- BECAUSE THEY'RE THERE is about climbing mountains – nothing else. Well, actually, there are one or two other things. But it's mostly about climbing mountains. And fish and chips. And politics. And doing a bit of fell running. And wondering where the hell your life's gone – and where it might be going next. And cooking kippers in a wet tent. And people you bump into who do similar things. Actually, that last one doesn't happen very often . . .
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© Alen McFadzean and Because They’re There, 2009-2017. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Alen McFadzean and Because They’re There with appropriate and specific direction to the original content
Category Archives: Ranting
Forgive Them Their Trespasses?
IT’S a perfect spring morning in 1982. Arkengarthdale slumbers green and shadowy beneath a blue sky as we sit in damp grass and drink tea from tartan Thermos flasks. Nothing moves except the wind in the heather and the birds … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeology, Caving, Climbing, Country Land and Business Association, Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Environment, Footpaths, Highland Clearances, Hiking, History, Hunting, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Politics, Potholing, Ranting, Rivers, Walking
Tagged Cumbria, Lake District, Mining History, outdoors, Pennines, Scotland, Snowdonia, The Lakes, Wales, WPLongform
34 Comments
Days Like This, No 15: Walking From Penrith to Ravenglass
Backpacking through the Lakes on Vesta Beef Curry in 1978 . . . Continue reading
Posted in Beer, Camping, Climbing, English language, Environment, Food, Hiking, History, Life, Mountains, Politics, Ranting, The Romans, Traditions, Walking, Weather, William Wordsworth
Tagged Cumbria, Lake District, Mining History, outdoors, The Lakes, WPLongform
61 Comments
Arkengarthdale Moor and the Death of Sods Law
SOMETIMES when you walk through wild and lonely countryside you experience a creeping realisation that things haven’t always been the way they seem. The heathery moors to the west of Reeth, in the northern Pennines, are empty places except for … Continue reading
Posted in Coal mining, Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, History, horse gins, Hunting, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Pennine Way, Railways, Ranting, Ruins, Tan Hill Inn, Traditions, Walking, Weather
Tagged Cumbria, Mining History, outdoors, Pennines, WPLongform
45 Comments
It’s the Poor What Gets the Blame
WE’RE going to try something different today. I’m off for a short run across the hills above Richmond, North Yorkshire, because it’s time I knocked myself back into a semblance of fitness – but this post is all about ethics … Continue reading
Posted in Country Land and Business Association, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, Hunting, Ranting, Running, Teesdale, Teesside, Walking, Weather
Tagged outdoors, Pennines, WPLongform
38 Comments
A Christmas Walk: With Ghosts on Baysdale Moor
I AM wary of the North York Moors because they are more than a little bit sinister. They are wild and empty, peppered with the scratchings of forgotten people, laced with legends, and punctuated with the stumps of ancient crosses … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeology, Captain James Cook, Cleveland Way, Death, Environment, Footpaths, Ghosts, Hiking, History, Hunting, Industrial archaeology, Legends, Mountains, Politics, Ranting, Ruins, Teesside, Walking, Weather
Tagged Cleveland Hills, Mining History, North York Moors, outdoors, WPLongform
42 Comments
Sweet Tees Flow Softly (Black Friday Aftermath)
IN this land of eternal gloom, where fog hangs in grey air and moisture drips from autumn berries and bedraggled sheep, Romans once marched to distant outposts on a cold northern frontier. They crossed many rivers on their journey from … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeology, Belfast sinks, Black Friday, English language, Environment, Ewan MacColl, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Iron Age, Jargon, Railway goods wagons, Ranting, Rivers, Ruins, Teesdale, Teesside, The Romans, Walking, Weather, York
Tagged outdoors, Pennines, transportation, WPLongform
53 Comments
South Gare in the Eye of the Beholder
SOMETIMES ugly landscapes can be inspiring. I was going to say beautiful, but I hesitated and typed inspiring instead. I might reconsider before the end of the post because South Gare is a landscape that should be protected. It’s one … Continue reading
Posted in Childhood, Environment, Food, History, Industrial archaeology, Life, Politics, Ranting, Rivers, Ruins, Second World War, South Gare, Teesside, Traditions, Walking
Tagged Cleveland Hills, Cumbria
32 Comments
In Between One England and Another
I’M in between mountains at the moment. And I’m in between jobs. I’m in between a lot of stuff. If I wrote a book I’d call it The Inbetweener but I’d probably get sued. Today I’m going for a walk … Continue reading
Posted in Cleveland Way, Climbing, Footpaths, Great North Road, Hiking, Jargon, Life, Mountains, Ranting, Redundancy, Ruins, Teesdale, Unemployment, Walking
Tagged Cleveland Hills, North York Moors, outdoors, Pennines, Scotland, WPLongform
31 Comments
The Environment is Positively Charged
WHEN you’ve sat for a hundred miles in the passenger seat of an Austin Maxi 1500 listening to Tony Blackburn on Radio 1 there aren’t many things left to keep you occupied – so you stick your instamatic camera out … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Hiking, Industrial archaeology, Life, Mountains, Ranting, Windmills
Tagged Cumbria, Lake District, Mining History, outdoors, The Lakes
15 Comments
Scaud Hill and Beyond – At My Leisure
An angry walk between Teesdale and Weardale . . . Continue reading
Posted in Caving, Childhood, Environment, Hiking, History, horse gins, Industrial archaeology, Life, Mountains, Newsquest, Northern Echo, Politics, Ranting, Redundancy, Ruins, Second World War, Unemployment, Walking
Tagged Mining History, outdoors, Pennines, WPLongform
39 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 Norfolk Coast Path, outdoors, Wherryman's Way, WPLongform
30 Comments