Some photos from a wee trip up to Tromso in Norway in the first week of January 2016. The fjords around Tromso are literally teaming with whales. I had expected to spend hours scanning the horizon for small black dots but in reality if you went out on a boat, stood in one place and... Continue Reading →
A full moon lit the A9 as I headed north through Stirling, Perthshire and the Cairngorms, illuminating the remnants of last weeks snow and casting an atmospheric glow on shrouds of fog which clung to the mountain sides. Despite the moon and stars adorning a cloudless sky, it was raining. This is a defining feature... Continue Reading →
Climbing Suilven by Norman MacCaig I nod and nod to my own shadow and thrust A mountain down and down. Between my feet a loch shines in the brown, It's silver paper crinkled and edged with rust. My lungs say No; But down and down this treadmill hill must go. Parishes dwindle. But my... Continue Reading →
Tinto hill is an attractive wee peak located just off the M74 motorway in south Scotland, close to the village of Biggar. Being one of the last races in the Scottish hill running calendar and in close proximity to Edinburgh it usually attracts crowds of hundreds. The registration centres for Scottish hill races are often... Continue Reading →
4.30 am on Saturday the 24th of October found me blindly slapping at my bedside table to try and silence my phones obnoxious alarm call. Rain battered off the windows in waves and the streetlights cast eerie shadows of tree branches being tormented by the gale on my bedroom floor. I let out sigh as... Continue Reading →
I dragged a Halgofs Leo +-0 down bag over 4000 miles from Anchorage Alaska to Mexico this summer on my touring bike. I didn’t actually drag it; in fact I neatly packed it into one of my rear panniers where it took up a surprisingly small amount of room. So why the Haglofs Leo down... Continue Reading →
I had never expected to cycle out of San Francisco, the intended end point of my cycle tour. However the lure of an extra few miles, corners, hills, sights and experiences were too much to bear so I set my sights on the Mexican border. I had a choice between cycling inland to Yosemite and... Continue Reading →
A slightly delayed post from my cycle between Portland and San Francisco. I took a series of sneaky back roads out of Portland, cycling along the Nestucca River Road to reach the coast once again. The Oregon coast is beautiful, scattered with campsites which offer $5.00 hiker/biker rates and popular with cyclists so plenty of... Continue Reading →
Before setting off I decided to upgrade my stove from a super light-weight burner I use for mountain marathons to a more sturdy, versatile set-up. Having had issues with canister fuel availability before, I was keen to get something which would adapt to different fuel types. I discussed options with Gus at Gearpest and he... Continue Reading →
I set off from Vancouver on the 19th of July after a great few days relaxing in the city. Highlights were seeing one of my favourite bands, Trampled By Turtles, at the Vancouver folk festival, eating massive sausage and bacon stuffed pancakes at The Elbow Room Café and drinking beer with new friends! I set off alone from Vancouver,... Continue Reading →
