When someone happens across an arsenic mine on their land they probably don’t react with “oh that sounds like a great place to visit! Lets build a series of public walking and trails through it!”. Nevertheless, that is what Tamar Trails have done, turning the once poisonous arsenic mines of the Tamar Valley into a walking, mountain biking and general…
After climbing Ben Nevis, our next destination was the Cairngorms. We wanted time to dry out so we stayed Aviemore youth hostel for the first night. I shared with three other people in a dormitory. They were mostly fine to share with other than the one who thought it was acceptable to snooze his alarm twice between 6.30 and 7.…
For my early summer holiday I caught a flight from Birmingham International to Inverness in Scotland. Our plan is to walk up Ben Nevis and climb as many of the Munros as we can. I’ve only been to Scotland once before, and that was bicycle touring around Skye during an unusually dry week. The success of that trip meant I…
The final Snowdonia walk over the Easter holiday was local to where we were staying. We started from Blaenau Ffestiniog and spent the afternoon climbing up through the slate quarries and old waste heaps. It was miserable weather when we woke up on the Friday morning. The mountains surrounding us were shrouded in cloud and heavy rain filled the valley.…
The first thing we did the day after arriving in Snowdonia was walk up to the top of Mount Snowdon. It is 1085 metres high, and the highest mountain in England and Wales. A bit of research beforehand revealed that there are 8 main routes to the top, ranked from hardest to easiest these are: Crib Goch – lots of…
My Easter holiday this year was to Wales with a couple of friends. We spent a day in the Wye Valley (and spotted a family of boar!) and then carried on to Snowdonia where we spent a few days walking in the mountains. I investigated the route from the Wye Valley to Snowdonia beforehand and found that Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall…
When you’re bombing it down the A30 into deepest Cornwall you are guaranteed to pass Halvana Plantation. It is situated near Altarnun and borders the edge of Bodmin Moor. The dark, foreboding mass of trees is bound to make you wary – something only an evergreen forest can accomplish. It covers 186 hectares and there are many well made tracks…
The fishing boat crests a new wave, and balances for a split second before crashing down into the trough. On deck, the two sailors desperately fight to keep the boat afloat whilst attempting to steer for the sheltered harbour. Its high walls signal safety from the wrath of the weather. Hours pass and still they struggle the waves pushing them…
My last long-distance cycle of 2016 was from Bournemouth to the Isle of Portland and back. I spotted it on the map and was instantly interested in visiting due to it being connected by a narrow strip of beach and road to the mainland and the cloudy history that surrounds Church Ope cove. The Isle is 4 miles (6 km)…
On one of my cycle rides around Dorset during my university years I stumbled upon a most unusual thing. As I peddled along one of the Dorset lanes I spotted a tall tower atop one of the nearby hills. I cycled in a large loop around it, trying to figure out how to get closer. At one point stopping to…