There are times when you pick the wrong option, and just have to shrug your shoulders with no regret. Last weekend was a bit like that for me. While the rest of the UK was enjoying glorious sunshine, I found
Read moreA walk in the clouds
Year: 2011
Drukpa Kunley’s Rhubarb: an extraordinary Himalayan vegetable
I’m going to conclude my trio of posts about Bhutan by relating an incident that happened at a place called Jangothang on the Jhomolhari trek. In previous posts I’ve been moaning about the weather in Bhutan, and how the beautiful
Read more5 reasons why Bhutan is *NOT* worth the $200 per day tourist fee
I explained in an earlier post how the government of Bhutan charges a minimum USD $200 per person per day fee to all tourists irrespective of what they do, a fee that’s set to increase to $250 next year. I
Read more5 reasons why Bhutan *IS* worth the $200 per day tourist fee
This is a post of two halves, with the second instalment next week looking at the other side of the coin. Much has been said about the high cost of tourism in Bhutan, where the government charges a minimum fee
Read moreThe Welsh Wilderness: backpacking in the Cambrian Mountains
It’s taken a couple of visits, but I’ve arrived at the conclusion that the Cambrian Mountains in Mid Wales are a great area for backpacking and wild camping. They aren’t the most dramatic hills in the United Kingdom, but these
Read moreWhat price an outdoor gear reviewer?
Apart from a few Google Ads and the odd Mars bar provided by Amazon’s associate links programme, I’ve never tried making anything out of my website by advertising. Although I’ve been approached many times, I’ve always ended up deciding I
Read moreAll experience is an arch: a traveller’s motto
“All experience is an arch wherethrough Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades For ever and for ever when I move.” Alfred, Lord Tennyson I recently added the above quotation to the main page of my travel photos on this
Read moreBackpacker’s Britain: walking guides for people who like it tough
I’d like to pay tribute to a man called Graham Uney. I’ve never met him and I probably never will, but thanks to his Backpacker’s Britain walking guides I’ve had many an enjoyable weekend in the UK’s hills, in places
Read moreThe Rhinogs: Snowdonia’s best kept secret
There are some hillwalking routes in the UK that everybody knows about, and in good weather are certain to be jam-packed with walkers, while others very close seem to remain known to connoisseurs only. I remember once being all alone
Read moreThe Krakauer Syndrome
Must there always be blame when a climber dies on a mountain? I was more than a little upset by something I read on a climbing website recently. This had been the intention of the article, but I was annoyed
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