Author Archives:

About McEff

Journalist on The Northern Echo, former shipyard electrician, former quarryman and tunneller. Climbs mountains and runs long distances to make life harder. Gravitates to the left in politics just to make life harder still.

Swindale – and this is Alvar Lidell . . .

Swindale has grit, bog, remoteness and bed linen. It’s a valley with attitude but no railway wagons . . . Continue reading

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Hiking, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Railways, Slate quarries, Walking | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Feet First: Keep on running . . .

This gallery contains 2 photos.

I HAVE a plan. Tomorrow is my day off because I worked Sunday. I’ll drive across the icy Pennines to the Lake District, abandon the car on a rough piece of land at a charming cross-roads above Dockray, climb Birkett … Continue reading

More Galleries | | 6 Comments

Glen Roy – A Parallel World

GLEN Roy is the place that thwarted Darwin. That’s Charles Darwin – the man who turned conventional knowledge on its head with his revelation that our ancestors emerged from the sea, not the Garden of Eden. Glen Roy is a … Continue reading

Posted in Charles Darwin, Climbing, Environment, Geology, Glen Roy, Hiking, History, Louis Agassiz, Mountains, Parallel Roads, Walking | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

From Gable’s South Traverse to the Breaker’s Yard

IT’S 7.45am on Friday morning and I’m standing on the flight deck of HMS Invincible, watching the sun rise over a scarlet Morecambe Bay. I shouldn’t be up here; I should be down in the aircraft carrier’s aft engine room … Continue reading

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Hiking, HMS Invincible, Mountains, Napes Needle, Walking, Willie Horne | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

The Circles that You Find . . .

A final trip back into the Bronze Age in search of rock carvings . . . Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Bronze Age, Cup and ring carvings, Environment, Geology, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Stone Circles, Walking | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments

Still Walking in Circles

Exploring the Bronze Age rock art of Barningham Moor . . . Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Bronze Age, Cup and ring carvings, Environment, Hiking, History, Mountains, Stone Circles, Walking | Tagged | 20 Comments

Bronzed Off . . .

Another walk in search of Bronze Age rock carvings high on Barningham Moor . . . Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Bronze Age, Cup and ring carvings, Environment, Hiking, History, Mountains, Stone Circles, Walking | Tagged | 8 Comments

In the Bronze Age on Barningham Moor

Searching for Bronze Age cup and ring carvings on Barningham Moor . . . Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Bronze Age, Cup and ring carvings, Environment, Hiking, History, Life, Mountains, Walking | Tagged | 14 Comments

Madeira: The Royal Road to Ruin (Pico Grande . . . nearly)

THIS is a tale of bewilderment and defeat in a strange and hostile environment. It started out like any other day in the mountains – one man with a cheery whistle and a bag of food. Then things deteriorated . … Continue reading

Posted in Allotments, Climbing, Environment, Hiking, History, Mountains, Walking | Tagged | 12 Comments

Madeira: The High and Mighty (Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo)

The most spectacular walk in the Atlantic . . . Continue reading

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, Mountains, Walking | Tagged | 15 Comments

Madeira: So Let Me Get Right to the Point . . .

A clifftop path through some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the world . . . Continue reading

Posted in Cookery, Environment, Food, Geology, Hiking, Mountains, Walking | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Madeira: Walking with Water

Levada walking in the mountains of Madeira Continue reading

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Levadas, Mountains, Walking | Tagged | 8 Comments