Category Archives: Ruins

Days like this, No 27: The Old Man of Hoy

Posted on October 13, 2017 by McFadzean

ROBERT Louis Stevenson; John Buchan; Enid Blyton; Daniel Defoe; Jules Verne; William Golding; Arthur Ransome; CS Lewis: Jonathan Swift; RM Ballantyne. They had many things in common. But the link that draws this diverse scattering of authors into one archipelago … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Camping, Childhood, Climbing, Environment, Hiking, History, Ruins, Second World War, Shipping Forecast, Vikings, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

Stranger in Paradise

Posted on July 3, 2017 by McFadzean

A STRANGER emerges from the dawn shadows and threads his way through banks of oleander and olive trees towards the hidden settlement of El Morreon. The sun colours the Sierra Nevada and surrounding mountains an indifferent blue, while in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, Life, Mountains, Rivers, Ruins, Stone Circles, Threshing floors, Walking | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Karst Adrift

Posted on November 3, 2016 by McFadzean

LOTS of interesting stuff happens when you go walking without a map in a strange country. You see things you didn’t expect to see. Conversely, you don’t see the things you expect to see because you can’t work out how … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Caving, Climbing, Environment, Footpaths, Geology, Hiking, Industrial archaeology, Karst, Mountains, Potholing, Rivers, Ruins, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments

In the Valley of the Toril

Posted on August 8, 2016 by McFadzean

PATHS. They begin at our door and run through our lives. They rise and buckle and lead us to unknown places. They appear in all guises: woodland paths; coastal paths; moorland paths; paths of righteousness; paths of destiny. Sometimes they … Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Footpaths, Gerald Brenan, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Rivers, Ruins, Spanish Civil War, Threshing floors, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

The High and Mighty Mines of Lújar

Posted on July 11, 2016 by McFadzean

A hard slog to the ancient mines on Sierra de Lújar, in southern Spain . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Caving, Climbing, Environment, Footpaths, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Potholing, Quarrying, Ruins, Slate quarries, The Romans, Walking, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Happy Valleys

Posted on March 14, 2016 by McFadzean

THROUGH a settling of plaster dust I snatch glimpses of snow-capped mountains. Above a hammering of nails I hear gusting wind in treetops and the cry of a bird. And when the wind sweeps away the sharp tang of varnish … Continue reading →

Posted in Barry Bucknell, Childhood, DIY, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, Life, Mountains, Politics, Ranting, Rivers, Ruins, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 46 Comments

Autumn and Unfound Paths

Posted on October 19, 2015 by McFadzean

THAT feeling has returned – the yearning that has its roots in the depths of the stomach and rises in a flood of warmth and expectation. All I did was raise my eyes towards the hills and behold streams of … Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Cycling, Footpaths, Hiking, Mountains, Ruins, Walking | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments

Days Like This, No 21: Eternity in Borrowdale

Posted on May 27, 2015 by McFadzean

THE closest thing to eternity is a cold night in a tent. Hope dies while hours limp slowly past. Supernovae fade and constellations shift as time distorts and clocks refuse to tick. Body heat is sucked into the ungrateful ground. … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Ruins, Slate quarries, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , , | 43 Comments

On a Whim to William Gill

Posted on May 7, 2015 by McFadzean

WILLIAM GILL is an offshoot of Arkengarthdale in the northern Pennines and is the shallow valley leading to the source of Arkle Beck. It’s a place only the lonely visit because it’s right in the middle of one of those … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Coal mining, English language, Environment, Footpaths, Geology, Hiking, History, horse gins, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Pennine Way, Rivers, Ruins, Tan Hill Inn, Walking | Tagged , , , | 34 Comments

Arkengarthdale Moor and the Death of Sods Law

Posted on February 17, 2015 by McFadzean

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 , , , , | 45 Comments

Done on Great Dun Fell

Posted on February 8, 2015 by McFadzean

THERE are certain things in this world on which you should never depend and one of them is the weather forecast. I’ll think of a few more before I’m through, but the weather forecast will suffice for now. The outlook … Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Pennine Way, Ruins, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

A Christmas Walk: With Ghosts on Baysdale Moor

Posted on December 16, 2014 by McFadzean

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 , , , , | 42 Comments