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A Walk in West Yorkshire: 22km/7hrs
This lowland circuit starts in Mytholmroyd, Calderdale, and covers 22km through some of the finest parts of the Calder Valley. The YouTube video below highlights paths near Cragg Vale, former home of the infamous ‘Coiners’, Hebden Bridge, Heptonstall, Pecket Well, and finally Midgley before returning to the beginning. The Calder Valley is glacially formed, with…
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OHMG#6
Six months in… It’s amazing what some focused reflection can do to help solve a problem or gain insight into a tricky challenge. My biggest concern regarding my outdoor progression recently has definitely been how to approach the Lowland Leader award. It sounds pretty straightforward – gain 10 walks in lowland terrain, go to a…
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Classic Walk: Coniston and Wetherlam via the Walna Scar Road 17km
It’s been 15 years since I last visited Coniston. It’s a place where I began most of my early Lake District adventures, and the place where my single biggest outdoor camping fail took place in one particularly disastrous trip when I was 16. Back then, my good friend Chris (check out ”33 Miles of Juggling”…
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QLD#2: The Cleveland Way
A walk from Whitby to Robin Hood’s Bay and back again, via the Cleveland Way and the Cinder Track. I spent quite a long time looking at maps of the Cleveland Way while planning this one. In order for a day to qualify as a ‘Quality Day’ it has to be planned by the individual.…
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Quality Lowland Day 1
The Longdendale Chain – Peak District (video at bottom of the page) I had fully intended to wild camp before setting out, but then had a second thought – I wanted to be well-slept before setting out on the first proper QLD of the scheme. A wild camp would probably have me awake around 3am…
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OHMG#5
Month five of one hundred… So far, I have done one Quality Lowland Day (blog post to come very soon!), have another planned for tomorrow, and have clearer ideas of how I want to interact with the national parks within a limited time frame. So there’s some physical progress towards qualifications, and some mental progress…
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33 Miles of Juggling
Video at the bottom of the article! Every so often, I find myself involved in something that could only really be described as bonkers. A couple of months ago, a very good friend of mine texted me to ask if, as a Mountain Leader, I thought that ‘juggling the three peaks was possible or not?’…
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OHMG#4
This month has been a particularly active one due to the Easter break. Unusually for me, I managed to get essentially the entire holiday off (in terms of the school break, even though I’m not a teacher) and focused totally on preparing for future hiking qualifications. I now have a really exciting first Quality Lowland…
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Crowden to Chew Reservoir circular: 16km (5hrs)
Yesterday, 13th April, I set out on another classic walk that was new to me. Driving back to Crowden, this time in a pretty much empty parking lot, I set off in much more overcast conditions with rain on the way. Just a few days earlier I had been soaking in the sun on my…
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Classic Walk: The Crowden Horseshoe, Peak District (16km – 5hrs)
This weekend just gone, I completed a classic walk called the Crowden Horseshoe. It is a 16km circuit taking in the summit of Black Hill (582m), and is a northern Dark Peak walk, only just within the boundary of the National Park. It is very much a walk of two halves. The first uses the…