A couple of weeks ago I had a great weekend bouldering on the sharp gabbro boulders of Carrock Fell in the Lake District. The sun shone brightly, the gorse was in bloom, the rock was full of friction, and I climbed well.
Continue reading “Bouldering at Carrock Fell”
In none of my many visits to the Lake District had I ever walked up Cat Bells. I don’t think I ever consciously decided to not set foot on this fell. It’s more likely that an underlying desire to avoid crowded mountains meant that walking up the incredibly popular Cat Bells never occurred to me. Yet, it’s the very things that make Cat Bells well-liked that are the reasons I chose it as the first Lake District fell for my son to climb. Continue reading Never Had I Ever…Walked Up Cat Bells
The best photos of my climbing and hiking adventures in 2019. Continue reading My Climbing 2019 in Pictures
I’ve been wanting to climb on the Langdale Boulders for years. Ever since I moved from mostly climbing trad to mostly bouldering, they have been on my list of places to climb. Famous, iconic and right in the heart of one of the Lake District’s most beautiful valleys. Continue reading Langdale Bouldering
Longsleddale was the one place I really wanted to go on my bouldering trip to the Lake District. Some people might think it a bit strange to prioritise the Settle Earth Boulders in Longsleddale over destination bouldering venues in the Lakes like St Bees or Langdale. Continue reading Bouldering in Longsleddale
I couldn’t actually find the boulders. I walked back and forth along the same stretch of grassy ridge looking at the boulders scattered around me, trying to find one that matched the photos in my new guidebook. Continue reading Bouldering Below The Old Man
The best photos of my climbing and hiking adventures in 2015. Continue reading My Climbing 2015 in Pictures
Badger Rock is a famous boulder that I’d been eager to climb for years. Its reputation is built on providing great climbing, across a range of grades, in a picturesque, quiet Lake District valley. Continue reading Climbing a Wet Badger
My best photos from my climbing and hiking adventures in 2014. Continue reading My Climbing 2014 in Pictures
My best photos from my climbing and hiking adventures in 2013. Continue reading My Climbing 2013 in Pictures
The UK’s first via ferrata is one of the Lake District’s biggest attractions but has also been one of its biggest sources of controversy in the last few years. How might these controversies, and the quality of the climb, affect your decision to pay to climb this via ferrata? Continue reading Wire in the Lakes – the Honister Slate Mine Via Ferrata
I love rime. I love how these tails of ice seem to form on rocks, fences, walls, posts and anything bold enough to stand upright on a frozen, windy mountain. I love how rime’s strange, white crystalline structures seem to sprout from the dark surfaces of rocks to either bring them into relief or bury them in ice. It amazes me that rime can form as a razor of ice down one side of a single blade of grass and as an icy lattice inches deep on a wire fence. What I especially love about rime is how it adds a new beauty and character to these small things as well as to a whole mountain landscape. Continue reading The Beauty of Rime
Rock climbing certainly had to be part of it. My best man, Jim, and I agreed that pretty early on. My stag do would have to involve adventure and I’m a keen climber, plus I had met all of my friends who would be on the trip through rock climbing. However, there were some issues with this idea. Continue reading Rocking stag weekend
the Severe climber 