Sunday, September 30
Alexander Supertramp - Into the Wild
I've mentioned previously that one of my favourite reads over the last couple of years has been the seminal "Autobiography of a Supertramp" by W.H.Davies. And I suspect that this source was behind Christopher McCandless's choice to adopt the name of Alexander Supertramp.
I'd not come across this reference before. But I can guarantee it will be popping up on the UK Outdoor Forums over coming months.
His lonely starved body was found in an abandoned bus in an Alaskan national park back in August 1992. On the face of it a failed attempt to live off the land far from "civilisation".
Whatever the aims of the individual during his life, his death resulted in an outburst of conflicting thoughts, eventually resulting in a book ("Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer), a song (Ellis Paul - "The Ballad of Chris McCandless) and now a recently released film.
There's a number of net based references as to the rationale and suitability of this failed experiment which make for interesting reading, particularly The Cult of Chris McCandless and this recent appraisal which gives an even minded summary of AS and the impact it has had since. A couple of quotes from these articles provides food for thought:
"McCandless didn't need the wilderness," he says. "He needed help";
"I don't know what his problem was, but it wasn't surviving. If he's a hero, he's a dead hero";
Many of us strive to visit remote areas. To escape from the strictures of civilisation.
Some of us meet with accidents. Some even may not return.
But self sufficiency, preparedness and risk management is amongst the essential tools we should all take with us. A modicum of sanity helps as well (Or does it?)
And once the hype is ignored there's a salutary tale with lessons for us all if we are preapred to listen.Labels: books, Mental Health, nature
Hip-pack Competition - Miraculous Recovery?
Just I was starting to turn over the soil to bury this year's competition, or at least put it into the dehydrator ready to just add water next year, along comes two last minute entrants.
Gayle over on M & G Go For A Walk spent last night on Cannock Chase, and is busily posting about her meetings with the local wildlife (well there somewhere in the pictures of the dark)
At the same time over in Cann Woods lost-in-a-forest has a real time report with more to follow I'm sure.
The jury is assembling. Lets see the evidence. Labels: Hip-pack Competition
Saturday, September 29
Duke of Edinburgh Entrants - Lighten that pack load
A quick dog saunter today to exercise the dogs (and my befuddled grey cells) threw up some interesting variations during a shortened route. The reduction down to one of the mutts poor health at the moment. Nothing too serious. Just old age catching up with her. So time to treat the old lady a little more gently at times. Like today.
I entered the southern end of Wilverley Enclosure, near Holmsley TeaRooms. Its been a couple of months since I stopped for more than a quick drink at this spot. And it would seem there's been some change of management with prices now bumped sky high to fleece the unwary. Quite how they will survive the tourist free winter months will be interesting. £6.60 for a soup and a drink! This is the New Forest, not London for gawds sake folks. Get real.
But I digress. As I used the underpass under the A35, now famous thanks to Bill Bailey & TV the lead dog drew near to me, an indication of people ahead. As we left the bridge overhang there was a small group of teenage girls with a variety of packs and bedrolls, not appreciating the challenge of the first (small) rise up onto the forest itself. A quick hello to the ladies gleaned the information that they were on their DOE 15K walk with, I assume, an overnight camp at one of the local offical sites. A quick check around the group as to pack weights turned up the heaviest at 20k. Ever the opportunist that was grounds enough for me to drop off a JH Blog Card and a kindly suggestion to wander around some of the links on this site for advice on how to get that pack weight down (Say to under 10k for the one night trip ladies!) Spread the word!
I guess we spend so much time thinking on these blogs about near ultralight loads, and minimalist approachs that we tend to overlook the rank beginners out there i.e. the majority of people. They are the ones who wander into Millets or Blacks with a bulging wallet and leave weighed down with all variety of gear. Much of which may be needless or eventually left to gather dust at the back of a cupboard.
That's not to say that a typical High Street outdoor retailer doesn't supply a good variety of gear. The problem is having the experience to choose selectively for that which is useful, hopefully serves a multiple purpose, and is not the weight of the proverbial brick.
We all make these mistakes (and sometimes still do) but for someone new to it all a bit of a helping hand can come in useful and save wasting cash (Camping stove toaster plate anyone?)
Moving on, along a shale track. Not my usual route but one that cut a few corners off the larger circular walk. Suddenly I spotted a single deer ahead on the track. We stood and watched each other for a couple of minutes. The deer taking little alarm despite me calling in the dogs, and the busy main road less than 50m behind it. And as I passed the post where it had been - the usual admirable disappearing trick. Its presence melting away into the woodland undergrowth as though it had never existed.
Finally returning back along this track I spotted two toads, both recently dead, at separate points along the way. As the track is closed to public traffic behind padlocked gates its ironic that the cause of the flattened Bufo Bufo would most likely be the very organisations tasked with protecting the localaty's wildlife and fauna, and preventing Joe Public from creating havoc.
A short trip. But a variety of experiences.Labels: New Forest, Trip Planning, walks
Friday, September 28
Spring - a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love
Is it spring already, with those early indicatiors so nobly expressed by Lord Alf Tennyson?
There's BG with his subtle post "What a lovely pair" and HenesseyBlog with "A nip in the air…"
So just in case we've collectively decided to write off the rest of 2007 to rush towards the Spring 2008 here's my contribution.
Ladies and gentlemen I bring you Sgurr na Cìche, better known as the Pap of Glen Coe aka GlenCoe's nipple to the baser elements out there.
Oooh, no missus, titter ye not.
Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous, Scotland
Wednesday, September 26
Hip-pack Competition - Dies the death
Back in April when the summer was still ahead with its prospect of long hot sultry days I suggested a bit of light hearted fun - The Hip-Pack Competition 'To find the most successful outdoor use of the smallest bag & lightest load for successfully completing a single wildcamp over night by the end of Sept'
Well in hindsight (such a wonderful tool - someone should market it someday) that now looks like a somewhat optimistic idea. There's been little enough opportunity for the normal outdoor trips, never mind the chance to slip in a quick local overnighter during one of the many heatwaves that just haven't happened in 2007.
As a result I'd have to pronounce the experiment a bit of a bust. The closure date is this coming weekend and as I don't intend to award my attempt the prize for obvious reasons, the nearest contender was Weird Darren on our recent seaside trip and I think he'd be the first to admit that was hardly in the spirit in the competition (BTW how can an individual carry so much food for an overnighter without worrying about getting mugged by squirrels - lol)
So unless there is a last minute entry, somewhat unlikely now autumnal cold is starting to nip, I have to reluctantly mark the competition as closed with no winner.
Meanwhile I'll be talking with the sponsor to see what should be done with the donated prize.
Not one of my more successful ideas I guess. Not so much ahead of its time, more a year behind with the weather conditions.
Ah well. If you don't try these things it just won't happen, will it.Labels: Hip-pack Competition
New UK Outdoor Blogger
A newly discovered blog Sometimes I Remember courtesy of one Mad Jim with a wealth of pictures, especially from Scotland, going back to 2004.
Should help out with ideas and route planning hopefully.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger
Tuesday, September 25
Free ISP Service or PC woes I pay for!
(This post replaces an earlier one on The great outdoors. The key to total fulfillment and ultimate happiness. Plus 'The meaning of life is........' I just couldn't be arsed after all this)
A long day at work, and glad to finally get home. So arriving to the greeting "There's no Internet access but a page gives you a simple fix" automatically produced that cold sweat at the back of the neck. The sort of animal reaction that indicates There Is Going To Be Fun Ahead.
It was those words - "no access" & "simple fix". Pah! Oh the joys of being IT experienced. Or once burnt......
90 minutes later I had net connect again, even thought the other pc behind the same router/modem was happily working as normal.
And the "simple fix"? Well every attempt to access a web page was met with this helpful screen to remove my proxy server aka "We're giving your browser a boost" Oh what irony.
No way around the persistent bugger. Only problem - the proxy usage was only put in a few months ago at the behest of the same ISP Helpdesk to correct a problem with intermittent site loading.
At the same time that the ISP Helpdesk finally answered (25p/min now -great it gets better and better) I spotted an alternate proxy detail on one of the NGs.
So after 10 minutes and nearly £3 later Helpdesk and me had jointly reset all my IE6 settings (noooooooo) and I'd finally been advised to "eer - use the proxy that works or...." Well nothing really.
So it looks like next time the proxy disappears I'm left with probably de/reinstalling IE6. So another carefree 15 minutes was then spent trying to quickly grab versions of that plus Service Packs rather than get poked down the IE7 route.
And NO - I don't want Firefox. There's enough playing around with all this already thank you very much.
A later visit to one of my regular Broadband help forums reveals that this has been a helpful little ISP 'facility' that's been regularly killing net connects for some considerable time.
Technology - don't you just love it. Bugger it - I'm off to bed. Hope the DAB radio is working ok.
Harrumph.
(Edit: The solution? Rename the "HOSTS" files left over from Win95/98 since upgrading to Win XP on the pc. Looks like they were being used to resolved DNS addressing, and picking up old information. As they are not really neccessary in Win XP they (and the proxy server) have been ditched with no issues. Hope that helps someone out there)Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, September 24
Check your Blog site for impact
Fancy a free report on how a search engine reacts to your website pages with some hints on what can be done to improve visibility, some general usability feedback, and an indication of how highly in a search engine the page is ranked?
Then try this link.
There seems to be no limit to the amount of times the report can be re-run, so as a simple tool to help streamline a site it's worth a few minutes of playing around with the results.
I've added a couple of items into the html code, (keywords, meta-tags etc) and will be watching the site visit results over the coming weeks to see what effect there may be. Or not as the case may be. We'll see.
Ho Hum.Labels: blog media
Sunday, September 23
A New Forest Mystery - Wild Places and Witchcraft
A return to another part of the New Forest, currently another area of exploration for me.
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?Labels: New Forest, walks
Wednesday, September 19
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
I'd not come across this reference before. But I can guarantee it will be popping up on the UK Outdoor Forums over coming months.
His lonely starved body was found in an abandoned bus in an Alaskan national park back in August 1992. On the face of it a failed attempt to live off the land far from "civilisation".
Whatever the aims of the individual during his life, his death resulted in an outburst of conflicting thoughts, eventually resulting in a book ("Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer), a song (Ellis Paul - "The Ballad of Chris McCandless) and now a recently released film.
There's a number of net based references as to the rationale and suitability of this failed experiment which make for interesting reading, particularly The Cult of Chris McCandless and this recent appraisal which gives an even minded summary of AS and the impact it has had since. A couple of quotes from these articles provides food for thought:
"McCandless didn't need the wilderness," he says. "He needed help";
"I don't know what his problem was, but it wasn't surviving. If he's a hero, he's a dead hero";
Many of us strive to visit remote areas. To escape from the strictures of civilisation.
Some of us meet with accidents. Some even may not return.
But self sufficiency, preparedness and risk management is amongst the essential tools we should all take with us. A modicum of sanity helps as well (Or does it?)
And once the hype is ignored there's a salutary tale with lessons for us all if we are preapred to listen.
Labels: books, Mental Health, nature
Hip-pack Competition - Miraculous Recovery?
Just I was starting to turn over the soil to bury this year's competition, or at least put it into the dehydrator ready to just add water next year, along comes two last minute entrants.
Gayle over on M & G Go For A Walk spent last night on Cannock Chase, and is busily posting about her meetings with the local wildlife (well there somewhere in the pictures of the dark)
At the same time over in Cann Woods lost-in-a-forest has a real time report with more to follow I'm sure.
The jury is assembling. Lets see the evidence. Labels: Hip-pack Competition
Saturday, September 29
Duke of Edinburgh Entrants - Lighten that pack load
A quick dog saunter today to exercise the dogs (and my befuddled grey cells) threw up some interesting variations during a shortened route. The reduction down to one of the mutts poor health at the moment. Nothing too serious. Just old age catching up with her. So time to treat the old lady a little more gently at times. Like today.
I entered the southern end of Wilverley Enclosure, near Holmsley TeaRooms. Its been a couple of months since I stopped for more than a quick drink at this spot. And it would seem there's been some change of management with prices now bumped sky high to fleece the unwary. Quite how they will survive the tourist free winter months will be interesting. £6.60 for a soup and a drink! This is the New Forest, not London for gawds sake folks. Get real.
But I digress. As I used the underpass under the A35, now famous thanks to Bill Bailey & TV the lead dog drew near to me, an indication of people ahead. As we left the bridge overhang there was a small group of teenage girls with a variety of packs and bedrolls, not appreciating the challenge of the first (small) rise up onto the forest itself. A quick hello to the ladies gleaned the information that they were on their DOE 15K walk with, I assume, an overnight camp at one of the local offical sites. A quick check around the group as to pack weights turned up the heaviest at 20k. Ever the opportunist that was grounds enough for me to drop off a JH Blog Card and a kindly suggestion to wander around some of the links on this site for advice on how to get that pack weight down (Say to under 10k for the one night trip ladies!) Spread the word!
I guess we spend so much time thinking on these blogs about near ultralight loads, and minimalist approachs that we tend to overlook the rank beginners out there i.e. the majority of people. They are the ones who wander into Millets or Blacks with a bulging wallet and leave weighed down with all variety of gear. Much of which may be needless or eventually left to gather dust at the back of a cupboard.
That's not to say that a typical High Street outdoor retailer doesn't supply a good variety of gear. The problem is having the experience to choose selectively for that which is useful, hopefully serves a multiple purpose, and is not the weight of the proverbial brick.
We all make these mistakes (and sometimes still do) but for someone new to it all a bit of a helping hand can come in useful and save wasting cash (Camping stove toaster plate anyone?)
Moving on, along a shale track. Not my usual route but one that cut a few corners off the larger circular walk. Suddenly I spotted a single deer ahead on the track. We stood and watched each other for a couple of minutes. The deer taking little alarm despite me calling in the dogs, and the busy main road less than 50m behind it. And as I passed the post where it had been - the usual admirable disappearing trick. Its presence melting away into the woodland undergrowth as though it had never existed.
Finally returning back along this track I spotted two toads, both recently dead, at separate points along the way. As the track is closed to public traffic behind padlocked gates its ironic that the cause of the flattened Bufo Bufo would most likely be the very organisations tasked with protecting the localaty's wildlife and fauna, and preventing Joe Public from creating havoc.
A short trip. But a variety of experiences.Labels: New Forest, Trip Planning, walks
Friday, September 28
Spring - a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love
Is it spring already, with those early indicatiors so nobly expressed by Lord Alf Tennyson?
There's BG with his subtle post "What a lovely pair" and HenesseyBlog with "A nip in the air…"
So just in case we've collectively decided to write off the rest of 2007 to rush towards the Spring 2008 here's my contribution.
Ladies and gentlemen I bring you Sgurr na Cìche, better known as the Pap of Glen Coe aka GlenCoe's nipple to the baser elements out there.
Oooh, no missus, titter ye not.
Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous, Scotland
Wednesday, September 26
Hip-pack Competition - Dies the death
Back in April when the summer was still ahead with its prospect of long hot sultry days I suggested a bit of light hearted fun - The Hip-Pack Competition 'To find the most successful outdoor use of the smallest bag & lightest load for successfully completing a single wildcamp over night by the end of Sept'
Well in hindsight (such a wonderful tool - someone should market it someday) that now looks like a somewhat optimistic idea. There's been little enough opportunity for the normal outdoor trips, never mind the chance to slip in a quick local overnighter during one of the many heatwaves that just haven't happened in 2007.
As a result I'd have to pronounce the experiment a bit of a bust. The closure date is this coming weekend and as I don't intend to award my attempt the prize for obvious reasons, the nearest contender was Weird Darren on our recent seaside trip and I think he'd be the first to admit that was hardly in the spirit in the competition (BTW how can an individual carry so much food for an overnighter without worrying about getting mugged by squirrels - lol)
So unless there is a last minute entry, somewhat unlikely now autumnal cold is starting to nip, I have to reluctantly mark the competition as closed with no winner.
Meanwhile I'll be talking with the sponsor to see what should be done with the donated prize.
Not one of my more successful ideas I guess. Not so much ahead of its time, more a year behind with the weather conditions.
Ah well. If you don't try these things it just won't happen, will it.Labels: Hip-pack Competition
New UK Outdoor Blogger
A newly discovered blog Sometimes I Remember courtesy of one Mad Jim with a wealth of pictures, especially from Scotland, going back to 2004.
Should help out with ideas and route planning hopefully.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger
Tuesday, September 25
Free ISP Service or PC woes I pay for!
(This post replaces an earlier one on The great outdoors. The key to total fulfillment and ultimate happiness. Plus 'The meaning of life is........' I just couldn't be arsed after all this)
A long day at work, and glad to finally get home. So arriving to the greeting "There's no Internet access but a page gives you a simple fix" automatically produced that cold sweat at the back of the neck. The sort of animal reaction that indicates There Is Going To Be Fun Ahead.
It was those words - "no access" & "simple fix". Pah! Oh the joys of being IT experienced. Or once burnt......
90 minutes later I had net connect again, even thought the other pc behind the same router/modem was happily working as normal.
And the "simple fix"? Well every attempt to access a web page was met with this helpful screen to remove my proxy server aka "We're giving your browser a boost" Oh what irony.
No way around the persistent bugger. Only problem - the proxy usage was only put in a few months ago at the behest of the same ISP Helpdesk to correct a problem with intermittent site loading.
At the same time that the ISP Helpdesk finally answered (25p/min now -great it gets better and better) I spotted an alternate proxy detail on one of the NGs.
So after 10 minutes and nearly £3 later Helpdesk and me had jointly reset all my IE6 settings (noooooooo) and I'd finally been advised to "eer - use the proxy that works or...." Well nothing really.
So it looks like next time the proxy disappears I'm left with probably de/reinstalling IE6. So another carefree 15 minutes was then spent trying to quickly grab versions of that plus Service Packs rather than get poked down the IE7 route.
And NO - I don't want Firefox. There's enough playing around with all this already thank you very much.
A later visit to one of my regular Broadband help forums reveals that this has been a helpful little ISP 'facility' that's been regularly killing net connects for some considerable time.
Technology - don't you just love it. Bugger it - I'm off to bed. Hope the DAB radio is working ok.
Harrumph.
(Edit: The solution? Rename the "HOSTS" files left over from Win95/98 since upgrading to Win XP on the pc. Looks like they were being used to resolved DNS addressing, and picking up old information. As they are not really neccessary in Win XP they (and the proxy server) have been ditched with no issues. Hope that helps someone out there)Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, September 24
Check your Blog site for impact
Fancy a free report on how a search engine reacts to your website pages with some hints on what can be done to improve visibility, some general usability feedback, and an indication of how highly in a search engine the page is ranked?
Then try this link.
There seems to be no limit to the amount of times the report can be re-run, so as a simple tool to help streamline a site it's worth a few minutes of playing around with the results.
I've added a couple of items into the html code, (keywords, meta-tags etc) and will be watching the site visit results over the coming weeks to see what effect there may be. Or not as the case may be. We'll see.
Ho Hum.Labels: blog media
Sunday, September 23
A New Forest Mystery - Wild Places and Witchcraft
A return to another part of the New Forest, currently another area of exploration for me.
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?Labels: New Forest, walks
Wednesday, September 19
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Gayle over on M & G Go For A Walk spent last night on Cannock Chase, and is busily posting about her meetings with the local wildlife (well there somewhere in the pictures of the dark)
At the same time over in Cann Woods lost-in-a-forest has a real time report with more to follow I'm sure.
The jury is assembling. Lets see the evidence.
Labels: Hip-pack Competition
Duke of Edinburgh Entrants - Lighten that pack load
A quick dog saunter today to exercise the dogs (and my befuddled grey cells) threw up some interesting variations during a shortened route. The reduction down to one of the mutts poor health at the moment. Nothing too serious. Just old age catching up with her. So time to treat the old lady a little more gently at times. Like today.
I entered the southern end of Wilverley Enclosure, near Holmsley TeaRooms. Its been a couple of months since I stopped for more than a quick drink at this spot. And it would seem there's been some change of management with prices now bumped sky high to fleece the unwary. Quite how they will survive the tourist free winter months will be interesting. £6.60 for a soup and a drink! This is the New Forest, not London for gawds sake folks. Get real.
But I digress. As I used the underpass under the A35, now famous thanks to Bill Bailey & TV the lead dog drew near to me, an indication of people ahead. As we left the bridge overhang there was a small group of teenage girls with a variety of packs and bedrolls, not appreciating the challenge of the first (small) rise up onto the forest itself. A quick hello to the ladies gleaned the information that they were on their DOE 15K walk with, I assume, an overnight camp at one of the local offical sites. A quick check around the group as to pack weights turned up the heaviest at 20k. Ever the opportunist that was grounds enough for me to drop off a JH Blog Card and a kindly suggestion to wander around some of the links on this site for advice on how to get that pack weight down (Say to under 10k for the one night trip ladies!) Spread the word!
I guess we spend so much time thinking on these blogs about near ultralight loads, and minimalist approachs that we tend to overlook the rank beginners out there i.e. the majority of people. They are the ones who wander into Millets or Blacks with a bulging wallet and leave weighed down with all variety of gear. Much of which may be needless or eventually left to gather dust at the back of a cupboard.
That's not to say that a typical High Street outdoor retailer doesn't supply a good variety of gear. The problem is having the experience to choose selectively for that which is useful, hopefully serves a multiple purpose, and is not the weight of the proverbial brick.
We all make these mistakes (and sometimes still do) but for someone new to it all a bit of a helping hand can come in useful and save wasting cash (Camping stove toaster plate anyone?)
Moving on, along a shale track. Not my usual route but one that cut a few corners off the larger circular walk. Suddenly I spotted a single deer ahead on the track. We stood and watched each other for a couple of minutes. The deer taking little alarm despite me calling in the dogs, and the busy main road less than 50m behind it. And as I passed the post where it had been - the usual admirable disappearing trick. Its presence melting away into the woodland undergrowth as though it had never existed.
Finally returning back along this track I spotted two toads, both recently dead, at separate points along the way. As the track is closed to public traffic behind padlocked gates its ironic that the cause of the flattened Bufo Bufo would most likely be the very organisations tasked with protecting the localaty's wildlife and fauna, and preventing Joe Public from creating havoc.
A short trip. But a variety of experiences.Labels: New Forest, Trip Planning, walks
Friday, September 28
Spring - a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love
Is it spring already, with those early indicatiors so nobly expressed by Lord Alf Tennyson?
There's BG with his subtle post "What a lovely pair" and HenesseyBlog with "A nip in the air…"
So just in case we've collectively decided to write off the rest of 2007 to rush towards the Spring 2008 here's my contribution.
Ladies and gentlemen I bring you Sgurr na Cìche, better known as the Pap of Glen Coe aka GlenCoe's nipple to the baser elements out there.
Oooh, no missus, titter ye not.
Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous, Scotland
Wednesday, September 26
Hip-pack Competition - Dies the death
Back in April when the summer was still ahead with its prospect of long hot sultry days I suggested a bit of light hearted fun - The Hip-Pack Competition 'To find the most successful outdoor use of the smallest bag & lightest load for successfully completing a single wildcamp over night by the end of Sept'
Well in hindsight (such a wonderful tool - someone should market it someday) that now looks like a somewhat optimistic idea. There's been little enough opportunity for the normal outdoor trips, never mind the chance to slip in a quick local overnighter during one of the many heatwaves that just haven't happened in 2007.
As a result I'd have to pronounce the experiment a bit of a bust. The closure date is this coming weekend and as I don't intend to award my attempt the prize for obvious reasons, the nearest contender was Weird Darren on our recent seaside trip and I think he'd be the first to admit that was hardly in the spirit in the competition (BTW how can an individual carry so much food for an overnighter without worrying about getting mugged by squirrels - lol)
So unless there is a last minute entry, somewhat unlikely now autumnal cold is starting to nip, I have to reluctantly mark the competition as closed with no winner.
Meanwhile I'll be talking with the sponsor to see what should be done with the donated prize.
Not one of my more successful ideas I guess. Not so much ahead of its time, more a year behind with the weather conditions.
Ah well. If you don't try these things it just won't happen, will it.Labels: Hip-pack Competition
New UK Outdoor Blogger
A newly discovered blog Sometimes I Remember courtesy of one Mad Jim with a wealth of pictures, especially from Scotland, going back to 2004.
Should help out with ideas and route planning hopefully.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger
Tuesday, September 25
Free ISP Service or PC woes I pay for!
(This post replaces an earlier one on The great outdoors. The key to total fulfillment and ultimate happiness. Plus 'The meaning of life is........' I just couldn't be arsed after all this)
A long day at work, and glad to finally get home. So arriving to the greeting "There's no Internet access but a page gives you a simple fix" automatically produced that cold sweat at the back of the neck. The sort of animal reaction that indicates There Is Going To Be Fun Ahead.
It was those words - "no access" & "simple fix". Pah! Oh the joys of being IT experienced. Or once burnt......
90 minutes later I had net connect again, even thought the other pc behind the same router/modem was happily working as normal.
And the "simple fix"? Well every attempt to access a web page was met with this helpful screen to remove my proxy server aka "We're giving your browser a boost" Oh what irony.
No way around the persistent bugger. Only problem - the proxy usage was only put in a few months ago at the behest of the same ISP Helpdesk to correct a problem with intermittent site loading.
At the same time that the ISP Helpdesk finally answered (25p/min now -great it gets better and better) I spotted an alternate proxy detail on one of the NGs.
So after 10 minutes and nearly £3 later Helpdesk and me had jointly reset all my IE6 settings (noooooooo) and I'd finally been advised to "eer - use the proxy that works or...." Well nothing really.
So it looks like next time the proxy disappears I'm left with probably de/reinstalling IE6. So another carefree 15 minutes was then spent trying to quickly grab versions of that plus Service Packs rather than get poked down the IE7 route.
And NO - I don't want Firefox. There's enough playing around with all this already thank you very much.
A later visit to one of my regular Broadband help forums reveals that this has been a helpful little ISP 'facility' that's been regularly killing net connects for some considerable time.
Technology - don't you just love it. Bugger it - I'm off to bed. Hope the DAB radio is working ok.
Harrumph.
(Edit: The solution? Rename the "HOSTS" files left over from Win95/98 since upgrading to Win XP on the pc. Looks like they were being used to resolved DNS addressing, and picking up old information. As they are not really neccessary in Win XP they (and the proxy server) have been ditched with no issues. Hope that helps someone out there)Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, September 24
Check your Blog site for impact
Fancy a free report on how a search engine reacts to your website pages with some hints on what can be done to improve visibility, some general usability feedback, and an indication of how highly in a search engine the page is ranked?
Then try this link.
There seems to be no limit to the amount of times the report can be re-run, so as a simple tool to help streamline a site it's worth a few minutes of playing around with the results.
I've added a couple of items into the html code, (keywords, meta-tags etc) and will be watching the site visit results over the coming weeks to see what effect there may be. Or not as the case may be. We'll see.
Ho Hum.Labels: blog media
Sunday, September 23
A New Forest Mystery - Wild Places and Witchcraft
A return to another part of the New Forest, currently another area of exploration for me.
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?Labels: New Forest, walks
Wednesday, September 19
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
I entered the southern end of Wilverley Enclosure, near Holmsley TeaRooms. Its been a couple of months since I stopped for more than a quick drink at this spot. And it would seem there's been some change of management with prices now bumped sky high to fleece the unwary. Quite how they will survive the tourist free winter months will be interesting. £6.60 for a soup and a drink! This is the New Forest, not London for gawds sake folks. Get real.
But I digress. As I used the underpass under the A35, now famous thanks to Bill Bailey & TV the lead dog drew near to me, an indication of people ahead. As we left the bridge overhang there was a small group of teenage girls with a variety of packs and bedrolls, not appreciating the challenge of the first (small) rise up onto the forest itself. A quick hello to the ladies gleaned the information that they were on their DOE 15K walk with, I assume, an overnight camp at one of the local offical sites. A quick check around the group as to pack weights turned up the heaviest at 20k. Ever the opportunist that was grounds enough for me to drop off a JH Blog Card and a kindly suggestion to wander around some of the links on this site for advice on how to get that pack weight down (Say to under 10k for the one night trip ladies!) Spread the word!
I guess we spend so much time thinking on these blogs about near ultralight loads, and minimalist approachs that we tend to overlook the rank beginners out there i.e. the majority of people. They are the ones who wander into Millets or Blacks with a bulging wallet and leave weighed down with all variety of gear. Much of which may be needless or eventually left to gather dust at the back of a cupboard.
That's not to say that a typical High Street outdoor retailer doesn't supply a good variety of gear. The problem is having the experience to choose selectively for that which is useful, hopefully serves a multiple purpose, and is not the weight of the proverbial brick.
We all make these mistakes (and sometimes still do) but for someone new to it all a bit of a helping hand can come in useful and save wasting cash (Camping stove toaster plate anyone?)
Moving on, along a shale track. Not my usual route but one that cut a few corners off the larger circular walk. Suddenly I spotted a single deer ahead on the track. We stood and watched each other for a couple of minutes. The deer taking little alarm despite me calling in the dogs, and the busy main road less than 50m behind it. And as I passed the post where it had been - the usual admirable disappearing trick. Its presence melting away into the woodland undergrowth as though it had never existed.
Finally returning back along this track I spotted two toads, both recently dead, at separate points along the way. As the track is closed to public traffic behind padlocked gates its ironic that the cause of the flattened Bufo Bufo would most likely be the very organisations tasked with protecting the localaty's wildlife and fauna, and preventing Joe Public from creating havoc.
A short trip. But a variety of experiences.
Labels: New Forest, Trip Planning, walks
Spring - a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love
Is it spring already, with those early indicatiors so nobly expressed by Lord Alf Tennyson?
There's BG with his subtle post "What a lovely pair" and HenesseyBlog with "A nip in the air…"
So just in case we've collectively decided to write off the rest of 2007 to rush towards the Spring 2008 here's my contribution.
Ladies and gentlemen I bring you Sgurr na Cìche, better known as the Pap of Glen Coe aka GlenCoe's nipple to the baser elements out there.
Oooh, no missus, titter ye not.
Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous, Scotland
Wednesday, September 26
Hip-pack Competition - Dies the death
Back in April when the summer was still ahead with its prospect of long hot sultry days I suggested a bit of light hearted fun - The Hip-Pack Competition 'To find the most successful outdoor use of the smallest bag & lightest load for successfully completing a single wildcamp over night by the end of Sept'
Well in hindsight (such a wonderful tool - someone should market it someday) that now looks like a somewhat optimistic idea. There's been little enough opportunity for the normal outdoor trips, never mind the chance to slip in a quick local overnighter during one of the many heatwaves that just haven't happened in 2007.
As a result I'd have to pronounce the experiment a bit of a bust. The closure date is this coming weekend and as I don't intend to award my attempt the prize for obvious reasons, the nearest contender was Weird Darren on our recent seaside trip and I think he'd be the first to admit that was hardly in the spirit in the competition (BTW how can an individual carry so much food for an overnighter without worrying about getting mugged by squirrels - lol)
So unless there is a last minute entry, somewhat unlikely now autumnal cold is starting to nip, I have to reluctantly mark the competition as closed with no winner.
Meanwhile I'll be talking with the sponsor to see what should be done with the donated prize.
Not one of my more successful ideas I guess. Not so much ahead of its time, more a year behind with the weather conditions.
Ah well. If you don't try these things it just won't happen, will it.Labels: Hip-pack Competition
New UK Outdoor Blogger
A newly discovered blog Sometimes I Remember courtesy of one Mad Jim with a wealth of pictures, especially from Scotland, going back to 2004.
Should help out with ideas and route planning hopefully.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger
Tuesday, September 25
Free ISP Service or PC woes I pay for!
(This post replaces an earlier one on The great outdoors. The key to total fulfillment and ultimate happiness. Plus 'The meaning of life is........' I just couldn't be arsed after all this)
A long day at work, and glad to finally get home. So arriving to the greeting "There's no Internet access but a page gives you a simple fix" automatically produced that cold sweat at the back of the neck. The sort of animal reaction that indicates There Is Going To Be Fun Ahead.
It was those words - "no access" & "simple fix". Pah! Oh the joys of being IT experienced. Or once burnt......
90 minutes later I had net connect again, even thought the other pc behind the same router/modem was happily working as normal.
And the "simple fix"? Well every attempt to access a web page was met with this helpful screen to remove my proxy server aka "We're giving your browser a boost" Oh what irony.
No way around the persistent bugger. Only problem - the proxy usage was only put in a few months ago at the behest of the same ISP Helpdesk to correct a problem with intermittent site loading.
At the same time that the ISP Helpdesk finally answered (25p/min now -great it gets better and better) I spotted an alternate proxy detail on one of the NGs.
So after 10 minutes and nearly £3 later Helpdesk and me had jointly reset all my IE6 settings (noooooooo) and I'd finally been advised to "eer - use the proxy that works or...." Well nothing really.
So it looks like next time the proxy disappears I'm left with probably de/reinstalling IE6. So another carefree 15 minutes was then spent trying to quickly grab versions of that plus Service Packs rather than get poked down the IE7 route.
And NO - I don't want Firefox. There's enough playing around with all this already thank you very much.
A later visit to one of my regular Broadband help forums reveals that this has been a helpful little ISP 'facility' that's been regularly killing net connects for some considerable time.
Technology - don't you just love it. Bugger it - I'm off to bed. Hope the DAB radio is working ok.
Harrumph.
(Edit: The solution? Rename the "HOSTS" files left over from Win95/98 since upgrading to Win XP on the pc. Looks like they were being used to resolved DNS addressing, and picking up old information. As they are not really neccessary in Win XP they (and the proxy server) have been ditched with no issues. Hope that helps someone out there)Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, September 24
Check your Blog site for impact
Fancy a free report on how a search engine reacts to your website pages with some hints on what can be done to improve visibility, some general usability feedback, and an indication of how highly in a search engine the page is ranked?
Then try this link.
There seems to be no limit to the amount of times the report can be re-run, so as a simple tool to help streamline a site it's worth a few minutes of playing around with the results.
I've added a couple of items into the html code, (keywords, meta-tags etc) and will be watching the site visit results over the coming weeks to see what effect there may be. Or not as the case may be. We'll see.
Ho Hum.Labels: blog media
Sunday, September 23
A New Forest Mystery - Wild Places and Witchcraft
A return to another part of the New Forest, currently another area of exploration for me.
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?Labels: New Forest, walks
Wednesday, September 19
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Is it spring already, with those early indicatiors so nobly expressed by Lord Alf Tennyson?
There's BG with his subtle post "What a lovely pair" and HenesseyBlog with "A nip in the air…"
So just in case we've collectively decided to write off the rest of 2007 to rush towards the Spring 2008 here's my contribution.
Ladies and gentlemen I bring you Sgurr na Cìche, better known as the Pap of Glen Coe aka GlenCoe's nipple to the baser elements out there.
Oooh, no missus, titter ye not.
Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous, Scotland
Hip-pack Competition - Dies the death
Back in April when the summer was still ahead with its prospect of long hot sultry days I suggested a bit of light hearted fun - The Hip-Pack Competition 'To find the most successful outdoor use of the smallest bag & lightest load for successfully completing a single wildcamp over night by the end of Sept'
Well in hindsight (such a wonderful tool - someone should market it someday) that now looks like a somewhat optimistic idea. There's been little enough opportunity for the normal outdoor trips, never mind the chance to slip in a quick local overnighter during one of the many heatwaves that just haven't happened in 2007.
As a result I'd have to pronounce the experiment a bit of a bust. The closure date is this coming weekend and as I don't intend to award my attempt the prize for obvious reasons, the nearest contender was Weird Darren on our recent seaside trip and I think he'd be the first to admit that was hardly in the spirit in the competition (BTW how can an individual carry so much food for an overnighter without worrying about getting mugged by squirrels - lol)
So unless there is a last minute entry, somewhat unlikely now autumnal cold is starting to nip, I have to reluctantly mark the competition as closed with no winner.
Meanwhile I'll be talking with the sponsor to see what should be done with the donated prize.
Not one of my more successful ideas I guess. Not so much ahead of its time, more a year behind with the weather conditions.
Ah well. If you don't try these things it just won't happen, will it.Labels: Hip-pack Competition
New UK Outdoor Blogger
A newly discovered blog Sometimes I Remember courtesy of one Mad Jim with a wealth of pictures, especially from Scotland, going back to 2004.
Should help out with ideas and route planning hopefully.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger
Tuesday, September 25
Free ISP Service or PC woes I pay for!
(This post replaces an earlier one on The great outdoors. The key to total fulfillment and ultimate happiness. Plus 'The meaning of life is........' I just couldn't be arsed after all this)
A long day at work, and glad to finally get home. So arriving to the greeting "There's no Internet access but a page gives you a simple fix" automatically produced that cold sweat at the back of the neck. The sort of animal reaction that indicates There Is Going To Be Fun Ahead.
It was those words - "no access" & "simple fix". Pah! Oh the joys of being IT experienced. Or once burnt......
90 minutes later I had net connect again, even thought the other pc behind the same router/modem was happily working as normal.
And the "simple fix"? Well every attempt to access a web page was met with this helpful screen to remove my proxy server aka "We're giving your browser a boost" Oh what irony.
No way around the persistent bugger. Only problem - the proxy usage was only put in a few months ago at the behest of the same ISP Helpdesk to correct a problem with intermittent site loading.
At the same time that the ISP Helpdesk finally answered (25p/min now -great it gets better and better) I spotted an alternate proxy detail on one of the NGs.
So after 10 minutes and nearly £3 later Helpdesk and me had jointly reset all my IE6 settings (noooooooo) and I'd finally been advised to "eer - use the proxy that works or...." Well nothing really.
So it looks like next time the proxy disappears I'm left with probably de/reinstalling IE6. So another carefree 15 minutes was then spent trying to quickly grab versions of that plus Service Packs rather than get poked down the IE7 route.
And NO - I don't want Firefox. There's enough playing around with all this already thank you very much.
A later visit to one of my regular Broadband help forums reveals that this has been a helpful little ISP 'facility' that's been regularly killing net connects for some considerable time.
Technology - don't you just love it. Bugger it - I'm off to bed. Hope the DAB radio is working ok.
Harrumph.
(Edit: The solution? Rename the "HOSTS" files left over from Win95/98 since upgrading to Win XP on the pc. Looks like they were being used to resolved DNS addressing, and picking up old information. As they are not really neccessary in Win XP they (and the proxy server) have been ditched with no issues. Hope that helps someone out there)Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, September 24
Check your Blog site for impact
Fancy a free report on how a search engine reacts to your website pages with some hints on what can be done to improve visibility, some general usability feedback, and an indication of how highly in a search engine the page is ranked?
Then try this link.
There seems to be no limit to the amount of times the report can be re-run, so as a simple tool to help streamline a site it's worth a few minutes of playing around with the results.
I've added a couple of items into the html code, (keywords, meta-tags etc) and will be watching the site visit results over the coming weeks to see what effect there may be. Or not as the case may be. We'll see.
Ho Hum.Labels: blog media
Sunday, September 23
A New Forest Mystery - Wild Places and Witchcraft
A return to another part of the New Forest, currently another area of exploration for me.
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?Labels: New Forest, walks
Wednesday, September 19
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Well in hindsight (such a wonderful tool - someone should market it someday) that now looks like a somewhat optimistic idea. There's been little enough opportunity for the normal outdoor trips, never mind the chance to slip in a quick local overnighter during one of the many heatwaves that just haven't happened in 2007.
As a result I'd have to pronounce the experiment a bit of a bust. The closure date is this coming weekend and as I don't intend to award my attempt the prize for obvious reasons, the nearest contender was Weird Darren on our recent seaside trip and I think he'd be the first to admit that was hardly in the spirit in the competition (BTW how can an individual carry so much food for an overnighter without worrying about getting mugged by squirrels - lol)
So unless there is a last minute entry, somewhat unlikely now autumnal cold is starting to nip, I have to reluctantly mark the competition as closed with no winner.
Meanwhile I'll be talking with the sponsor to see what should be done with the donated prize.
Not one of my more successful ideas I guess. Not so much ahead of its time, more a year behind with the weather conditions.
Ah well. If you don't try these things it just won't happen, will it.
Labels: Hip-pack Competition
New UK Outdoor Blogger
A newly discovered blog Sometimes I Remember courtesy of one Mad Jim with a wealth of pictures, especially from Scotland, going back to 2004.
Should help out with ideas and route planning hopefully.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger
Tuesday, September 25
Free ISP Service or PC woes I pay for!
(This post replaces an earlier one on The great outdoors. The key to total fulfillment and ultimate happiness. Plus 'The meaning of life is........' I just couldn't be arsed after all this)
A long day at work, and glad to finally get home. So arriving to the greeting "There's no Internet access but a page gives you a simple fix" automatically produced that cold sweat at the back of the neck. The sort of animal reaction that indicates There Is Going To Be Fun Ahead.
It was those words - "no access" & "simple fix". Pah! Oh the joys of being IT experienced. Or once burnt......
90 minutes later I had net connect again, even thought the other pc behind the same router/modem was happily working as normal.
And the "simple fix"? Well every attempt to access a web page was met with this helpful screen to remove my proxy server aka "We're giving your browser a boost" Oh what irony.
No way around the persistent bugger. Only problem - the proxy usage was only put in a few months ago at the behest of the same ISP Helpdesk to correct a problem with intermittent site loading.
At the same time that the ISP Helpdesk finally answered (25p/min now -great it gets better and better) I spotted an alternate proxy detail on one of the NGs.
So after 10 minutes and nearly £3 later Helpdesk and me had jointly reset all my IE6 settings (noooooooo) and I'd finally been advised to "eer - use the proxy that works or...." Well nothing really.
So it looks like next time the proxy disappears I'm left with probably de/reinstalling IE6. So another carefree 15 minutes was then spent trying to quickly grab versions of that plus Service Packs rather than get poked down the IE7 route.
And NO - I don't want Firefox. There's enough playing around with all this already thank you very much.
A later visit to one of my regular Broadband help forums reveals that this has been a helpful little ISP 'facility' that's been regularly killing net connects for some considerable time.
Technology - don't you just love it. Bugger it - I'm off to bed. Hope the DAB radio is working ok.
Harrumph.
(Edit: The solution? Rename the "HOSTS" files left over from Win95/98 since upgrading to Win XP on the pc. Looks like they were being used to resolved DNS addressing, and picking up old information. As they are not really neccessary in Win XP they (and the proxy server) have been ditched with no issues. Hope that helps someone out there)Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, September 24
Check your Blog site for impact
Fancy a free report on how a search engine reacts to your website pages with some hints on what can be done to improve visibility, some general usability feedback, and an indication of how highly in a search engine the page is ranked?
Then try this link.
There seems to be no limit to the amount of times the report can be re-run, so as a simple tool to help streamline a site it's worth a few minutes of playing around with the results.
I've added a couple of items into the html code, (keywords, meta-tags etc) and will be watching the site visit results over the coming weeks to see what effect there may be. Or not as the case may be. We'll see.
Ho Hum.Labels: blog media
Sunday, September 23
A New Forest Mystery - Wild Places and Witchcraft
A return to another part of the New Forest, currently another area of exploration for me.
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?Labels: New Forest, walks
Wednesday, September 19
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Should help out with ideas and route planning hopefully.
Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger
Free ISP Service or PC woes I pay for!
(This post replaces an earlier one on The great outdoors. The key to total fulfillment and ultimate happiness. Plus 'The meaning of life is........' I just couldn't be arsed after all this)
A long day at work, and glad to finally get home. So arriving to the greeting "There's no Internet access but a page gives you a simple fix" automatically produced that cold sweat at the back of the neck. The sort of animal reaction that indicates There Is Going To Be Fun Ahead.
It was those words - "no access" & "simple fix". Pah! Oh the joys of being IT experienced. Or once burnt......
90 minutes later I had net connect again, even thought the other pc behind the same router/modem was happily working as normal.
And the "simple fix"? Well every attempt to access a web page was met with this helpful screen to remove my proxy server aka "We're giving your browser a boost" Oh what irony.
No way around the persistent bugger. Only problem - the proxy usage was only put in a few months ago at the behest of the same ISP Helpdesk to correct a problem with intermittent site loading.
At the same time that the ISP Helpdesk finally answered (25p/min now -great it gets better and better) I spotted an alternate proxy detail on one of the NGs.
So after 10 minutes and nearly £3 later Helpdesk and me had jointly reset all my IE6 settings (noooooooo) and I'd finally been advised to "eer - use the proxy that works or...." Well nothing really.
So it looks like next time the proxy disappears I'm left with probably de/reinstalling IE6. So another carefree 15 minutes was then spent trying to quickly grab versions of that plus Service Packs rather than get poked down the IE7 route.
And NO - I don't want Firefox. There's enough playing around with all this already thank you very much.
A later visit to one of my regular Broadband help forums reveals that this has been a helpful little ISP 'facility' that's been regularly killing net connects for some considerable time.
Technology - don't you just love it. Bugger it - I'm off to bed. Hope the DAB radio is working ok.
Harrumph.
(Edit: The solution? Rename the "HOSTS" files left over from Win95/98 since upgrading to Win XP on the pc. Looks like they were being used to resolved DNS addressing, and picking up old information. As they are not really neccessary in Win XP they (and the proxy server) have been ditched with no issues. Hope that helps someone out there)Labels: Miscellaneous
Monday, September 24
Check your Blog site for impact
Fancy a free report on how a search engine reacts to your website pages with some hints on what can be done to improve visibility, some general usability feedback, and an indication of how highly in a search engine the page is ranked?
Then try this link.
There seems to be no limit to the amount of times the report can be re-run, so as a simple tool to help streamline a site it's worth a few minutes of playing around with the results.
I've added a couple of items into the html code, (keywords, meta-tags etc) and will be watching the site visit results over the coming weeks to see what effect there may be. Or not as the case may be. We'll see.
Ho Hum.Labels: blog media
Sunday, September 23
A New Forest Mystery - Wild Places and Witchcraft
A return to another part of the New Forest, currently another area of exploration for me.
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?Labels: New Forest, walks
Wednesday, September 19
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
A long day at work, and glad to finally get home. So arriving to the greeting "There's no Internet access but a page gives you a simple fix" automatically produced that cold sweat at the back of the neck. The sort of animal reaction that indicates There Is Going To Be Fun Ahead.
It was those words - "no access" & "simple fix". Pah! Oh the joys of being IT experienced. Or once burnt......
90 minutes later I had net connect again, even thought the other pc behind the same router/modem was happily working as normal.
And the "simple fix"? Well every attempt to access a web page was met with this helpful screen to remove my proxy server aka "We're giving your browser a boost" Oh what irony.
No way around the persistent bugger. Only problem - the proxy usage was only put in a few months ago at the behest of the same ISP Helpdesk to correct a problem with intermittent site loading.
At the same time that the ISP Helpdesk finally answered (25p/min now -great it gets better and better) I spotted an alternate proxy detail on one of the NGs.
So after 10 minutes and nearly £3 later Helpdesk and me had jointly reset all my IE6 settings (noooooooo) and I'd finally been advised to "eer - use the proxy that works or...." Well nothing really.
So it looks like next time the proxy disappears I'm left with probably de/reinstalling IE6. So another carefree 15 minutes was then spent trying to quickly grab versions of that plus Service Packs rather than get poked down the IE7 route.
And NO - I don't want Firefox. There's enough playing around with all this already thank you very much.
A later visit to one of my regular Broadband help forums reveals that this has been a helpful little ISP 'facility' that's been regularly killing net connects for some considerable time.
Technology - don't you just love it. Bugger it - I'm off to bed. Hope the DAB radio is working ok.
Harrumph.
(Edit: The solution? Rename the "HOSTS" files left over from Win95/98 since upgrading to Win XP on the pc. Looks like they were being used to resolved DNS addressing, and picking up old information. As they are not really neccessary in Win XP they (and the proxy server) have been ditched with no issues. Hope that helps someone out there)
Labels: Miscellaneous
Check your Blog site for impact
Fancy a free report on how a search engine reacts to your website pages with some hints on what can be done to improve visibility, some general usability feedback, and an indication of how highly in a search engine the page is ranked?
Then try this link.
There seems to be no limit to the amount of times the report can be re-run, so as a simple tool to help streamline a site it's worth a few minutes of playing around with the results.
I've added a couple of items into the html code, (keywords, meta-tags etc) and will be watching the site visit results over the coming weeks to see what effect there may be. Or not as the case may be. We'll see.
Ho Hum.Labels: blog media
Sunday, September 23
A New Forest Mystery - Wild Places and Witchcraft
A return to another part of the New Forest, currently another area of exploration for me.
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?Labels: New Forest, walks
Wednesday, September 19
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Then try this link.
There seems to be no limit to the amount of times the report can be re-run, so as a simple tool to help streamline a site it's worth a few minutes of playing around with the results.
I've added a couple of items into the html code, (keywords, meta-tags etc) and will be watching the site visit results over the coming weeks to see what effect there may be. Or not as the case may be. We'll see.
Ho Hum.
Labels: blog media
A New Forest Mystery - Wild Places and Witchcraft
A return to another part of the New Forest, currently another area of exploration for me.
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?Labels: New Forest, walks
Wednesday, September 19
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
I'd spotted this section to the north of Wilverly Plain earlier in the summer and have been slowly using various dog walking sorties as an excuse to wander further across the area searching out those quieter corners I appreciate so much.
An August Bank holiday circular trip of 4-5 hours had left me aware of many areas along the way that seemed to have little sign of regular human activity. Indeed on that hot sunny afternoon during one of the busiest times of the New Forest year, I had a chance to quietly observe stags and does by a forest stream, safe in their solitude far from the teeming masses. Possibly the same herd I'd spotted during an an earlier outing.
Even the extended demonstration of the infamous John Hee Bog Dance, as witnessed earlier in the year when out with Weird Darren, hadn't dampened my interest in this area's potential.
But it has a certain strangeness about it at times as this shot indicates ............
One eye (as ever) out for wildcamp possibilities I wandered off track to root around a copse, and came across an extraordinary set-up.
The mobile telephone picture doesn't really capture the strangeness of this spot. So some description may help.
Amongst a small copse of mixed woodland, with some sign of long ago coppicing, an area of cleared ground. Totally flat, always a rarity amongst heathland woodland. And surrounded by a low wall of branch and old heather, intertwined with a wall of what looked like old brown twine which totally sourrounded the area without a break. Completely preventing deer/horse entry, and also deterring my own access for a closer peek without breaking the defence wall.
In the centre a vertical branch placed in the ground. A small shelf part way on the upright with what looked like a number of tea candle lights, which on closer examination were small shaped pieces of wood. And at the base of the post a flat log, with items on it, as if an altar.
The only certainty is that the area was a deliberate human construction. I have come across a variety of bivvi shelters before whilst on my walkabouts. They're quite common across the forest area, especially nearer the visitor hot spots or scout camps. But this is not constructed for that purpose. And the only point of reference for this position was a nearby stream and small bridge.
In the past I've heard tales of Witchcraft and Wicca activity practice locally. Indeed the New Forest village of Burley, less than 5 miles away, has a thriving tourist trade in witchcraft related paraphernalia. But despite relatively recent reports of an operating coven and vague references to naked nocturnal escapades, especially around Halloween, I've no direct experiential evidence to support the thought that instantly popped into my head at the time, and one that my wife similarly voiced when I showed her this shot.
Witchcraft?
Spooky. But not a threatening feeling in this spot. Merely a strangeness (and an intriguing place for an overnight stay)
And later, sat enjoying my lunch alongside a quiet backwater, I listened to Cameron McNeish's podcast on Wild Places A reflection that a wild place is not necessarily one on a remote hilltop in Scotland. But can equally be found in a Cambridge shire fenland. Or possibly on a hidden spot amongst New Forest heathland?
Labels: New Forest, walks
What do other bloggers post as their pictures?
Ever wonder that? Not necessarily out loud .
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Well no, me neither.
But it hasn't stopped Blogger releasing their in-house tool which scrolls various Blogger pixs as they are loaded to posts. And if there is one that takes your interest then click on it to go straight to the blog concerned.
Kind of fun for a few minutes. But I don't know as it will ever replace the Big Brother TV show.
Eerr then again.
Labels: blog media
Wasdale MRT appeals for some bl**dy common sense
".....walkers became disorientated on the summit of Great Gable. They used their mobile phone to call '999' ........ they were unhappy about being given directions over the phone even though they were standing at the summit cairn facing the remembrance plaque.....conditions were not bad and there was no risk to the pair of walkers" (Source: Wasdale MRT Incident report 13/9/07)
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Tuesday, September 18
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
No wonder Wasdale MRT "have called for a campaign to reduce the number of people lost or stranded while walking"
As the BBC news item reports "there are more incidents now, particularly people getting lost. This is down to poor preparation, a lack of understanding of the basic skills of map work and navigation, over-ambition and low general fell awareness"
It's only a matter of time I suppose before some fool attempts to sue the MRT for not responding/acting as they potential rescuee wanted.
This is not at all right.
A point concerning a pretty negative aspect of mobile phone usage has been made by me before.
But what I can't help but wonder this time if whether we're now seeing a result of the recent TV programmes based on The Great Outdoors. (Or the "Bradbury Effect" as it may well come to be known) As I commented back in April when discussing self reliance & risk (oh my - this recent archive checking is a worry trait)
"Whilst I'm on the subject of the outdoor media, one of the criticisms I have with the recent Wainwright Walks series on BBC 4 TV was the inference that wayfinding on the hills is done just by reference to one of AW's route guides. I can't remember one appearance in four programmes of a map or compass"
To be fair thw Wainwright Walks second series did include an ascent of Helvellyn in typical crap weather, and a map/compass has started to pop into view. But some folks just never seem to be able to take responsibility for their own safety.
Or to use another recent term - a potential "Darwin Award" candidate?
Who'd be a MRT member in the future if it all carries on like this I wonder.
Labels: Fellwalking, Lake District, Mountain Rescue Team(MRT)
Blog diversion
Well its been around for over a month now. So anyone come across my other blog site yet?
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Nice to feel so wanted. Sigh.
;-)
Labels: blog media
Goggle AdSense - Time to make it all pay?
I've been considering a wet weather project for the coming dark and dreary winter evenings. Although in hindsight the wet summer might have been just as good an opportunity.
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.Labels: blog media
Monday, September 17
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
One option is a dedicated site, based on the Wordpress toolkit with possibly my own server host. But one drawback. To do it fully will cost money. Which means less for me to spend on drink, drugs and loose women (Well all right - even more glittery outdoor gear) So a self-financing alternative is one thought unless I find a rich philanthropist.
One option is to use a click-pay service such as AdSense which dovetails easily with my current blog host so I can play with it before I get too deeply involved. Not so much to make my fortune, more to cover the running costs of the site.
But I currently enjoy more or less total editorial control over what appears on this site (Dating Site apart - cough) and the lack of any commercial interest means a guarantee of content integrity as far as I am concerned. From what I can find out any advert(s) relate to site content and specific keywords. However quite what that means is unclear.
And then there's the tendency of an ad-loaded site to deter visitors if its tactlessly delivered.
I'd be interested in experiences any of you out there may have.
Labels: blog media
Mingle mangle? Or how I became a Dating Agency's plaything
Inadvertently it would appear I am now carrying an advert for a dating site.
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
How so I hear you ask. Has Johnny sold out? Finally gone over to the dark side of commercialism? Coining it in at last?
Well not really. In common with other outdoor bloggers back in August I'd posted a little bit of light hearted fun entitled "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?"
Earlier I was following up a few thoughts which meant digging back into a couple of my archive entries. Somehow that particular one now carries the legend "Mingle2 - Dating Site" (and no I won't compound the thing by repeating the link here)
I'm pretty certain the link thru for the "Dating Site" wasn't part of the deal at the time, unless my memory is really slipping. If it was, it wouldn't have been used (Well perhaps not without some associated gratuity - no strike that thought - Hee hee)
But as my gran always said "There's no such thing as a free lunch". So if my suspicion is correct I'd be interested if anyone else using this service has been caught with the same post event advertising ploy. I'd hesitate to call it a scam, but the word sneaky must be in there somewhere.
Hmmm.
Labels: blog media, Miscellaneous
Off the Tracks - PC Copperfield Blog Outed (not)
I rarely post outside the reference terms I set myself when this site was started, but here's an exception.
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)Labels: Miscellaneous
Sunday, September 16
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
I've followed PC David Copperfield's "The Policeman's Blog" for as long as I can remember. Always entertaining. Usually informative. And humorous to boot.
As a result of the material posted PC Copperfield was one of the more notable bloggers who picked up a book deal last year. And quite deservedly if the Amazon ranking (#89 in Books) is any reflection.
DC has not only quit the job, to take up a similar post abroad, he has also been shadowed over many months by a BBC team and will appear on tonight's Panorama on his own specialist subject. Modern policing, from the ranks.
There's an interesting interview with the man himself, by his local newspaper here.
During the time his blog has been around he's been the target of various personal attacks including an allegation that he didn't really exist, and by inference that his comments were not real. Throughout it all he's demonstrated a commendable degree of aplomb and measured good taste. Some pundits argue he has been more responsible for central government reviewing the current policing policy than many (so called) serious experts in the field.
Hurrah! Blogging as a tool of change. And funny as well.
So next time you bloggers get told off for such a devilishly anally retentative pastime, remember this one.
Nice one PC Copperfield.
(I wonder if its worth printing out this article to carry with me in case I get pulled over for speeding? Surely worth a go!)
Labels: Miscellaneous
YHA Skiddaw
Back in February I commented that Skiddaw House, once a YHA, had reopened as a bunkhouse.
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
I noticed that the latest edition of the YHA Magazine 'Discover' now lists Skiddaw as a YHA. I've no idea what the arrangement may be, but booking is available via the YHA site.
I'd guess at some sort of co-partnership deal with the bunkhouse coming under the wing of the YHA booking/advertsing systems, but the hostel operating as an independent registered charity, looking at this news item from June. As I suppose the YHA is where most occasional users would naturally look for information it makes good commercial sense, and on this venture I'd congratulate the YHA on their positive approach. Credit where its due on this one.
Meanwhile the cunningly titled "Skiddaw House - the bunkhouse!" (sounds like the title of a movie) still has its own website offering booking information, but no mention of the YHA. Perhaps the web site has yet to be updated? Accommodation pricing is identical on both sites.
Best of luck to all in the venture, and here's hoping it stays strong and fully available to all this time around.
Labels: Lake District, YHA
Gas Cannister Tip
If you are like me you have a garage full of part used gas canisters this tip might come in useful.
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpileLabels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
An empty 100g Coleman canister weighs approx 100g.
If you weigh the part used canisters, and subtract that weight it gives a good indication of the remaining gas available.
Post trip, before I file the canisters away for future trips I use an indelible marker (a CD pen) to write the weight, approximate day's usage remaining, and the date I last used it.
So picking a canister next time around I can match gas needs to trip length, and save unnecessary weight. And reduce that ever growing canister stockpile
Labels: Gear
Wildcamp at the Dorset Seaside
Yet again an ad-hoc trip (minimal planning - just go for it) turns into a good experience.
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERELabels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Friday, September 14
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Fellow UK Outdoor Blogger Weird Darren had originally planned a gear bedding in trip on Dartmoor, and despite my tentative interest I'd realised by late in the week that work commitments meant I really wasn't getting my head around the time involved with a long journey and time away from home.
A suggestion to Darren, resulting from a mental note made nearly fifteen or so years ago, sounded like a workable alternative. So we went for it, especially as the weather forecast was a sunny day, and a warm night.
Late Saturday afternoon Darren stepped off the train at Wool station and 2o minutes later we were parked up on a Lulworth back road. I'd loaded up the car boot with copious amounts of fresh water - no chance to get a supply on this trip. My backpack now 5 litres (5kg) heavier despite minimal gear we made our way down into W. Lulworth village passing through the still busy car park. Day trippers returning after their day on the Dorset cliff paths. We set out westwards moving against the general trend and looking seriously like guys-who-know-what-they-are-doing. But no questioning glances? Day trippers - huh! Didn't they recognise mountain men, out on a coastal quest, communing with nature?
Finding our way down to the beach we chatted together as we trudged across the shingle, one eye on the cliff, the other on the high water mark, assessing potential spots, my mind attempting to travel back to recall the location of the caves I'd previously noted oh so many years ago.
Finally I spotted them, and after a quick assessment of the various options for suitability we picked our home for the night. A brief period of sustained sniffing required to ensure the location hadn't been used by previous visitors as the local W.C. facility.
Bivvi bags locations prepared a brew was next on. Incredibly quickly in Darren's case with his Jetboil. The initial ignition making me look up as sounded like a mini-explosion. And then as night fell supper was cooked and slowly eaten, the beach by now deserted. The lights of far off Portland winking into existance and marking the track of the causeway joining it to the mainland at Weymouth, despite its desgnation as the Isle of Portland.
A ship moored off shore lit up like a water based Christmas tree (why was it on station during the whole of our stay?) The regular sweep of Portland Bill lighthouse rhythmically sweeping the bay.
Incongruously a flitting bat made a brief appearance working the foot of the cliffs. Besides that peace and quiet except for the sound of the sea.
We lay in our bags. Two guys chatting in the dark. Sorting out the usual life problems, our individual approach to our own outdoor experiences and the specialist gear involved (and Podcast Bob's little venture got a mention - or "Darren's pimp" as he may possibly be retitled in the future - lol)
Finally to sleep. Myself bedded down inside the cave entrance, Darren on the beach below. Occasionally waking. Reassured listening to the crash of the surf on shingle. Very symbolic - a return to womb like conditions? Whatever it was the nights sleep was long and deep. A gentle breeze on the face. My combination of a 3 season down sleeping and Alpkit bivvi bag proving to be overwarm at times. But an extremely comfortable night.
The dawn chorus amounted to one seagull passing by. Well thats what I heard at least. Rolling over some time later I lazily stretched out to start the morning's brew. Still snug in my bag. And I reflected on the simplicity involved with the lack of tent. Even with that simple construction there is an insulation from nature. Although my preference is safety over simplicity every time. And in the Lakeland rain I still wouldn't swop my faithful Akto. But for random nights under the starlight, well the bivvi bag approach has got another fan here.
Finally we wandered back up the beach heading towards the car. The beach starting to get its first visitors of the day from the clifftop holiday site. And in Lulworth the Sunday visitors starting to fill up the car park. Such an unfortunate scar on the village landscape.
A lift for Darren to the train station, via the Purbeck sights.
But first stopping to picking up a lone hitchhiker disconsolately hopeful of a lift out of Lulworth against the prevailing flow of the traffic. But luckily for him, nursing a knee injury after a stomp over from Studland the previous day, our planned destination meant his journey home was much more direct than it might otherwise have been. Just a pity he also worked in IT. So that was three sad souls in one car bemoaning the state of our industry and the impact of modern commercial strategy. Hee hee.
A good night out. A number of firsts for me. First full local wildcamp. First night out on a beach. First night in a cave. And first use of the bivvi bag.
But as to the beach play? Well what an abject failure. Darren had the spade, but the bucket was lacking. Probably just as well as sand castle building is somewhat problematic when all you can find is shingle!
And with our spot well above the high tide mark no need for the flippers (that explain things Andy?)
Thanks Darren - a good one. And a useful bolt hole when next I fancy a quick night under the stars. And if the amount of litter and discarded clothing is any indication, not one to be used during the summer tourist season. Any peace and quiet is unlikely then. But for us a a trip with a number of differences. Definitely away from our normal walk and wildcamp experiences. So possibly a high note to end the season on? Time will tell
Distance: 4 miles (ish)
Altitude: 1 metre (!)
And for Darren's take on the trip click HERE
Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Bits n Bobs
You might notice a subtle change in the way links on this site work from now on. Following on from some design discussion on the UK Outdoor Bloggers Forum links on the right of this screen should now pop-up in a new window.
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Thursday, September 13
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Hopefully you'll find it helps with navigation. If not - then leave me a comment?
Now I'm off to fill my backpack for tomorrow night's wildcamp meet up.
It's definitely the first time I've needed to source an ultra-light bucket and spade for my prime equipment. And as for the flippers........
More to come after the trip.
Labels: Gear, UK Outdoors Blogger, walks
Wildcamp next the sea
Hot off the press ......a last minute wildcamp trip has just been planned with fellow UK Outddor Blogger Darren. All been very spur of the moment.
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Saturday, September 8
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
An entirely different location to our normal haunts, requiring a careful check of sunset time and tidal charts. And possibly even a real fire to cook the sausages. Well maybe.
It could be the last night out for some time.
More to come ......... unless we bed down the wrong side of the high tide mark.
Labels: UK Outdoors Blogger, uk walking blog, walks
Blog Post Trends
....and having piqued my own interest, triggered by my previous throw away line about on-line (in)activity I've spent a few minutes playing with my own little on-line world. To whit - the number of postings made here each month, and whether there is any pattern.
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
And the answer, based on admittedly a small timescale seems to be yes. During times of planning and ideas, the posts go up. Actioning these, the posts remain high, but as the year winds on activity drops. I know why there was such a specific drop late last year, but still I'm a little surprised the same drop is happening again. Gulp.
On the plus side - for most of this year there has been 30+ postings a month, or one a day. So perhaps something has to take a back seat sometimes?
I wonder what other bloggers findings are?
Labels: uk walking blog
Quick hide the credit card? Outdoor gear bargain time
Things seem to have gone quiet at JH Towers recently (partly reflecting the UK walking on-line world as well) Most of those big trips planned last winter/spring by now all completed, or rearranged. New ideas and quick outings suffering a little. Partly I guess the result of this summer's mediocre weather. Despite most backpackers relative distain of poor weather (as long as its warm) there's been a general malaise this year somehow inadvertantly draining a little of the passion normally needed to "just get out there".
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
Tuesday, September 4
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
For seem reason it all seems just a little too much effort at present. Silly I know.
Mewanhile the late August Bank Holiday has two items on my personal calandar:
No 1. Here comes the winter.
Days are shortening. The chill of early morning portends that annual increase in the falling leaves down from the ancient oak tree in my garden. Thoughts turn to central heating maintenance before the "big turn on".
But lets look at a positive as a balancing factor
No 2. Bargain time for outdoor gear!
Hurrah? Well possibly. In past few years I've been lurking in the Lake District around now, and by doing so have managed to snap up some of the end-of-season bargains as the outdoor shops offload their excess/end of range stock.
I've not timed it so well this year, and with current plans for that seemingly elusive late summer holiday still not sorted it effectively means such a trip is not likely to happen this year. So I've no idea how the end of season sales are going or what's on offer. It's pretty pointless looking at the local stockists, they didn't have a lot of backpacking/specialist gear in the first place with a couple of notable exceptions. But browsing through October's TGO magazine (Hi Darren - two mentions!) I spotted ads for both backpackinglight (Golite pack reductions) and Winwood Outdoors/Ultralight,.
Bob's BPL on-line shop needs no explanation to regular visitors of this site. The recommendation for his offerings is 101%. If you can save £5 by shopping elsewhere my suggestion is DON'T. Bob's service is beyond any mere monetary saving. Once tried, never forgotten (You can have that tag line for free Bob if you read this - lol)
Winwood is a Keswick based shop that I seem to have missed out on previous trips to that erstwhile town. They have also embraced the ultralight regime, as many of the small forward looking independent retailers are now seeming to. A good range of lightweight specialist gear names including Montane, Golite & Gossamer Gear. And some nice savings listed although I've not run any real comparative checks (except BPL v Winwood for the Golite Quest rucksack- and BPL is cheaper). And again a shop that appears to be run by people interested in what they provide.
Now perhaps I may just be able to slip a long weekend trip to the Lakes if I really think about it. Hmm.
Labels: Gear, Lake District, TGO Magazine
New Welsh Nuttalls
It seems to matter to some people about collecting lists of things. Or to be more precise ticking off items on other peoples lists. Hills especially seem to attract such folk, although this didn't start until the 1890s when Sir Hugh Munro hit inadvertently started a craze. What a groovy cat.
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Sunday, September 2
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
Now we have the The Wainrights, The Munros, The Marilyns, and many, many more.
And then of course there is The Nuttalls - a list of mountain summits in England and Wales which reach the height of 2,000 feet.
Well as of 2nd September 2007 you peak baggers had better plan a quick trip over to Wales as there's now two new summits to conquer: Carnedd y Filiast North Top (SH617631) & Castell y Gwynt (SH654581)
And there was me thinking that the summits were mostly invulnerable to the fleeting whims of us transitory humans.
Next post -the Norfolk Peaks? Ah well, probably not.
;-)
Labels: Fellwalking, Wales
Still here
Still walking and still a pondering this living thing. But I'm a little tied up at present with attempting to learn how to successfully achieve DVD authoring/burning etc. And to make it a little easier I'm using two pcs to do it (Sigh)
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.Labels: Miscellaneous
These computer thingies can be a real tool of the devil at times.
Labels: Miscellaneous
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
