Author Archives: Andrew
Retiring hurt…
I’ve always tried to avoid my hiking blogs becoming litanies of pain and discomfort. I wouldn’t hike if I didn’t enjoy it, overall. But discomfort is definitely involved, and pain too, especially as you get older. I’ve been lucky (so far) in avoiding acute injury while actually hiking but I’ve nonetheless had several brushes with […]
Black Diamond Trail trekking poles: tip replacement
Good and ready for another couple of thousand miles…
A Pennine Way Gear List
In response to several queries as to the practicality of walking the Pennine Way with just a 30 litre rucksack…
Trekkertent Stealth, a compact but reliable ultralight tent.
A tent that’s designed and made in the UK by people who themselves hike and camp in the British hills.
The Pandemic Pennine Way – Itinerary
A quick summary of my 2020 itinerary, mainly just to show how flexible and informal a Pennine Way can be.
The Pennine Way in Eighty-Three Sleeps
Pennine Way enthusiasts (or planners) might be amused to see this diagram, which I painstakingly drew for my book. It shows all the places on the trail where I’ve slept. Using the word ‘sleep’ loosely. Only three of my five PW completions (so far) are exhaustively (or exhaustingly) described on here, June 2016, October 2016 […]
Salomon X-Ultra Trail Shoes
After another few days the whole lace situation became slightly alarming…
Inov-8 Mudclaw 300 Trail Running Shoes after 2500 km
Having idly considered the matter for at least several minutes and, more to the point, found a half-price sale, I bought some of these funky shoes. They’ve been brilliant!
The Pennine Way A Poem A Day
I’ve been and gone and walked the Pennine Way again, for the fifth time! This time as well as completing my summit camps I was on a mad mission to write a poem a day. These were well received on my social and I was implored to put them together into an actual book, so […]
Coast to Coast – Norfolk to Wales 6
When I first ventured into Snowdonia, fortunately under experienced leadership, there were rules…
Coast to Coast – Norfolk to Wales 5
How would I survive a bivy in this? I began to cry out loud to the forest Gods for shelter, oh please, any shelter…
Coast to Coast – Norfolk to Wales 4
I just plonked the bivy down rather informally on the towpath. A couple of dog walkers said hello, but after that I had the place to myself…
Coast to Coast – Norfolk to Wales 3
On my Cosmic Solstice Rebirth Pilgrimage across Britain I now found myself slinking like a damp rat from pub to petrol station, scrounging brownies off innocent residents and slurping instant coffee from cardboard with desperate enthusiasm…
Coast to Coast – Norfolk to Wales 2
What a heritage, what a country. And what better way to appreciate it than to blunder through the whole accumulation, the whole palimpsest of it all, on foot…
Coast To Coast – Norfolk to Wales 1
I stumbled with unusual optimism off my own front doorstep and onto the first long distance hike I’ve ever devised myself. It was to be my best and most unique adventure yet…
Making a Micro-Tarp
My first venture into the murky and laborious world of MYOG – Making Your Own Gear…
Pennine Way – an Entertaining Extension
You may be surprised to hear anyone might casually stroll onwards into Scotland…
Pennine Way Blog 3 – Days 12 to 14
I am running out of expressions for ‘it started to rain really quite heavily’…
An Oldie Outdoors 