Category Archives: Ranting

London 4: William Morris and a Wander Through Walthamstow

Posted on April 6, 2013 by

A WIND to slice ears off whips across the entrance to Walthamstow Central tube station. The temperature is below zero degrees Centigrade and snow settles behind chimney stacks on bleak roofs. This is London at Easter. There are no bunnies … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, History, Life, Pigeons, Politics, Ranting, Walking, William Morris, Writing | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

London 3: A Cold Wet Walk for Pie and Mash

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

THE worst weather is wet snow. It saps the spirit and soaks through to the shoulders. When it whips off a river on an easterly wind it stings and sucks life from fingers and feet. Just as well we’re searching … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Environment, Food, History, Life, Ranting, Religion, Walking, Writing | Tagged | 7 Comments

Mud: It’s Alive and Sticking

Posted on March 4, 2013 by

MUD. Don’t go there except with your feet. Let it fill your boots and stick like it’s supposed to. But don’t delve any deeper unless you want a shovelful of acronyms . . .

Posted in Environment, Footpaths, Geology, Hiking, History, Life, Ranting, Walking | Tagged | 27 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

Circling the Wagons Beneath High Noon Hill

Posted on January 16, 2013 by

IT’S one of those days when nothing goes right, when the most straightforward of plans unravels and you stand in mist and rain with water trickling down your neck, and wonder what possessed you to swing your legs out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Country Land and Business Association, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, Mountains, Northern Echo, Ranting, Walking | Tagged , | 31 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

High Cup – And the Rise and Fall of Belfast Sinks

Posted on November 6, 2012 by

Don’t ever, ever, ever, say the slog from Cow Green to High Cup is devoid of interest . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Barry Bucknell, Belfast sinks, Charles Darwin, Climbing, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Life, Mountains, Ranting, Walking | Tagged , , | 44 Comments

Lucero – Where Old Hatreds Linger

Posted on October 4, 2012 by

LUCERO is a prominent pyramid of baked rock that looks ten times more a mountain than nearly everything twice, three times and four times its size. The approaches from the south are long and incredibly steep. From the north, though, … Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Hiking, History, Life, Mountains, Politics, Ranting, Spanish Civil War, Walking | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Marching as to War – on Beinn á Ghlo

Posted on July 31, 2012 by

BEINN Á GHLO is a fine massif. It rises above Glen Garry in a series of stony peaks and ridges that swoop into wild country away to the east. There are three Munros in this majestic group of hills – … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Environment, Hiking, History, Mountains, Politics, Ranting, Walking | Tagged , , , , | 26 Comments

A Long Slow Walk Through Durham City

Posted on July 16, 2012 by

Walking with 80 banners, 50 bands and the Durham miners . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Durham Miners Gala, History, Life, Politics, Ranting, Walking | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

I’m Not a Pheasant Plucker . . .

Posted on May 24, 2012 by

SO I’m sitting at work doing my job – which consists of creating and editing the national news pages of The Northern Echo and one or two other things – when my eyes alight on a story from the Press … Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Feet First 2012, Hiking, Hunting, Mountains, Northern Echo, Politics, Ranting, Walking | Tagged | 26 Comments

London 2: Casting Bells, Fighting Fascism, Hanging Pirates

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

A walk through the East End in search of the unusual – and a good pint . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Battle of Cable Street, Beer, Food, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Politics, Prospect of Whitby, Ranting, Walking | Tagged , , | 16 Comments