Friday, August 7
OK. where has that gone to then?
A little entertainment whilst I'm out. Just don't ask me how I arrived at these clips.
My defence is that I was thinking of Darrens's unnatural interest with Buff headwear at the time.
This is definitely not safe for work!
Where as this is definitely not safe for Darren!
In the interests of science I've watched Clip 1 a number of times to identify how the trick is performed.
As for Clip 2 - my attention sort of wandered for some reason.
No idea why.Labels: media, Miscellaneous
Sunday, July 26
Wild Camping. Really WILD.
You find me in tired and emotional state.
Well more tired really, having recently returned home after a night's camping with many differences from my normal sort of venture.
Firstly - Mrs JH came along, which meant pressing into use an old Lichfield 2 man tent that I'd wildcamped with back in the late 1980s. Just the once. Two man. Too large. Too heavy. Nuff said.
Let's ignore its construction (pathetic), its colour (blue), and the apology for an extension that would have difficulty giving shelter to a gnat on a diet.
Secondly - Method of Travel.
Not a long walk in for this trip, as we each motorcycled to a pub/handy field on the Somerset\Wiltshire border.
Thirdly - Gear
A chance to root around in the attic and press back into use bike panniers mostly used for a pre kids motorcycle tour in the South of France (A one week trip, financed on a credit card overdraft to the tune of £70 outgoings & covering, if memory serves, around 1,800 miles)
The rest of the sleeping, cooking etc kit was easily requisitioned from the mountain of backpacking kit, before being carefully stuffed into large bin liners, and then into said panniers.
(No change from old times there then)
Total weight?
Who cares. Let the bike worry about that.
As long as the front wheel remains on the tarmac.
Well mostly.
Next - camp location? Flat field, well grassed but squelchy underfoot. Which after a few hours meant mud everywhere. But pub sited 90 seconds from the tent. Or 5-10 minutes if the post pub zig-zag route was chosen instead.
Water source?
Cold water tap in the pub toilets.
Latrine?
See above.
Catering?
See above.
Entertainment?
Disdaining my usual source (MP3 Player) on this trip I turned to conversation (human; mostly) & a live rock band playing from Quite Early to Very Very Late.
The occasion was an invite to a local bike club social event. A chance to meet faces old and new (And blow me why are so many of them in the old category nowadays! Where are those pimply faced youths tasting the guilty pleasures associated with a biker lifestyle. Who will replace us old buggers as we start to shuffle off The Scene/The Planet)
A decent evening. Good natured & varied company, albeit a little full-on for certain parts of polite society, but hey that's all part of the gig. As HST said, 'Buy the ticket, Take the ride'
Good honest truth, even if presented over bluntly for some at times.
A reminder of people & pasts. And in one case a most careful and tactful discussion sliding deep into in-depth counselling, as inadvertent words triggered, for one individual, all too painful memories of an indescribable loss, and a personally shattering & utterly natural human reaction. But a life now rebuilding after a period of loss both mental & physical, but with a world view irrevocably tainted.
Early hours of Sunday. A return to the tent. Head-down oh-sleepy-me time.
The burbling noise from the pub in the background. Inevitable late night chatter from some nearby tents.
It is a Very Small Field.
It is a Too Small Field.
2 a.m. Two loud conversations from separate corners of the field.
1. Margaret Thatcher, pros and cons. A discussion involving right wing leaning supporters & individuals from the mining areas of Wales.
You can imaging how that one tumbled along. Spirited was putting it mildly.
2. Relationship resolution after a couple of pints too many.
Made Debate #1 sound quite appealing. Debate #2 finally terminated by the sound of a loud slap, courtesy of the female party, & a caution for the male party concerning current public behaviour.
3.30 a.m. Woke in a sweat. Feeling nauseous. Definitely not alcohol related (I'm an experienced paced imbiber at such soirees)
That uncertain period of lying still, hoping it would pass. Then the rush in the dark for discarded clothes. A rapid exit from an unfamiliar tent tumbling out into the muddy pasture and night dampness to transfer stomach contents (Exhibit A) to a handily placed hedgerow (Exhibit B). Repeatedly.
Recycling at its simplest.
Currently listening to - Loud group discussion at field bottom, all (happily) blissfully unaware of my discomfort.
5.00 a.m. Still bloody talking. Bastards.
9 a.m. Bleary eyed, rising all too swiftly from the depths of wandering sleep. Coming up too fast, a diver with a bad case of the bends. Eyes pop open wide.
Sod it. Get up & go home time.
How could such a well natured & easy tempered social occasion turn into the unbalanced bedlam of the post pub close down?
A Wild Camp indeed.
Trip Report Tip.
Considered as we both rode homeward, under rain laden clouds, our bodies jaded from lack of sleep (and in my case lack of stomach contents)
For some people not (over) drinking alcohol is a lesson that continually seems to pass them by, despite the all too obvious personal impact it has on themselves and their acquaintances.
Not to say their future prospects of enjoying solid food, in certain cases.
And yes. I did enjoy it.
But next time I'm taking a bloody Taser as part of the kit.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, August 22
The Pimple Backpacker Hostel
If I had a loose £10,000 lying around I'd be sorely tempted to put a bid in to purchase ownership of The Pimple (GR 490 740) just outside Tavistock in Devon, as John Maddock's excellent photo reveals.
That's assuming the phrases 'Grade II listed' & 'responsibility to keep the structure in good repair' doesn't mean a mega re-plastering job of the (long empty?) underground reservoir beneath the diminutive building that most visitors see.
Just think what a distinctive backpacker's hostel it might make for those Dartmoor wanders. Might have to play around with the name though?
Spare change anyone?Labels: Miscellaneous
Thursday, August 7
Free Walker's Route Card program
Phil Kirby is currently developing a simple Route Card application. Still in the design stage and free to download/try out. Phil's interested in feedback and already has some constructive thoughts over on his Outdoors Magic thread.
"This is a simple solution designed to allow walkers, hikers and runners to record their planned route and print out a detailed route card to take with them for reference, or to leave a record of their planned journey in case they get lost or are over.
You just enter the details of your route, including the length of each leg and your estimated rest stops and it calculates the time for you. You can also set a preferred walking pace and an ascent rate as preferences so that these are factored in.
I've also included a facility to tweak both of these on a route by route basis so that if you are planning a walk that includes perhaps someone who does not walk as fast, this can be adjusted without resetting the preferences.
I'd appreciate any feedback and also suggestions for improvements. Trial version is at present limited to 10 routes (just until I finish testing it)"
There's more detail and the download itself over at Phil's site.Labels: Backpacking Advice, Gear, Miscellaneous, walks
Saturday, August 2
Sitemeter Bug
"Sitemeter is a free web analytics service used by many popular blogs and web sites .. all appear to be affected as of this morning. It's worth noting that the bug only affects Internet Explorer users"
More here
Being both Sitemeter & IE I can't say that I've seen any problems myself today. But its a popular package combination and might explain some funnies out there in Web la-la land today.Labels: Miscellaneous
Tuesday, July 29
The sun always shines on the righteous
More good fortune waiting to greet me on my arrival home tonight. This time an e-mail letting me know I've won a prize from one of the outdoor websites.
Can you guess what it is yet? The clues are all there.
The answer, and more detail, when I finally get to grips with Postman Pat's bulging sack (Oeer missus)
I can hardly wait for tomorrow night's bounty ...... but I'll not be holding my breath.Labels: books, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Sunday, July 6
Erection Tip - Keep it up overnight
Podcast Bob's recent release covering the first part of his Cape Wrath trip (no link as yet where is it Bob?) includes a tip to cope with the tendency of his tent pole to sink into the mud overnight.
Bob, recalling his motorcycling days, suggested using a motorcycle side stand "foot", which ably solves the problem.
Like Bob I've also spent many years involved with the bike scene, so here's my alternatives.
On arriving at a rain sodden and mud squelching rally field the approved method is:
1. Remain astride the bike
2. Grab a can of beer
3. Drink the contents
4. Stamp on the can
5. Place under the side stand to stop it sinking into the mud
You could always spot the rally virgins. Ignorant of this essential procedure they'd hop off their pride and joy (packed full of heavy camping gear) and then wander off for a I-Know-All-About-This chat with their mates. Behind them their bike would slowly tilt sideways as the bike laid itself down into the mud. Usually to much hilarity from onlookers and a real strain to get upright again.
Other alternatives were a handy flattish stone, pieces of wood (not very successful - they'd usually snap) or the assistance of a naive passer-by - "Here, just hold this mate while I pop to the beer tent for an old can" Or two perhaps just in case (lol)
But for camping why not utilise the lid of a 35mm film canister, or similar from a pill bottle top? Depending on the width of a pole perhaps a top from a two litre bottle would do the trick? Trial and error.
Anything durable and light will do as long as its wide enough to ensure the pole can spread the load across the ground beneath, which is the basic principle involved. Labels: Gear, Miscellaneous
Thursday, July 3
On-line poll about Navigation
The ever excellent GroughNews has pointed me in the direction of research being conducted by a Newcastle University student interested in navigation when out in the countryside.
And you, as a reader of this blog, are one of those ideally suited to spend the five minutes it will take to fill it in.
Go on, you know you want to
;-)Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, June 27
A luddite chalks
All may appear quiet here at JH Towers. But megalomania never sleeps.
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, June 8
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
My defence is that I was thinking of Darrens's unnatural interest with Buff headwear at the time.
This is definitely not safe for work!
Where as this is definitely not safe for Darren!
In the interests of science I've watched Clip 1 a number of times to identify how the trick is performed.
As for Clip 2 - my attention sort of wandered for some reason.
No idea why.
Labels: media, Miscellaneous
Wild Camping. Really WILD.
You find me in tired and emotional state.
Well more tired really, having recently returned home after a night's camping with many differences from my normal sort of venture.
Firstly - Mrs JH came along, which meant pressing into use an old Lichfield 2 man tent that I'd wildcamped with back in the late 1980s. Just the once. Two man. Too large. Too heavy. Nuff said.
Let's ignore its construction (pathetic), its colour (blue), and the apology for an extension that would have difficulty giving shelter to a gnat on a diet.
Secondly - Method of Travel.
Not a long walk in for this trip, as we each motorcycled to a pub/handy field on the Somerset\Wiltshire border.
Thirdly - Gear
A chance to root around in the attic and press back into use bike panniers mostly used for a pre kids motorcycle tour in the South of France (A one week trip, financed on a credit card overdraft to the tune of £70 outgoings & covering, if memory serves, around 1,800 miles)
The rest of the sleeping, cooking etc kit was easily requisitioned from the mountain of backpacking kit, before being carefully stuffed into large bin liners, and then into said panniers.
(No change from old times there then)
Total weight?
Who cares. Let the bike worry about that.
As long as the front wheel remains on the tarmac.
Well mostly.
Next - camp location? Flat field, well grassed but squelchy underfoot. Which after a few hours meant mud everywhere. But pub sited 90 seconds from the tent. Or 5-10 minutes if the post pub zig-zag route was chosen instead.
Water source?
Cold water tap in the pub toilets.
Latrine?
See above.
Catering?
See above.
Entertainment?
Disdaining my usual source (MP3 Player) on this trip I turned to conversation (human; mostly) & a live rock band playing from Quite Early to Very Very Late.
The occasion was an invite to a local bike club social event. A chance to meet faces old and new (And blow me why are so many of them in the old category nowadays! Where are those pimply faced youths tasting the guilty pleasures associated with a biker lifestyle. Who will replace us old buggers as we start to shuffle off The Scene/The Planet)
A decent evening. Good natured & varied company, albeit a little full-on for certain parts of polite society, but hey that's all part of the gig. As HST said, 'Buy the ticket, Take the ride'
Good honest truth, even if presented over bluntly for some at times.
A reminder of people & pasts. And in one case a most careful and tactful discussion sliding deep into in-depth counselling, as inadvertent words triggered, for one individual, all too painful memories of an indescribable loss, and a personally shattering & utterly natural human reaction. But a life now rebuilding after a period of loss both mental & physical, but with a world view irrevocably tainted.
Early hours of Sunday. A return to the tent. Head-down oh-sleepy-me time.
The burbling noise from the pub in the background. Inevitable late night chatter from some nearby tents.
It is a Very Small Field.
It is a Too Small Field.
2 a.m. Two loud conversations from separate corners of the field.
1. Margaret Thatcher, pros and cons. A discussion involving right wing leaning supporters & individuals from the mining areas of Wales.
You can imaging how that one tumbled along. Spirited was putting it mildly.
2. Relationship resolution after a couple of pints too many.
Made Debate #1 sound quite appealing. Debate #2 finally terminated by the sound of a loud slap, courtesy of the female party, & a caution for the male party concerning current public behaviour.
3.30 a.m. Woke in a sweat. Feeling nauseous. Definitely not alcohol related (I'm an experienced paced imbiber at such soirees)
That uncertain period of lying still, hoping it would pass. Then the rush in the dark for discarded clothes. A rapid exit from an unfamiliar tent tumbling out into the muddy pasture and night dampness to transfer stomach contents (Exhibit A) to a handily placed hedgerow (Exhibit B). Repeatedly.
Recycling at its simplest.
Currently listening to - Loud group discussion at field bottom, all (happily) blissfully unaware of my discomfort.
5.00 a.m. Still bloody talking. Bastards.
9 a.m. Bleary eyed, rising all too swiftly from the depths of wandering sleep. Coming up too fast, a diver with a bad case of the bends. Eyes pop open wide.
Sod it. Get up & go home time.
How could such a well natured & easy tempered social occasion turn into the unbalanced bedlam of the post pub close down?
A Wild Camp indeed.
Trip Report Tip.
Considered as we both rode homeward, under rain laden clouds, our bodies jaded from lack of sleep (and in my case lack of stomach contents)
For some people not (over) drinking alcohol is a lesson that continually seems to pass them by, despite the all too obvious personal impact it has on themselves and their acquaintances.
Not to say their future prospects of enjoying solid food, in certain cases.
And yes. I did enjoy it.
But next time I'm taking a bloody Taser as part of the kit.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, August 22
The Pimple Backpacker Hostel
If I had a loose £10,000 lying around I'd be sorely tempted to put a bid in to purchase ownership of The Pimple (GR 490 740) just outside Tavistock in Devon, as John Maddock's excellent photo reveals.
That's assuming the phrases 'Grade II listed' & 'responsibility to keep the structure in good repair' doesn't mean a mega re-plastering job of the (long empty?) underground reservoir beneath the diminutive building that most visitors see.
Just think what a distinctive backpacker's hostel it might make for those Dartmoor wanders. Might have to play around with the name though?
Spare change anyone?Labels: Miscellaneous
Thursday, August 7
Free Walker's Route Card program
Phil Kirby is currently developing a simple Route Card application. Still in the design stage and free to download/try out. Phil's interested in feedback and already has some constructive thoughts over on his Outdoors Magic thread.
"This is a simple solution designed to allow walkers, hikers and runners to record their planned route and print out a detailed route card to take with them for reference, or to leave a record of their planned journey in case they get lost or are over.
You just enter the details of your route, including the length of each leg and your estimated rest stops and it calculates the time for you. You can also set a preferred walking pace and an ascent rate as preferences so that these are factored in.
I've also included a facility to tweak both of these on a route by route basis so that if you are planning a walk that includes perhaps someone who does not walk as fast, this can be adjusted without resetting the preferences.
I'd appreciate any feedback and also suggestions for improvements. Trial version is at present limited to 10 routes (just until I finish testing it)"
There's more detail and the download itself over at Phil's site.Labels: Backpacking Advice, Gear, Miscellaneous, walks
Saturday, August 2
Sitemeter Bug
"Sitemeter is a free web analytics service used by many popular blogs and web sites .. all appear to be affected as of this morning. It's worth noting that the bug only affects Internet Explorer users"
More here
Being both Sitemeter & IE I can't say that I've seen any problems myself today. But its a popular package combination and might explain some funnies out there in Web la-la land today.Labels: Miscellaneous
Tuesday, July 29
The sun always shines on the righteous
More good fortune waiting to greet me on my arrival home tonight. This time an e-mail letting me know I've won a prize from one of the outdoor websites.
Can you guess what it is yet? The clues are all there.
The answer, and more detail, when I finally get to grips with Postman Pat's bulging sack (Oeer missus)
I can hardly wait for tomorrow night's bounty ...... but I'll not be holding my breath.Labels: books, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Sunday, July 6
Erection Tip - Keep it up overnight
Podcast Bob's recent release covering the first part of his Cape Wrath trip (no link as yet where is it Bob?) includes a tip to cope with the tendency of his tent pole to sink into the mud overnight.
Bob, recalling his motorcycling days, suggested using a motorcycle side stand "foot", which ably solves the problem.
Like Bob I've also spent many years involved with the bike scene, so here's my alternatives.
On arriving at a rain sodden and mud squelching rally field the approved method is:
1. Remain astride the bike
2. Grab a can of beer
3. Drink the contents
4. Stamp on the can
5. Place under the side stand to stop it sinking into the mud
You could always spot the rally virgins. Ignorant of this essential procedure they'd hop off their pride and joy (packed full of heavy camping gear) and then wander off for a I-Know-All-About-This chat with their mates. Behind them their bike would slowly tilt sideways as the bike laid itself down into the mud. Usually to much hilarity from onlookers and a real strain to get upright again.
Other alternatives were a handy flattish stone, pieces of wood (not very successful - they'd usually snap) or the assistance of a naive passer-by - "Here, just hold this mate while I pop to the beer tent for an old can" Or two perhaps just in case (lol)
But for camping why not utilise the lid of a 35mm film canister, or similar from a pill bottle top? Depending on the width of a pole perhaps a top from a two litre bottle would do the trick? Trial and error.
Anything durable and light will do as long as its wide enough to ensure the pole can spread the load across the ground beneath, which is the basic principle involved. Labels: Gear, Miscellaneous
Thursday, July 3
On-line poll about Navigation
The ever excellent GroughNews has pointed me in the direction of research being conducted by a Newcastle University student interested in navigation when out in the countryside.
And you, as a reader of this blog, are one of those ideally suited to spend the five minutes it will take to fill it in.
Go on, you know you want to
;-)Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, June 27
A luddite chalks
All may appear quiet here at JH Towers. But megalomania never sleeps.
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, June 8
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Well more tired really, having recently returned home after a night's camping with many differences from my normal sort of venture.
Firstly - Mrs JH came along, which meant pressing into use an old Lichfield 2 man tent that I'd wildcamped with back in the late 1980s. Just the once. Two man. Too large. Too heavy. Nuff said.
Let's ignore its construction (pathetic), its colour (blue), and the apology for an extension that would have difficulty giving shelter to a gnat on a diet.
Secondly - Method of Travel.
Not a long walk in for this trip, as we each motorcycled to a pub/handy field on the Somerset\Wiltshire border.
Thirdly - Gear
A chance to root around in the attic and press back into use bike panniers mostly used for a pre kids motorcycle tour in the South of France (A one week trip, financed on a credit card overdraft to the tune of £70 outgoings & covering, if memory serves, around 1,800 miles)
The rest of the sleeping, cooking etc kit was easily requisitioned from the mountain of backpacking kit, before being carefully stuffed into large bin liners, and then into said panniers.
(No change from old times there then)
Total weight?
Who cares. Let the bike worry about that.
As long as the front wheel remains on the tarmac.
Well mostly.
Next - camp location? Flat field, well grassed but squelchy underfoot. Which after a few hours meant mud everywhere. But pub sited 90 seconds from the tent. Or 5-10 minutes if the post pub zig-zag route was chosen instead.
Water source?
Cold water tap in the pub toilets.
Latrine?
See above.
Catering?
See above.
Entertainment?
Disdaining my usual source (MP3 Player) on this trip I turned to conversation (human; mostly) & a live rock band playing from Quite Early to Very Very Late.
The occasion was an invite to a local bike club social event. A chance to meet faces old and new (And blow me why are so many of them in the old category nowadays! Where are those pimply faced youths tasting the guilty pleasures associated with a biker lifestyle. Who will replace us old buggers as we start to shuffle off The Scene/The Planet)
A decent evening. Good natured & varied company, albeit a little full-on for certain parts of polite society, but hey that's all part of the gig. As HST said, 'Buy the ticket, Take the ride'
Good honest truth, even if presented over bluntly for some at times.
A reminder of people & pasts. And in one case a most careful and tactful discussion sliding deep into in-depth counselling, as inadvertent words triggered, for one individual, all too painful memories of an indescribable loss, and a personally shattering & utterly natural human reaction. But a life now rebuilding after a period of loss both mental & physical, but with a world view irrevocably tainted.
Early hours of Sunday. A return to the tent. Head-down oh-sleepy-me time.
The burbling noise from the pub in the background. Inevitable late night chatter from some nearby tents.
It is a Very Small Field.
It is a Too Small Field.
2 a.m. Two loud conversations from separate corners of the field.
1. Margaret Thatcher, pros and cons. A discussion involving right wing leaning supporters & individuals from the mining areas of Wales.
You can imaging how that one tumbled along. Spirited was putting it mildly.
2. Relationship resolution after a couple of pints too many.
Made Debate #1 sound quite appealing. Debate #2 finally terminated by the sound of a loud slap, courtesy of the female party, & a caution for the male party concerning current public behaviour.
3.30 a.m. Woke in a sweat. Feeling nauseous. Definitely not alcohol related (I'm an experienced paced imbiber at such soirees)
That uncertain period of lying still, hoping it would pass. Then the rush in the dark for discarded clothes. A rapid exit from an unfamiliar tent tumbling out into the muddy pasture and night dampness to transfer stomach contents (Exhibit A) to a handily placed hedgerow (Exhibit B). Repeatedly.
Recycling at its simplest.
Currently listening to - Loud group discussion at field bottom, all (happily) blissfully unaware of my discomfort.
5.00 a.m. Still bloody talking. Bastards.
9 a.m. Bleary eyed, rising all too swiftly from the depths of wandering sleep. Coming up too fast, a diver with a bad case of the bends. Eyes pop open wide.
Sod it. Get up & go home time.
How could such a well natured & easy tempered social occasion turn into the unbalanced bedlam of the post pub close down?
A Wild Camp indeed.
Trip Report Tip.
Considered as we both rode homeward, under rain laden clouds, our bodies jaded from lack of sleep (and in my case lack of stomach contents)
For some people not (over) drinking alcohol is a lesson that continually seems to pass them by, despite the all too obvious personal impact it has on themselves and their acquaintances.
Not to say their future prospects of enjoying solid food, in certain cases.
And yes. I did enjoy it.
But next time I'm taking a bloody Taser as part of the kit.
Labels: Miscellaneous
The Pimple Backpacker Hostel
If I had a loose £10,000 lying around I'd be sorely tempted to put a bid in to purchase ownership of The Pimple (GR 490 740) just outside Tavistock in Devon, as John Maddock's excellent photo reveals.
That's assuming the phrases 'Grade II listed' & 'responsibility to keep the structure in good repair' doesn't mean a mega re-plastering job of the (long empty?) underground reservoir beneath the diminutive building that most visitors see.
Just think what a distinctive backpacker's hostel it might make for those Dartmoor wanders. Might have to play around with the name though?
Spare change anyone?Labels: Miscellaneous
Thursday, August 7
Free Walker's Route Card program
Phil Kirby is currently developing a simple Route Card application. Still in the design stage and free to download/try out. Phil's interested in feedback and already has some constructive thoughts over on his Outdoors Magic thread.
"This is a simple solution designed to allow walkers, hikers and runners to record their planned route and print out a detailed route card to take with them for reference, or to leave a record of their planned journey in case they get lost or are over.
You just enter the details of your route, including the length of each leg and your estimated rest stops and it calculates the time for you. You can also set a preferred walking pace and an ascent rate as preferences so that these are factored in.
I've also included a facility to tweak both of these on a route by route basis so that if you are planning a walk that includes perhaps someone who does not walk as fast, this can be adjusted without resetting the preferences.
I'd appreciate any feedback and also suggestions for improvements. Trial version is at present limited to 10 routes (just until I finish testing it)"
There's more detail and the download itself over at Phil's site.Labels: Backpacking Advice, Gear, Miscellaneous, walks
Saturday, August 2
Sitemeter Bug
"Sitemeter is a free web analytics service used by many popular blogs and web sites .. all appear to be affected as of this morning. It's worth noting that the bug only affects Internet Explorer users"
More here
Being both Sitemeter & IE I can't say that I've seen any problems myself today. But its a popular package combination and might explain some funnies out there in Web la-la land today.Labels: Miscellaneous
Tuesday, July 29
The sun always shines on the righteous
More good fortune waiting to greet me on my arrival home tonight. This time an e-mail letting me know I've won a prize from one of the outdoor websites.
Can you guess what it is yet? The clues are all there.
The answer, and more detail, when I finally get to grips with Postman Pat's bulging sack (Oeer missus)
I can hardly wait for tomorrow night's bounty ...... but I'll not be holding my breath.Labels: books, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Sunday, July 6
Erection Tip - Keep it up overnight
Podcast Bob's recent release covering the first part of his Cape Wrath trip (no link as yet where is it Bob?) includes a tip to cope with the tendency of his tent pole to sink into the mud overnight.
Bob, recalling his motorcycling days, suggested using a motorcycle side stand "foot", which ably solves the problem.
Like Bob I've also spent many years involved with the bike scene, so here's my alternatives.
On arriving at a rain sodden and mud squelching rally field the approved method is:
1. Remain astride the bike
2. Grab a can of beer
3. Drink the contents
4. Stamp on the can
5. Place under the side stand to stop it sinking into the mud
You could always spot the rally virgins. Ignorant of this essential procedure they'd hop off their pride and joy (packed full of heavy camping gear) and then wander off for a I-Know-All-About-This chat with their mates. Behind them their bike would slowly tilt sideways as the bike laid itself down into the mud. Usually to much hilarity from onlookers and a real strain to get upright again.
Other alternatives were a handy flattish stone, pieces of wood (not very successful - they'd usually snap) or the assistance of a naive passer-by - "Here, just hold this mate while I pop to the beer tent for an old can" Or two perhaps just in case (lol)
But for camping why not utilise the lid of a 35mm film canister, or similar from a pill bottle top? Depending on the width of a pole perhaps a top from a two litre bottle would do the trick? Trial and error.
Anything durable and light will do as long as its wide enough to ensure the pole can spread the load across the ground beneath, which is the basic principle involved. Labels: Gear, Miscellaneous
Thursday, July 3
On-line poll about Navigation
The ever excellent GroughNews has pointed me in the direction of research being conducted by a Newcastle University student interested in navigation when out in the countryside.
And you, as a reader of this blog, are one of those ideally suited to spend the five minutes it will take to fill it in.
Go on, you know you want to
;-)Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, June 27
A luddite chalks
All may appear quiet here at JH Towers. But megalomania never sleeps.
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, June 8
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
That's assuming the phrases 'Grade II listed' & 'responsibility to keep the structure in good repair' doesn't mean a mega re-plastering job of the (long empty?) underground reservoir beneath the diminutive building that most visitors see.
Just think what a distinctive backpacker's hostel it might make for those Dartmoor wanders. Might have to play around with the name though?
Spare change anyone?
Labels: Miscellaneous
Free Walker's Route Card program
Phil Kirby is currently developing a simple Route Card application. Still in the design stage and free to download/try out. Phil's interested in feedback and already has some constructive thoughts over on his Outdoors Magic thread.
"This is a simple solution designed to allow walkers, hikers and runners to record their planned route and print out a detailed route card to take with them for reference, or to leave a record of their planned journey in case they get lost or are over.
You just enter the details of your route, including the length of each leg and your estimated rest stops and it calculates the time for you. You can also set a preferred walking pace and an ascent rate as preferences so that these are factored in.
I've also included a facility to tweak both of these on a route by route basis so that if you are planning a walk that includes perhaps someone who does not walk as fast, this can be adjusted without resetting the preferences.
I'd appreciate any feedback and also suggestions for improvements. Trial version is at present limited to 10 routes (just until I finish testing it)"
There's more detail and the download itself over at Phil's site.Labels: Backpacking Advice, Gear, Miscellaneous, walks
Saturday, August 2
Sitemeter Bug
"Sitemeter is a free web analytics service used by many popular blogs and web sites .. all appear to be affected as of this morning. It's worth noting that the bug only affects Internet Explorer users"
More here
Being both Sitemeter & IE I can't say that I've seen any problems myself today. But its a popular package combination and might explain some funnies out there in Web la-la land today.Labels: Miscellaneous
Tuesday, July 29
The sun always shines on the righteous
More good fortune waiting to greet me on my arrival home tonight. This time an e-mail letting me know I've won a prize from one of the outdoor websites.
Can you guess what it is yet? The clues are all there.
The answer, and more detail, when I finally get to grips with Postman Pat's bulging sack (Oeer missus)
I can hardly wait for tomorrow night's bounty ...... but I'll not be holding my breath.Labels: books, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Sunday, July 6
Erection Tip - Keep it up overnight
Podcast Bob's recent release covering the first part of his Cape Wrath trip (no link as yet where is it Bob?) includes a tip to cope with the tendency of his tent pole to sink into the mud overnight.
Bob, recalling his motorcycling days, suggested using a motorcycle side stand "foot", which ably solves the problem.
Like Bob I've also spent many years involved with the bike scene, so here's my alternatives.
On arriving at a rain sodden and mud squelching rally field the approved method is:
1. Remain astride the bike
2. Grab a can of beer
3. Drink the contents
4. Stamp on the can
5. Place under the side stand to stop it sinking into the mud
You could always spot the rally virgins. Ignorant of this essential procedure they'd hop off their pride and joy (packed full of heavy camping gear) and then wander off for a I-Know-All-About-This chat with their mates. Behind them their bike would slowly tilt sideways as the bike laid itself down into the mud. Usually to much hilarity from onlookers and a real strain to get upright again.
Other alternatives were a handy flattish stone, pieces of wood (not very successful - they'd usually snap) or the assistance of a naive passer-by - "Here, just hold this mate while I pop to the beer tent for an old can" Or two perhaps just in case (lol)
But for camping why not utilise the lid of a 35mm film canister, or similar from a pill bottle top? Depending on the width of a pole perhaps a top from a two litre bottle would do the trick? Trial and error.
Anything durable and light will do as long as its wide enough to ensure the pole can spread the load across the ground beneath, which is the basic principle involved. Labels: Gear, Miscellaneous
Thursday, July 3
On-line poll about Navigation
The ever excellent GroughNews has pointed me in the direction of research being conducted by a Newcastle University student interested in navigation when out in the countryside.
And you, as a reader of this blog, are one of those ideally suited to spend the five minutes it will take to fill it in.
Go on, you know you want to
;-)Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, June 27
A luddite chalks
All may appear quiet here at JH Towers. But megalomania never sleeps.
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, June 8
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
"This is a simple solution designed to allow walkers, hikers and runners to record their planned route and print out a detailed route card to take with them for reference, or to leave a record of their planned journey in case they get lost or are over.
You just enter the details of your route, including the length of each leg and your estimated rest stops and it calculates the time for you. You can also set a preferred walking pace and an ascent rate as preferences so that these are factored in.
I've also included a facility to tweak both of these on a route by route basis so that if you are planning a walk that includes perhaps someone who does not walk as fast, this can be adjusted without resetting the preferences.
I'd appreciate any feedback and also suggestions for improvements. Trial version is at present limited to 10 routes (just until I finish testing it)"
There's more detail and the download itself over at Phil's site.
Labels: Backpacking Advice, Gear, Miscellaneous, walks
Sitemeter Bug
"Sitemeter is a free web analytics service used by many popular blogs and web sites .. all appear to be affected as of this morning. It's worth noting that the bug only affects Internet Explorer users"
More here
Being both Sitemeter & IE I can't say that I've seen any problems myself today. But its a popular package combination and might explain some funnies out there in Web la-la land today.Labels: Miscellaneous
Tuesday, July 29
The sun always shines on the righteous
More good fortune waiting to greet me on my arrival home tonight. This time an e-mail letting me know I've won a prize from one of the outdoor websites.
Can you guess what it is yet? The clues are all there.
The answer, and more detail, when I finally get to grips with Postman Pat's bulging sack (Oeer missus)
I can hardly wait for tomorrow night's bounty ...... but I'll not be holding my breath.Labels: books, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Sunday, July 6
Erection Tip - Keep it up overnight
Podcast Bob's recent release covering the first part of his Cape Wrath trip (no link as yet where is it Bob?) includes a tip to cope with the tendency of his tent pole to sink into the mud overnight.
Bob, recalling his motorcycling days, suggested using a motorcycle side stand "foot", which ably solves the problem.
Like Bob I've also spent many years involved with the bike scene, so here's my alternatives.
On arriving at a rain sodden and mud squelching rally field the approved method is:
1. Remain astride the bike
2. Grab a can of beer
3. Drink the contents
4. Stamp on the can
5. Place under the side stand to stop it sinking into the mud
You could always spot the rally virgins. Ignorant of this essential procedure they'd hop off their pride and joy (packed full of heavy camping gear) and then wander off for a I-Know-All-About-This chat with their mates. Behind them their bike would slowly tilt sideways as the bike laid itself down into the mud. Usually to much hilarity from onlookers and a real strain to get upright again.
Other alternatives were a handy flattish stone, pieces of wood (not very successful - they'd usually snap) or the assistance of a naive passer-by - "Here, just hold this mate while I pop to the beer tent for an old can" Or two perhaps just in case (lol)
But for camping why not utilise the lid of a 35mm film canister, or similar from a pill bottle top? Depending on the width of a pole perhaps a top from a two litre bottle would do the trick? Trial and error.
Anything durable and light will do as long as its wide enough to ensure the pole can spread the load across the ground beneath, which is the basic principle involved. Labels: Gear, Miscellaneous
Thursday, July 3
On-line poll about Navigation
The ever excellent GroughNews has pointed me in the direction of research being conducted by a Newcastle University student interested in navigation when out in the countryside.
And you, as a reader of this blog, are one of those ideally suited to spend the five minutes it will take to fill it in.
Go on, you know you want to
;-)Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, June 27
A luddite chalks
All may appear quiet here at JH Towers. But megalomania never sleeps.
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, June 8
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
More here
Being both Sitemeter & IE I can't say that I've seen any problems myself today. But its a popular package combination and might explain some funnies out there in Web la-la land today.
Labels: Miscellaneous
The sun always shines on the righteous
More good fortune waiting to greet me on my arrival home tonight. This time an e-mail letting me know I've won a prize from one of the outdoor websites.
Can you guess what it is yet? The clues are all there.
The answer, and more detail, when I finally get to grips with Postman Pat's bulging sack (Oeer missus)
I can hardly wait for tomorrow night's bounty ...... but I'll not be holding my breath.Labels: books, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Sunday, July 6
Erection Tip - Keep it up overnight
Podcast Bob's recent release covering the first part of his Cape Wrath trip (no link as yet where is it Bob?) includes a tip to cope with the tendency of his tent pole to sink into the mud overnight.
Bob, recalling his motorcycling days, suggested using a motorcycle side stand "foot", which ably solves the problem.
Like Bob I've also spent many years involved with the bike scene, so here's my alternatives.
On arriving at a rain sodden and mud squelching rally field the approved method is:
1. Remain astride the bike
2. Grab a can of beer
3. Drink the contents
4. Stamp on the can
5. Place under the side stand to stop it sinking into the mud
You could always spot the rally virgins. Ignorant of this essential procedure they'd hop off their pride and joy (packed full of heavy camping gear) and then wander off for a I-Know-All-About-This chat with their mates. Behind them their bike would slowly tilt sideways as the bike laid itself down into the mud. Usually to much hilarity from onlookers and a real strain to get upright again.
Other alternatives were a handy flattish stone, pieces of wood (not very successful - they'd usually snap) or the assistance of a naive passer-by - "Here, just hold this mate while I pop to the beer tent for an old can" Or two perhaps just in case (lol)
But for camping why not utilise the lid of a 35mm film canister, or similar from a pill bottle top? Depending on the width of a pole perhaps a top from a two litre bottle would do the trick? Trial and error.
Anything durable and light will do as long as its wide enough to ensure the pole can spread the load across the ground beneath, which is the basic principle involved. Labels: Gear, Miscellaneous
Thursday, July 3
On-line poll about Navigation
The ever excellent GroughNews has pointed me in the direction of research being conducted by a Newcastle University student interested in navigation when out in the countryside.
And you, as a reader of this blog, are one of those ideally suited to spend the five minutes it will take to fill it in.
Go on, you know you want to
;-)Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, June 27
A luddite chalks
All may appear quiet here at JH Towers. But megalomania never sleeps.
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, June 8
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Can you guess what it is yet? The clues are all there.
The answer, and more detail, when I finally get to grips with Postman Pat's bulging sack (Oeer missus)
I can hardly wait for tomorrow night's bounty ...... but I'll not be holding my breath.
Labels: books, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Erection Tip - Keep it up overnight
Podcast Bob's recent release covering the first part of his Cape Wrath trip (no link as yet where is it Bob?) includes a tip to cope with the tendency of his tent pole to sink into the mud overnight.
Bob, recalling his motorcycling days, suggested using a motorcycle side stand "foot", which ably solves the problem.
Like Bob I've also spent many years involved with the bike scene, so here's my alternatives.
On arriving at a rain sodden and mud squelching rally field the approved method is:
1. Remain astride the bike
2. Grab a can of beer
3. Drink the contents
4. Stamp on the can
5. Place under the side stand to stop it sinking into the mud
You could always spot the rally virgins. Ignorant of this essential procedure they'd hop off their pride and joy (packed full of heavy camping gear) and then wander off for a I-Know-All-About-This chat with their mates. Behind them their bike would slowly tilt sideways as the bike laid itself down into the mud. Usually to much hilarity from onlookers and a real strain to get upright again.
Other alternatives were a handy flattish stone, pieces of wood (not very successful - they'd usually snap) or the assistance of a naive passer-by - "Here, just hold this mate while I pop to the beer tent for an old can" Or two perhaps just in case (lol)
But for camping why not utilise the lid of a 35mm film canister, or similar from a pill bottle top? Depending on the width of a pole perhaps a top from a two litre bottle would do the trick? Trial and error.
Anything durable and light will do as long as its wide enough to ensure the pole can spread the load across the ground beneath, which is the basic principle involved. Labels: Gear, Miscellaneous
Thursday, July 3
On-line poll about Navigation
The ever excellent GroughNews has pointed me in the direction of research being conducted by a Newcastle University student interested in navigation when out in the countryside.
And you, as a reader of this blog, are one of those ideally suited to spend the five minutes it will take to fill it in.
Go on, you know you want to
;-)Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, June 27
A luddite chalks
All may appear quiet here at JH Towers. But megalomania never sleeps.
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, June 8
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Bob, recalling his motorcycling days, suggested using a motorcycle side stand "foot", which ably solves the problem.
Like Bob I've also spent many years involved with the bike scene, so here's my alternatives.
On arriving at a rain sodden and mud squelching rally field the approved method is:
1. Remain astride the bike
2. Grab a can of beer
3. Drink the contents
4. Stamp on the can
5. Place under the side stand to stop it sinking into the mud
You could always spot the rally virgins. Ignorant of this essential procedure they'd hop off their pride and joy (packed full of heavy camping gear) and then wander off for a I-Know-All-About-This chat with their mates. Behind them their bike would slowly tilt sideways as the bike laid itself down into the mud. Usually to much hilarity from onlookers and a real strain to get upright again.
Other alternatives were a handy flattish stone, pieces of wood (not very successful - they'd usually snap) or the assistance of a naive passer-by - "Here, just hold this mate while I pop to the beer tent for an old can" Or two perhaps just in case (lol)
But for camping why not utilise the lid of a 35mm film canister, or similar from a pill bottle top? Depending on the width of a pole perhaps a top from a two litre bottle would do the trick? Trial and error.
Anything durable and light will do as long as its wide enough to ensure the pole can spread the load across the ground beneath, which is the basic principle involved.
Labels: Gear, Miscellaneous
On-line poll about Navigation
The ever excellent GroughNews has pointed me in the direction of research being conducted by a Newcastle University student interested in navigation when out in the countryside.
And you, as a reader of this blog, are one of those ideally suited to spend the five minutes it will take to fill it in.
Go on, you know you want to
;-)Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, June 27
A luddite chalks
All may appear quiet here at JH Towers. But megalomania never sleeps.
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, June 8
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
And you, as a reader of this blog, are one of those ideally suited to spend the five minutes it will take to fill it in.
Go on, you know you want to
;-)
Labels: Miscellaneous
A luddite chalks
All may appear quiet here at JH Towers. But megalomania never sleeps.
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, June 8
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
PC#1 is at the fixers for some serious motherboard welding. And this fall back laptop is being bolstered by a backup file server based on some surplus kit and a mega hard drive (you can NEVER have enough backups!)
Then there's the time spent monitoring the response to the Wildcamping Petition, and working on the next steps along with the rest of the support team.
So I went back to work today. This holiday lark only works if I actually get away from the house, the area, and the bloody day to day routine that I allow myself to get sucked into all too easily.
Roll on mid July and the long weekend in Dartmoor for the semi regular get together of the UK Outdoor Bloggers. In the wilds. Under canvas (well ok nylon sort of stuff)
But all outdoors and well away from this damned electronic haze.
Technology, a great time saver?
Pah! Don't make me larf.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Stat Counter
A note from one of my site's visitor counter software providers- StatCounter
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classicLabels: Miscellaneous
Monday, March 10
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
"Due to an explosion in The Planet Datacenter at the weekend, service on this partition was interrupted. Despite our best efforts 24 to 30 hours of stats spread across Sunday GMT and some of Monday morning have been lost. We sincerely apologise for this. More information is available from our blog"
I've read about this sort of thing in SciFi novels. Plainly we are all doomed, as the earth splits in half!
I'm going to write that excuse down for future use. A true classic
Labels: Miscellaneous
Just Shooting the Breeze
The limited time I've spent outdoors today has seen me walking around with a broad smile on my face. For after all there's no better reminder of Nature than a slice of Real Weather.
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, January 20
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
As I both live and work within a few miles of the coast the southerly gales have been a nice reminder of what the outdoors is all about (I can see the sea from my office if I crane my neck a little) And with it a demonstration of how pathetically puny is humanity's 'control' over the 'safe' environment it likes to pretend it has. Ah - times like these are hard to ignore.
The same seems to have occurred to these Swanage sea watchers I've just snapped from one of the excellent webcams that allow me to admire the view, whilst sat in the warm and dry (Live and rather clever webcams can be found here for Swanage and Exmouth)
Frankly I think I'd rather be out there with them too when all is said and done. Whatever the official advice may be.
For sometimes we all need to live a little. To feel that tingle of primal recognition run through our body as it stands in the teeth of a true storm.
But not on the cliff edge! Please.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Naked Rambler free! Nearly.
Remember the Naked Rambler?
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 11
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
After residing at Her Majesty's McPleasure since May 2006 he was released on Friday. For about 10 minutes.
Yep- he's back inside again.
Steve (if you happen to read this) if "the view of court, including the High Court, was that members of the public should not have to tolerate completely naked persons in full view on public streets" Take the hint - get out of Scotland, or a least Edinburgh city centre before expressing your personal freedom of choice. Or at least get some shorts on for a few hours.
I can't see what the "No Compromise" stance is achieving anymore except keeping you from personally enjoying the outdoors in your own way.
Hopefully away from the city streets and further hassle.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Bird Song on the Radio
Did you get a DAB Radio for Xmas? Or perhaps like me you are already a convert to a wider selection of listening for the over 12s.
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info hereLabels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
The DAB station Oneword (a dire idea) has gone bust. But before you click that mouse - there is a more positive side.
In the pre-transmission signal tests for Classic FM there was a unique radio experience which swiftly became a highly popular listening treat.
For hours you could relax listening to broadcast birdsong. It sounded to me as if some recording equipment had been set up in the middle of woodland. Switched on. And left. The sounds of undisturbed wildlife were captured, including the vehicle eventually turning up to switch off the gear.
Birdsong. The transmission is probably only around for a limited time. But highly recommended to lull you into lazy summer days.
More info here
Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous
Sir Edmund Hillary - Forget About Everest
When I heard the news late last night that Hillary was gone, there was no particular sense of sadness or loss.
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Wednesday, January 9
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
His legend, created a few years before I was born, has always been a historical fact during my own personal history. His importance to the man in the street is always associated with that particular climb. And to some extent this has been accentuated by the way the summit success news was released to the world to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. A timing reportedly stage managed with great care by the nationalistic , ascent sponsor, the Himalayan Committee.
For any mention of the coronation always seems to throw in the "news has just arrived from Nepal ..." angle.
And so this was a post I did not intend to make. Enough words will appear elsewhere to celebrate the man's achievement. But as a mountaineer others have a more deserved stature, Chris Bonnington, with his ability to plan and succeed where others fail, and live to tell the story, or more importantly Reinhold Messner - a true giant of mountaineering.
However, whilst catching up with the outdoor blogs today I cam across a short piece from Weird Darren which chimed in with my own thoughts on Hillary's true celebrity. And an early comment from Dawn, a woman with far more years hill and mountain experience than I will ever have, reinforced my mood.
And so I left a comment which I felt should also appear here (A first for me I think. Its not a trait I normally follow to cut/paste my comments left elsewhere)
Take it as a small gesture of thanks to a truly great man:
"Its the true value of the man's character that he reached his peak (no pun intended) and then showed that there is far more to a life than just meeting THE CHALLENGE, but then getting lost in it afterwards. Or worse just living off the fame. A one trick horse, which seems to be a substitute for many celebs with claim to fame these days.
In fact in the obituary interviews I've seen today he seems vaguely disinterested, almost embarrassed, about Everest. After all he was 33 when he summited, and its no secret that his real achievement and love was his Himalayan Trust.
People will may occasionally remember him for Mt Everest. But climbers and packers will see a bit of him every time they journey in Nepal.
To lift a Hillary quote from BBC News "My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain"
Now that is true achievement.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the prescence of giants, but do not notice them as they pass quietly by.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Walking & Camping plans for 2008? Mr Kipling says "thats an exceedingly good ...."
Got those plans for your outdoor fun sorted yet?
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Monday, January 7
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Or maybe you are one of those people who prefer to work on a less formal approach with some vague thoughts and ideas. They're rattling around your brain at present, waiting to settle into something more concrete.
There's a number of people at this time of year who are busily trying to stick to their new resolutions. In some cases they can seem so vague as to be prone to failure. "Walk 12,000 miles this year"? So how do you know/care about that target after 3 months. Is it 500 or 2,500 miles down then. And if so why stick it - there's always next year after all.
I tend more towards the informal approach personally, but with some lessons used regularly in my day-life (that so-called real existence - bah!) That would be Lessons That Work mind you.
To quote the source usually associated with this simple advice welcome to Rudyard Kipling (the old cake maker himself - not), whose words still stand the test of time and common sense:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who"
I know RK is more than a little non PC these days due to the "empire/colonial Englishman abroad" approach to the world of his writings. And such gems as Soudan Expeditionary Force can be hard to fathom per se these days. A man of his times most definitely. However there is a school of thought that believes his work may be read as a deliberate satire warning of the dangers of colonialism and the oppression of native nations. And he was for a time the youngest receiver of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Back to the message anyhow. It's a tenet commonly to be found in the field of journalism, and a litmus test I apply when reading/listening to news reports these days when assessing their ability to report. That is to inform. Rather than, as is increasingly more the case, to 'entertain' with only a few parts of a factual story.
Lets break the advice down to see how it can be used to get help:
What
At present this could be very clear, possibly due to circumstance (complete the TGO Challenge following selection pre Xmas - oops sorry Bob/Andy, or finally get that LEJoG trip going) Or possibly quite nebulous "Get out more wildcamping in '08"
Whichever it is, perhaps its time to make a wish list. Now. And Keep it in your wallet/purse so you can add/change it over the coming weeks as ideas present themselves.
Why
Self evident really to most readers of this site. But it does sometime pay to consider what you actually want to get from it. And that doesn't always mean climbing the highest point, or walking for miles.
Simply being outdoors will suffice for some folk.
When
Easier stuff now. For most of us this will be the warmer months, despite the reports coming back on wildcamping trips over the Xmas period. But that season can be very short if the real planning doesn't get going until June, or waits until after that summer holiday.
How
Not usually a problem, and normally related to transport logistics. But for a change why not try a different way of getting there, and possibly freeing up your mind to other route making opportunities as a result?
Or how about just walking out of that front door and start the trip straight away?
Where
Well I know where I want to go. You've your own choices.
But I do try to include one new location - some form of change/new challenge. And then there's always at least one old favourite in there as well. A return to past pleasures.
Who
If you plan to have company now is the time, whilst spirits seem as low as January finances, to offer some hope to others by getting them on board with your plans. Or perhaps you can fit in with their ideas?
Just some thoughts to play with. Hopefully provocative enough to stir the creative juices.
As I said earlier I'm quite informal in these things. Mostly. But without the self delivered promise of, say, that June week wildcamping in the Lakes, these long dark nights can drag. And what better way to shorten them with some early planning.
But let's not forget the ad-hoc trips which spring from sudden opportunity, and despite fore planning can often turn out to be the most enjoyable of all.
Something to do with stolen fruit being the sweetest perhaps?
Whatever your ideas, best of luck with them. No scratch that last wish. The best of 'working out how to get out into the outdoors to do it for yourself'. Whatever that may be for you.
Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Stumbling Up Kilimanjaro
A plug for Dave Padgen's plan to be the first European with Cerebral Palsy to stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.Labels: Miscellaneous
Friday, January 4
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
(Unashamedly nicking copy from Dave's site - I doubt he'll mind bearing in mind the plug) "...... a former Paralympic athlete, having competed in the Barcelona and Atlanta games. ...... attempted the 3 Peaks Challenge completing the ascent of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just under 25 hrs"
Dave is funding much of it personally, but there's details about helping out towards the £2,500 costs with any excess going to Motivation, an international development charity working to enhance the lives of disabled people in developing countries.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Grough Outdoor website news and more
I can't for the life of me remember how I tripped across Gough - "the inside view of the outdoor world", but I'm glad I did.
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links. Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Wednesday, December 26
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Its been around for some time, with the news archive going back to May 2007, although some of the route guides indicate it dates back to 2006.
But whatever the site's history its slap bang up to date with outdoor related news. For instance, a piece I heard on BBC Radio 4 Today program, trying to stir up a little controversy (very unconvincingly as it happened) over the YHA's 119 hostel application for 24 hour alcohol licence had already been carried by Gough yesterday, whilst the piece seemed to have been buried on the BBC News website.
I'm not too sure who is behind the site's content, but its very well put together and the content has been excellent whilst I've been keeping an eye on it.
Now if only the forum had some activity I think Outdoors Magic would have some very strong competition indeed.
Another one worthy of my sidebar links.
Labels: Lake District, Miscellaneous, Scotland, walks
Xmas Timewasting Fun
A little belatedly, some lighter entertainment for those of you enjoying an extended holiday break. Me. I'm back to the daily grind straight after Boxing Day. So play nicely whilst I'm busily grinding.
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.
A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, December 17
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
What. Too high brow? Surely not. Ok how about...
Still here? A good way to watch time pass but still feel busy at the same time .....
And finally.......if you've ever received one of those African spam e-mail invitations to share the Dark Continent's wealth, this last site may provide a few laughs being devoted to email exchanges between “Gilbert Murray” (in a variety of guises) and various fraudsters (The Inventor is one of my favourites) Very inventive. Very funny.A peak at the virtual 'my village' site set up to persuade Google Searches as to the validity of Murray's home village of Gypping In the Marsh sets the tone of humour expected. If you like the humour of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue you may recognise the level of (questionable) taste.
And perhaps you might take a peek at the list of local businesses, but no Outdoor Shop. Yet.
A great parody of the 'my village' website genre.
Labels: Miscellaneous
Sustrans National Lottery win - Pig in a Poke?
Lacking comment elsewhere within the UK outdoor blogging community (unless I've overlooked someone) here's my personal thoughts on the award last week of £50 million to Sustrans’ Connect2 project from the Big Lottery Fund to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide.
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure. Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Sunday, December 9
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
When the award was initially announced my reaction was - so what's that to me? I've been aware of Sustrans for some time now, but associated the group mostly with cycle routes. Not a huge interest of mine, but it sounded like a positive move - money to help with access to the great outdoors.
Now with anything related to the "National Lottery" my main reaction to that these days is by now pretty negative.
Why when I attempt to buy my Saturday paper/smokes do I somehow end up queueing behind a string of punters intent on buying multiple combinations of Lottery tickets and Lottery scratch cards - does anyone besides myself actually buy goods in a newsagents these days?
Furthermore I'm not against gambling per se. Indeed last week saw me spending sometime in the local casino during an evening's entertainment (And there's plenty I could write on the plain evidence of the dissociation of the ardent gambler from the surroundings and people around them. A very scary and extreme phenomena to observe for an occasional punter like myself)
But as for the national lottery being a "good" bet - hardly good odds to be honest, but back to the plot....
Sustrans successful bid was "to build a national network of cycle and walking routes". A laudable aim.
And then came news of certain alleged shenanigans with the voting. Oh right. What a surprise. Hasn't the recent rash of TV voting scams really already made the point on this. And frankly if I was involved with a charity seeking a donation of this magnitude I would make darned sure all my friends, relations, passers-by etc etc etc voted for my team using whatever means were provided by the donating organisation. But it seems that this has upset some folk as to the fairness of it all.
But despite the controversy let's stand back and look at all the candidates up for the cash - Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend; Black Country Urban Park; Sustrans: Connect2;
Three out of the four offering locally based projects.
And the winner - well that would be the only one with a nationally based project. Small wonder they received more votes really bearing in mind the increased number of people that their project could potentially influence.
So to the delivery plans of the winners to see just how this affects my outdoors access. After a little more digging into the detail behind Sustrans plans I must admit I'm still very unclear on quite what they intend to deliver. No great projects - just lots of joining up bits. And the more I look into the local initiatives, the more unsettling they become being aimed at semi-urban routes, possibly intending to influence some of the local population to walk/cycle to their destinations. But I'd guess more aimed at those lardy arses who think it fine in principle but won't bother to use the facilities anyway, save for an occasional trip with the kids at the height of summer.
I'm trying hard not to get too scathing here after looking at the local project nearest to me. For it proposes provision of a cycleway from a rural area with a very small population, but potentially many airport workers, into the built up areas of Bournemouth. But there's a few drawbacks here.
Firstly - the route already exists on the ground, mostly over existing country back roads, and a bridge across the River Stour. In fact I cycled the route over ten years ago. So its not about provision of anything new. Just upgraded somewhere I'd assume.
Secondly if the route is upgraded it has the potential to increased cycle traffic along paths currently trod mostly by the dog walking brigade, and at one pinch point a number of fishermen. No potential for an increase in conflicting usage here then - wandering dogs, men with expensive fishing gear lying the ground, and cyclists at an increased speed.
Thirdly, the main beneficiary should be the airport workers. But frankly I'd be surprised if many of those not already using the route would choose to do so after its been upgraded (whatever that entails)
And finally - this is not to cover the whole route indicated on the map - but just that piece marked in red i.e. the pinch point referred to earlier. I'd guess that means taking a sometimes narrow and muddy riverside walk, aka locally as a peaceful summertime stroll. And creating a cycle track instead. Great news.
I'd love to be more objective here. To base my view on fact and details. But the plans are really rather sketchy at best, and also carry a couple of interesting warnings as to "the far reaching nature of the scheme" and "not a promise where the route will go".
Huh? So what was the money budgeted for in the £50 million bid then?
In fairness I'll leave this for the present until more detail arises once this project starts on the ground.
But as a walker I fear perhaps the Sustrans bid doesn't really represent much of importance to me and may in fact deter me from using this particular area in the future.
More to come on this I'm sure.
Labels: Fitness, Miscellaneous, walks
Dorset climber rescue - a waste of space
One worrying individual has caught local media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Late November (Tues 20th to be precise) a certain individual (lets call him 'Mr Whadafooch' to protect his identity) had to be rescued from a cliff close to Langton Matravers, here in Dorset.
The location "the bottom of Guillemot Climb near Dancing Ledge" - now try to remember that name - there may be a test later.
If memory serves it was a cold and wet day and Mr W "misjudged his timing and got stuck at the bottom of a cliff with ankle and head injuries as darkness approached" I recall hearing a local radio news report at the time and wondering about the lack of preparation in the conditions.
To quote the official incident report "The weather at the time was cyclonic force 5 or 6 becoming southwesterly and with squally showers" Mr W was "without a helmet or waterproof clothing"
Enter Portland Coastguard's helicopter which flew Mr W "who was suffering from exposure" to a local hospital.
The Coastguard's comment at the time: "A valuable lesson from this incident has been the clear need for any climber to take the appropriate equipment"
An quite right. Sound advice. The local cliffs aren't exceptionally high, but once the tide is in escape options become very limited, and windward ledges can get exceptionally exposed.
Roll forward to early December (Tues the 4th) - another coastguard call out in the same area. As the local newspaper The Daily Echo reports:
"TWO climbers who got into trouble during a stormy night ascent of Swanage sea cliffs have been brandished "disgraceful" by coastguards. One of the pair, a relatively experienced climber in his early twenties, was forced to call for rescue on Tuesday for the SECOND time in a fortnight. This time the man's climbing partner, also in his early 20s, was stuck 60ft down the bottom of Guillemot Ledge (recognise that name readers?), but two weeks ago the coastguard's rescue helicopter was scrambled after another of his companions became trapped on the same ledge"
I bet the coastguard were most impressed when they turned up to that particular incident.
The article mentions the coastguard comment "These guys were given a really good talking to. They are putting other people's lives at risk. They really should know better than to climb in these sorts of conditions"
There's plenty more of the same "....After getting into trouble once you would think this more experienced climber would have learned something, but clearly not. To attempt a second climb at night in these sorts of conditions is asking for trouble.." and ".....in these conditions in the middle of the night, it really borders on stupidity. They must have been on the cliff face for some time. I think they are lucky to be alive"
I somehow think that the coastguard's message might have been put across to Mr W a little more forcibly during this second incident.
Hopefully there will be no third time lucky.
I'll let you think up your own suitable comments here (although there's some ideas for you to start with here)
More from the Swanage Coastguard incident log as well including the famous line "some rather strong words of advice were given to him"
Oh I bet they were.
There is being unlucky. And then there's making your own luck.
Labels: Mental Health, Miscellaneous, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
