Summer swung into play with the end of a big project. By late May I had completed the manuscript for Time on Rock, a nature writing book about rock climbing, and once the major edits were signed off, I was free. My release coincided with another great relaxation – the ending of COVID lockdown restrictions. … Continue reading Of Rocks and mountains // A Summer Release
July rolls in and the Highlands are busy. Campervans and caravans and motorbikes and cars and cyclists and walkers and runners and holiday makers of all shapes and sizes are up, roaming through the glens, lochs, islands, towns and villages of the north, all chasing their own various summer pleasures and who after all can … Continue reading An excursion into Moidart and Ardnamurchan
During the intra-lockdown period in the way-back-when of early January, I headed out for a mountain day with a difference. I often hit the hills alone. I like my own company on the mountain – I like the space to think, look, roam and wander/wonder. Often, especially when climbing, I head into the hills with … Continue reading Ladies Day / Brothers Ridge
Beinn a Bhuird and Ben Avon The Table Mountain and the River Mountain A dark drive on frozen winding roads. Star light. Moon light. We cycle in up the glen, passing skeletal alder and birch, following the crystal clear chattering of the River Avon, as the sky starts to pale, yellowing with sunrise. A ruined … Continue reading Winter Cairngorms
Long days. Sunshine. Midges. Rain. Camping. Face masks. And plenty of time on rock. This year I have been hard at work, writing Time on Rock, a nature-writing book all about my route into rock climbing. Sitting at a desk, trying to remember the feel of the rock, the look of a landscape, the emotions … Continue reading Summer
During the topsy-turvy time of global pandemic and international lockdown, when normal life is on hold and bad news proliferates, I had the wonderful and slightly surreal experience of winning two writing awards on the same day. First, the manager of Moniack Mhor called to tell me I had won their Travel Writing Award. Then, … Continue reading Moving with granite
A fierce wind blows down the ridge. Hail comes in and I burrow deeper into my hood. The frozen flecks sear the skin. My feet wade through snow and slide over frozen rocks. Each breath is snatched from the elements. The mountain forecast on Sunday promised ‘arduous’ walking conditions. Gale force winds, 40% chance of … Continue reading Chasing rainbows on Schiehallion
When I was a child, minutes were long. The clock moved slowly. Summer holidays stretched into the far distance and a year was beyond reckoning. People say that as you get older, time compresses. Seconds vanish. Minutes disappear. Weeks race by – and suddenly it is Christmas again – and here’s a whole new year … Continue reading Shadows and Reflections: 2019
I shook the tent. White crystals flew from the green nylon, swirling like the world inside a child’s snowglobe. Emma’s morning brew took a while to reach the boil – the water had frozen solid overnight. I have just returned from an intensive week of Mountain Leader (ML) training in Fort William. After years of … Continue reading Mountain Leader Training
“Are you sure this is the way?” We walk towards a sheer wall of slate. “Pretty sure.” At the bottom of the wall there are a few rocks. Between the rocks – a tiny black gap. “We’ve got to drop down there?” I ask dubiously. “Yep!” Peering into the darkness, I make out a few … Continue reading Snakes and Ladders (and tunnels)
How does one know a mountain? Of all the mountains in the Cairngorms, there is something about Braeriach. It is not the tallest one here – across the Lairig Ghru, Ben Macdui stands a little higher. Bynack Mor and Ben Mheadhoin have more interesting summits, studded with weathered granite tors that delight hand and eye. … Continue reading Braeriach
One of the most striking experiences from my recent trip to Iceland was seeing the iceberg lagoons below the Vatnajökull ice cap. Vatnajökull is the largest ice cap in Iceland: 380 metres thick and covering 3,000 square miles or 8% of Iceland’s land mass. Like most glaciers around the world, it is in retreat. The … Continue reading Iceland II: ice, light and endless blue
As I planned my trip to Iceland, my friends told me about a remarkable walk through the remote highlands: the Laugavegur Trail. A 55 kilometre route that passes by hot springs and ice caps, crossing deserts and glacial rivers. They showed me impossible photographs: rainbow hillsides that looked like they had been painted onto the … Continue reading Iceland I: into the Highlands
Well. I’m just back from the trip of a lifetime. For ten days, I walked, camped and explored Iceland. We were there for the longest day: the sun dipped below the horizon for less than three hours per day. Snipe drummed and curlews called through the night. The sky was always light. We saw icebergs, … Continue reading Iceland impressions
the granite sea 