perfect walking day. As usual the first...
It was thundering and lightning further down the valley when I arrived at the Moorcock Inn last night. I’d had an easy drive up from home through moderate Friday evening traffic and stopped for sausage and chips at the Haddock Paddock in Sedbergh on the way. Unfortunately it’s Appleby Horse...
I set out on my second long-distance path of the year next Saturday. All my walking plans for this year are based around guide books; either new books or new editions of my existing books. Next week’s walk is to allow a complete re-write of the Tributaries Walk; a 93-mile,...
I’m always wary of publishing my plans for the year ahead, just look back over my previous posts and see how many plans I’ve made and then abandoned or failed to follow through on. However, as Winston Churchill once said, “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential” and...
My small portfolio of written work has increased gradually over the past few years, with two new guide books added last year, and plans to add another two this year. Until now, I’ve created and managed a website for each new publication, which was fine when there was only a...
