Category Archives: Religion

Chasing the Storm

Posted on October 23, 2015 by McFadzean

I RISE at 6am because the thought of wandering through olive groves by the light of a headlamp and climbing mountains as the sun floods the sky appeals to me. But as I’m getting dressed, silent flashes which momentarily transform … Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Footpaths, GR 240, GR 7, Hiking, Mountains, Religion, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , | 35 Comments

The 235 Steps

Posted on January 7, 2015 by McFadzean

DURHAM is a great place for walkers. Excellent paths follow a winding riverside and fork up into the traffic-free city centre, which because of its historical significance has held Unesco World Heritage Site status since 1986. The city has plenty … Continue reading →

Posted in Durham Miners Gala, Footpaths, Hiking, History, John Buchan, Religion, Tyneside, Walking | Tagged , , | 38 Comments

Lindisfarne – A Pilgrim’s Progress

Posted on June 17, 2014 by McFadzean

THERE are not many walks in Britain best undertaken barefoot – but crossing the two-and-a-half miles of mudflats to the island of Lindisfarne is one of them. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and today I have the chance. … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Legends, Life, Religion, Ruins, Shipping Forecast, Vikings, Walking, Weather, York | Tagged , , , | 61 Comments

Cross Fell – Fiends, Rivers, Paths and Poets

Posted on May 23, 2014 by McFadzean

A walk up Cross Fell and down the Tees and Tyne . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Footpaths, Ghosts, Hiking, History, Legends, Life, Mountains, Pennine Way, Poetry, Railway goods wagons, Railways, Religion, Rivers, Teesdale, Teesside, Tyneside, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments

Old Roads, a Fallen Lady, St Jude and Thoughts for the Day

Posted on May 9, 2014 by McFadzean

A walk through the lead mines of the North Pennines . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Death, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Life, Mountains, Religion, Rivers, Ruins, Teesdale, Teesside, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

In the Footsteps of Offa

Posted on October 2, 2013 by McFadzean

CALL me a romantic, but occasionally I have been known to throw a load of camping gear in the back of the car and head off – on the spur of the moment – towards unknown mountains, with neither care … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Camping, Climbing, Cookery, Environment, Food, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Legends, Mountains, Music, Offa's Dyke, Religion, Walking | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

Blencathra by the Back Door . . . Grudgingly

Posted on July 12, 2013 by McFadzean

MUNGRISDALE is a village where curtains twitch. Eyes watch your every movement from behind rhododendrons and clipped hedges. Security cameras are positioned above cottage doorways. And the parish council charges visitors £2 to park their cars on a tiny patch … Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Hiking, History, King Arthur, Legends, Mountains, Music, Ranting, Religion, Walking | Tagged , , , | 34 Comments

Above Bethesda – Ancient and Modern

Posted on June 10, 2013 by McFadzean

TO the south-west of Bethesda an open moor rises towards the clouded heights of Elider Fawr and Mynedd Perfedd. It’s a wild place dotted with occasional ruins and sheepfolds and crossed by indistinct trackways . . .

Posted in Archaeology, Climbing, Environment, Food, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Religion, Scotch pies, Slate quarries, Walking | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments

London 5: Butchers, Saints and Sinners

Posted on April 17, 2013 by McFadzean

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 3: A Cold Wet Walk for Pie and Mash

Posted on April 3, 2013 by McFadzean

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