Category Archives: Quarrying

Thirty Years On – Cwmorthin Revisited

Posted on May 22, 2013 by

From one side of a Welsh mountain to another – underground and overground . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Caving, Climbing, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Politics, Potholing, Quarrying, Ranting, Slate quarries, Walking, William Morris | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

Only a Rosedale, I give you . . .

Posted on March 11, 2013 by

THIS set out to be a hike to the Rosedale iron mines – but I got tangled in a fox hunt and that’s far more entertaining. It was also a day of bewildering signposts, dazzling sunlight, heather fire haze and … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Climbing, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Hunting, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Railways, Walking | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

A Blackpowder Blast From the Past

Posted on February 26, 2013 by

IUSED to blow up huge chunks of Cumbrian hillside for a living. I stopped doing it not through any regard for conservation or the environment, but because I’d noticed that none of my more senior colleagues ever reached retirement age … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Explosives, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Railway goods wagons, Ranting, Slate quarries, Walking | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

Rookhope: A Reminder of Who We Are

Posted on December 7, 2012 by

WEARDALE is a Pennine valley that has the footprints of industry stamped all over it. It has no pretentions and shows no inclination to tidy itself up. That’s why it appeals to me so much . . .

Posted in Archaeology, Climbing, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Railway goods wagons, Railways, Ranting, Walking | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Memories – Misty, Water-Coloured and Unreliable

Posted on November 21, 2012 by

Even the best and the clearest of mountain memories cannot be relied on . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Environment, Glencoe, Hiking, Life, Mountains, Quarrying, Slate quarries, Walking, Writing | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Swindale – and this is Alvar Lidell . . .

Posted on February 21, 2012 by

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 , , | 27 Comments

Kentmere – In the Footsteps of the Forgotten

Posted on September 29, 2011 by

Looking for history in the abandoned quarries of the Lake District Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Life, Mountains, Quarrying, Slate quarries, Walking | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Farewell to Meall a Bhuiridh, Creise . . . and Fiunary

Posted on September 16, 2011 by

It all started with an LP cover – and thirty years later, that song still haunts me on moor and on mountain . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Geology, Highland Clearances, Hiking, History, Mountains, Quarrying, Walking | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Long Meg – Standing with the Stones

Posted on August 10, 2011 by

Neolithic memories in a stone circle on the edge of the Lakes Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, C2C, Cycling, Environment, Geology, History, Mountains, Quarrying, Walking | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Yew Crag Incline and the Quarryman’s Bedstead

Posted on July 26, 2011 by

Searching for history in abandoned slate workings above Honister Pass . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, Mountains, Quarrying, Slate quarries, Walking | Tagged , , | 2 Comments