Category Archives: Weather

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

An Uneasy Night on Cerro de la Salchicha

Posted on September 25, 2017 by McFadzean

SPENDING a night on the summit of a mountain, watching the sun sink into a splash of gold and the constellations revolve in blue-black emptiness, does have a romance and a sense of adventure about it. There is something raw … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Environment, Hiking, Hunting, Mountains, Walking, Weather, Wild boar, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Day’s Like This, No 24: Beinn Alligin – Horns and All

Posted on August 25, 2016 by McFadzean

BEINN Alligin lifts itself out of Upper Loch Torridon with the casual assurance of a big beast among a clan of big beasts. With walls of bare striated sandstone and ridges that slice the wind, Alligin is a monument to … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Environment, Fish and chips, Footpaths, Geology, Hiking, Mountains, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments

Days Like This, No 23: Slioch – The Unseen Mountain

Posted on August 15, 2016 by McFadzean

A LONG drive through the night to a lay-by on the shores of Loch Maree. A snatch of sleep broken by an airless dawn. Noodles and tea for breakfast while midges sting eyelids and ears. Then to gaze into an … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Footpaths, Hiking, Mountains, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , | 21 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

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

Days like This, No 22: An August Bank Holiday Secret

Posted on August 30, 2015 by McFadzean

I HAVE resolved to leave my hiking boots in the back of the Mini Estate this August Bank Holiday and avoid the Lake District fells. The reason is simple. The roads will be crammed with Vauxhall Vivas, Morris 1300s, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Butterflies, Childhood, Climbing, English language, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Life, Mountains, Traditions, Walking, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | 19 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

Days Like This, No 20: Glimpses on Gable

Posted on May 15, 2015 by McFadzean

EARLY morning on the South Traverse. The southern crags of Great Gable soak up sunlight. Rocks are warm to the touch beneath their volcanic tuff roughness and crumbly lichen. In the air, the bleat of a distant ewe and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Footpaths, Geology, Hiking, Life, Mountains, Napes Needle, Tarns, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Days Like This, No 19: Pillar and the Rock

Posted on April 28, 2015 by McFadzean

HOT sun on the back of the legs. Dust inside socks. Warm breeze drifting from the Irish Sea and stirring dry grasses. The magnificence of Pillar rising from the green of Mosedale into a flawless sky. Days like this were … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Footpaths, Hiking, Mountains, Music, Poetry, Tarns, Walking, Weather, William Wordsworth | Tagged , , , , | 35 Comments

Days Like This, No 18: A Dip in Goat’s Water

Posted on April 9, 2015 by McFadzean

WE British are collectors of junk and tickers of lists. Men in particular, if left unmolested, will amass sheds full of lawnmower parts, used spark-plugs, obsolete tools and jars of reclaimed nuts and bolts just in case the unforeseen occurs … Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Hiking, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Scotch pies, Tarns, Walking, Waterwheels, Weather | Tagged , , , , , | 40 Comments