  My early years living on the fringe of the Peak District and within a short drive of Snowdonia, meant that walking was always something to be enjoyed. My first job was in Cheshire (with the Min of Ag, Fish and Food) where I joined the local climbing and caving club. Whilst in Cheshire I discovered winter climbing in Scotland which in turn led to four summer trips to the Alps where we climbed many of the classic (ie easy) snow and ice routes including the Matterhorn, Eiger west face, Aiguille de Chardonnet, Mt Blanc and Monte Rosa. Unusually for climbers at the time, we enjoyed our walking as much as our climbing.
In my mid 20s I moved Departments to Wolverhampton VAT where I did little walking but carried on skiing. Following my divorce in my 30s I applied for and got, a job with Customs in Plymouth - probably the first place I moved to because I actually wanted to live and work there. Dartmoor was on my doorstep and holidays in Scotland, North Wales, Europe and America gave me regular fixes of walking and/or skiing.
All my family (on both sides) come from the north of England and when my parents left me a bit of money I had no hesitation in buying a cottage in the Lakes ten years ago, which I would let out for seven years before moving up when I took early retirement three years ago. Today I still walk and ski with the odd gentle scramble. I have a season ticket for Stoke City (someone has to do it) and I shoot grey squirrels when they venture into my garden; this took a bit of psyching myself up for but it has to be done if the reds are to survive. I count myself lucky to live in one of the most beautiful and mountainous areas of Britain - especially as it is full of people (such as OFC members) who feel the same way about it as I do.
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Tuesday, 22 January 2008 |
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 Snow yesterday evening and overnight and an anticipated thaw later today, meant that there was no point in waiting for better conditions if I wanted to get a snow walk done. So, 9am saw me parking the car in the carpark at the top of Blease Road, Threlkeld. It was still clear on the summit ridge but it didn't look as if that would last long.
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Saturday, 12 January 2008 |
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 Today I had lunch with Alan Hinkes on Helvellyn! Well, to be more accurate, I was having lunch at the summit shelter when Alan popped up with a party of climbers. Read on.......
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Friday, 04 January 2008 |
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 When I went to bed last night we had snow on the ground and when I woke up this morning we had more! The cloud was still down though, so I didn't really fancy heading for one of the higher fells. Instead I opted for a walk from my door.
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Sunday, 30 December 2007 |
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 Last Sunday Roger and Ann and Jo and I and our five dogs met at Patterdale for a walk over St Sunday Crag. As the forecast was for improving weather during the afternoon, we set off up Grisedale rather than heading directly for St Sunday Crag. The odd spot of drizzle soon cleared up as we climbed the long trail from green fields to the more rocky head of the valley.
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Wednesday, 19 December 2007 |
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 You may have wondered why Polly and I have not been out on the fells in the amazing weather we have been having over the past week. Well, Polly caught a nasty bacterial infection nearly two weeks ago and was restricted to Weetabix, scrambled egg, boiled rice and poached fish for nearly a week. Once she was cured she had to build up to walking up hills again and once she had recovered her strength, I pulled a muscle in my back!!!
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Thursday, 15 November 2007 |
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 Since I have owned Fornside I have traversed High Rigg more times than I care to remember. I've done it in sun, rain, mist and snow but never on a frosty morning until today.
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Tuesday, 13 November 2007 |
 I must be mad. I chose an exposed walk today in winds which probably gusted close to 50 mph at times. I parked at Mungrisdale at 9am in grey windy conditions but with no rain. If I had known just how windy it was on the tops I might have driven home without getting out of the car. |
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Sunday, 28 October 2007 |
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 A reasonable forecast for the fells today after a torrential downpour in the night. Sure enough by 8am patches of blue sky were appearing. My drive to Seathwaite was quite exciting as Borrowdale had flooded in the night. But the road was passable with care.
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Wednesday, 24 October 2007 |
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 A blue sky frosty morning today meant that a walk was irresistable and after defrosting the car (-6 degrees C overnight at Fornside) I headed for Chapel Bridge in the Newlands valley.
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Thursday, 18 October 2007 |
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 A wonderful clear morning made walking irresistable today. I had been toying with the idea of doing Wainwright's Grasmoor "direct route" for some time. Because it is steep and strenuous I wanted cool conditions, which we certainly had this morning, and I also wanted dry conditions for obvious reasons - so today seemed ideal.
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