Glen Affric

As these accounts usually begin (hence why I have not written one in a while), I had some spare time (a full 10 days in this case) and decided to fill it with mountains and empty it of thoughts. After a day of shadowing on Ben Nevis, I spent a week somewhat alone in the…

Winter Walking in the Arrochar Alps: Part II

The next morning, after saying goodbye to Cameron and Rachel, I set off for Beinn Dubh (773m) and Ben Vane (916m). The weather, overcast but not too cold, was similar to yesterday’s, and as I made my way up Glen Kinglas to the northern slope of Beinn Dubh, I had a spring in my step…

Winter Walking in the Arrochar Alps: Part I

For a while now I have thought of myself as a ‘morning person’. I really appreciate those hours before midday and if I can use them productively, it sets me up so much better for the rest of the day. Many people, however, do not agree, and their argument against early rising is never strongest…

Loch Etive & the River Noe: A Microadventure

I needed to spend some time alone: to get away and be on the move, answerable to no one. So I headed north, just for the weekend. I caught two buses up to Taynuilt, a small village just to the south of Loch Etive, arriving at around 1500 on the Friday. After buying some supplies…

Bulgaria Part II: Meadows in the Mountains

Waking up at about 5am, I quickly and quietly packed up my gear and made for Sofia. I walked off the mountain as the sun rose, a bloody red, baleful eye. Enormous dogs barked and snarled at me from behind their fences and I wielded my walking stick defensively, worrying at the structural integrity of…

Bulgaria Part I: Vitosha Mountain

After an approximately ten-hour journey (thanks to Ryanair’s complimentary 3-hour pre-flight lock-in) I arrived in Bulgaria. Having never been before, and not really knowing much at all about the country or the culture, I was somewhat apprehensive. It was late at night, I still had to get to my Airbnb and loaded up as I…

The Lake District: Keswick & Derwent Water

It’s always amazed me how little time it takes to be in the countryside on the way out of Newcastle. Go along Westgate Road away from the centre for about 15-20 minutes, and fields, horse paddocks and woods start appearing. Another 10 minutes later and the lush green of rural Northumberland unfolds in a quiet,…

Pictures of America

I didn’t take a great many pictures whilst in America, I was mainly just trying to absorb the places I was passing through instead of capturing them all. There were so many opportunities to stop, get off my bike, get my GoPro out (hence the fish-eye effect on all the photos!), take a picture, put…

Having Faith in the Road

Silver Sands State Park: Milford, Connecticut Give it all up, and receive the world For my first post since I went away, I thought I would write something relevant to the name of my blog since having faith in the road was a huge theme of the trip. I said before that I wanted to…

Everything You Need for 2 Months on the Road

The other day I spent my evening laying out everything I’m taking to America. I’m hoping that ‘everything I’m taking’ is the same as ‘everything I need’. I was impressed by the surprisingly small amount of stuff I ended up having in front of me. It is unbelievably satisfying – having luckily lived with a…