Outdoor Discoveries

What originally was a news section for the rest of the website soon became a place for me to write about human-powered wanderings in the countryside. Photography inspires me to get out there, mostly on foot these days, though cycling got me started. Musings on the wider context of outdoor activity complete the picture, so I hope that there is something of interest in all that you find here. Thank you for coming!

Motivation, motivation, motivation

3rd March 2007

This year, I am using the completion of national trails to motivate me to get out into wild and not so wild country. Yesterday, I spent more time exploring the Pennine Way, this time proceeding beyond Heptonstall into the moors near Burnley. There will be more on that later. The West Highland Way is another target of my attentions while the Rob Roy Way is another possibility. And there are many, many more long distance paths to consider than that lot. In fact, the moorland I enjoyed yesterday is criss-crossed with the things.

Until I decided to complete some long distance trails, it was the prospect of exploring places new to me that drove me on. Last year was a particular example of this when I ventured beyond my usual haunts to the likes of Pembrokeshire and Northumberland. Scotland’s Southern Uplands also fit into this category. Before that, I could list years where I spent of time walking in a particular area. To give you a few examples, I associate 2002 with the Yorkshire Dales, 2003 with the Lake District and 2005 with North and Mid Wales.

Another tantalising prospect is the ascent of a particular hill and it has got me out and about a good number of times. Yorkshire’s Three Peaks are a great example of this. However, I am not so sure that I would go further and do all the Corbetts or Munros, for example. Usually, I prefer to keep things informal for now but there are plenty of lists on Hill Bagging, a site that I noticed while lurking on the alt.rec.walking newsgroup, should the mood take me. Interestingly, the site also allows you can also register so that you can plot your progress, an anathema surely to those who detest the idea of list ticking. There even is a version of the database that you can download for yourself and there also in the Relative Hills Society if you are so inclined.

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