alpinejane

3 Peaks

26 hours, 3 countries, 3 peaks. 23 miles and over 3000m of ascent. 2 hours sleep and a lot of driving……Why exactly did I sign up to this again? I joined Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team (TWSMRT) as a trainee back in March 2021 and their annual fundraising event is a NationalContinue reading “3 Peaks”

Upper Eskdale

So the blog returns after a 5 month absence……. The first backpack of 2021 was to Upper Eskdale on a busy Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May. For the past few years I’ve tried to get away once a month but Covid lockdowns have made that a bit tricky this year. I’ve alsoContinue reading “Upper Eskdale”

Skew Gill and Custs Gully

The current wintry conditions bring back memories of Scottish winter climbing when winters were snowy and cold. Here is the story of a winter trip to the Lakes with my brother Jim in the days when I still did a bit of winter climbing. It had snowed and the Cumbrian mountains were white once more.Continue reading “Skew Gill and Custs Gully”

A night on Meldon Hill

When the Government announced they were relaxing the Covid rules for 5 days over Christmas I made plans to squeeze as much activity as possible into those 5 days. Two and a half days with my family and one day driving my mum home on the 27th. That left the 23rd and half of theContinue reading “A night on Meldon Hill”

Top 10 mountains for kids

As chosen by my 9 year old daughter, in no particular order. These are walks and scrambles she has enjoyed over the last few years and a lot of them have a few things in common – fairly short, steep, often scrambles, good view at the top and as far removed from a “boring walk”Continue reading “Top 10 mountains for kids”

Burnhope Seat

Winter is definitely with us. No clear blue skies and frozen ground though, at least not today. Instead we had North Pennines winter conditions of soft snow, peat hags, low cloud and drizzle. We started at Burnhope Reservoir just up from Wearhead at the top end of Weardale. It was deserted, perhaps unsurprisingly on aContinue reading “Burnhope Seat”

More Teesdale walks

I shouldn’t complain, I am very lucky to live in such a scenic part of the UK with moorland and hills on my doorstep. However it’s human nature to want what you can’t have and so I dream of trips to the Lakes and Scotland and further afield, currently out of bounds to us inContinue reading “More Teesdale walks”

My favourite 10 Wild Places

After 30+ years of visiting hills and mountains there are certain places that I return to time and time again. Maybe the walking and climbing is superb, maybe I have memories of good times there with friends and family or maybe the scenery is stunning. Here are my top 10 places in reverse order. 10.Continue reading “My favourite 10 Wild Places”

The Cheviot and back to Teesdale

Two very different walks this week, but variety is good. On Thursday I went to Northumberland for the first time in many years for a long walk with my brother Jim. He was wearing trainers and a lightweight rucksack, prepared to walk as fast as he could. I was as usual in my heavy bootsContinue reading “The Cheviot and back to Teesdale”

Fendrith Hill and Chapel Fell Top

Lockdown v2 is giving me an excellent excuse to explore my local hills a bit more. I’m ashamed to say that although I know the Lakes like the back of my hand, I rarely visit the remote hills in Teesdale and the North Pennines. There is a good reason for this – long walks overContinue reading “Fendrith Hill and Chapel Fell Top”