I discovered walking on a holiday to Wales with my then girlfriend, Ros, and her dad, Roy Newman, when I was about 17. This is where it all began (although Roy and I never got to the top via this route!) Although I have added other things to walking, it's basically me, a map and compass, a walking stick, and a dog, that have covered the most miles.
In October 2009, after five months of serious dieting, and serious training (mostly on the Test Way) I returned to Wales to see what I could do. I'm writing this sitting in a Welsh cottage, watching (hopefullly) the rain clear up the valley, and ginerly testing my sprained ankle. Hopefully both will improve enough for me to get up Cadair Idris today.
In recent years I have discovered Geocaching, which has added hugely to the interest in walking, and which has taken me to many new places that I wouldn't otherwise have discovered. Each walk has (or will have) links to any geocaches you can find en route).
And occasionally I have been known to jog round a circular route on a Sunday. Hashing is a very weird sport, but it has introduced me to hundreds of new places that I wouldn't otherwise have found.
The global positioning system has helped my navigation a lot recently, and Geocaching is almost impossible without one. I use the fabulous UK-made SatMap Active 10, and all the GPX routes available on this website were produced using the SatMap online route planner, and are available on the SatMap Route Share system.
I have used the amazing Geograph project (photographing every grid square in the UK) to illustrate a lot of these walks. As you do the walks, you might like to contribute your own pictures to Geograph. If we ever find our camera, we may do the same. |