Category Archives: Beer

Days Like This, No 8: The Five Sisters of Kintail

I HITCH a ride from Shiel Bridge along Glen Shiel. I used to do a lot of hitching but times and attitudes change. People are more wary of strangers these days. Everyone is less communicative. But what the heck. The … Continue reading

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Posted in Beer, Camping, Climbing, Environment, Hiking, Mountains, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

Feet of Cley on the Norfolk Coast Path

SHINGLE banks are not the easiest terrain to walk across. And between the north Norfolk village of Cley and the town of Sheringham they stretch for miles. It???s a matter of steer your prow into the wind and start plodding … Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Beer, Bronze Age, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Newsquest, Norfolk Broads, Politics, Ranting, Redundancy, Second World War, Walking, Windmills | Tagged , , , | 30 Comments

Days Like This, No 1: The Aonach Eagach Ridge

THE Aonach Eagach is one of the most exhilarating high-level walks on the British mainland. The ridge forms the northern wall of Glencoe and stretches in a line of imposing crags from the foot of the glen to the pass … Continue reading

Posted in Beer, Camping, Climbing, Environment, Glencoe, Hiking, History, Life, Mountains, Walking | Tagged , , , , | 37 Comments

Stamford Bridge: A Long Walk to the Last Battle

Walking from York to Stamford Bridge in search of Vikings . . . Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Beer, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Legends, Northern Echo, Railways, The Romans, Vikings, Walking, York | Tagged , , , , | 38 Comments

Walking up the Camino and Down Again

NOVEMBER in the Sierra Nevada. This camino runs from the rio Guadalfeo to Orgiva. It???s a back lane from a river to the centre of a small town. It is steep and long. Cars can be a problem. Goats can … Continue reading

Posted in Beer, Footpaths, Hiking, Mountains, Walking | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Forever Changing ??? Broad Majestic Duddon

A walk along the shifting sands of the Duddon estuary . . . Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Beer, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Second World War, Walking, William Wordsworth | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

London 5: Butchers, Saints and Sinners

BLOWN on a thin wind around a corner from the Barbican tube station past a private park surrounded by private railings to a place where knights once jousted on a meadow called the Smooth Field ??? which was situated just … Continue reading

Posted in Beer, Cookery, Death, Environment, Food, History, Life, Pigeons, Politics, Religion, Walking, Writing | Tagged | 14 Comments

London 4: William Morris and a Wander Through Walthamstow

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

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 | 10 Comments

London 2: Casting Bells, Fighting Fascism, Hanging Pirates

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 , , | 19 Comments

London 1: Old Roads, Karl Marx, Two Dicks

The best thing to do on a visit to London is get the hiking boots out . . . Continue reading

Posted in Beer, Dick Turpin, Environment, Great North Road, Hiking, History, Karl Marx, Politics, The Spaniards Inn, Walking | Tagged , , | 18 Comments