A self-indulgent journal of pointless adventures in mountain sports and all forms of distance running and racing.
Friday, August 01, 2025
High Raise loop
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Rydal Round fell race
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Kentmere west
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Holyhead Breakwater 5
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Birkenhead 5
Saturday, July 19, 2025
PitP parkrun
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Aoos Gorge
A final outing, jogging along the Aoos Gorge towards the Stomiou monastery. The night before I had paddled in the Aoos before eating trout caught from the river staring up at the old Konitsa bridge, as well as the gorge and Gamila's superb pyramidal peak beyond. This morning I ran from my hotel on the main road to cross the bridge and then along the riverside track up the gorge. Quite delightful although I was now tired! I turned round just before the monastery then took the same track back to the bridge and Hotel Aoos. And that was that. After a spanakopita breakfast I drove through wild and remote mountains (turning back for petrol after 40k!) to Grevena and then the motorway to Vergina and the incredible tomb and treasures of Philip II of Macedon.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Trapezitsa
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Tsouka/Vikos
Monday, July 14, 2025
Gamila and Stoma
Sunday, July 13, 2025
Astraka traverse
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Kalogeros
Friday, July 11, 2025
Kaligomeno Aloni
Wednesday, July 09, 2025
Meteora circuit
A wonderful walk with Morgan, right from the door of our hotel in Kastraki. Over the past few years, we've developed a tradition of doing a mountain day as part of our family holiday. That was an option this morning, but with the stunning terrain of Meteora on our doorstep it seemed far more sensible to fashion an outing there instead. The day before I had run up the road to the Agiou Stefanou monastery and we had all done a family walk in desperately hot weather to Varlaam. It was a tad cooler this morning, so we found the paths through dark woodland taken in places by the E4, with the towering walls of Altsos hemming us in to the east. I had seen a potential way to reach those peaks, so looked out for it and we took a side path up a spectacular narrow cleft which turned out to be the Lianomodia Couloir. This was somewhat claustrophobic and stifling but short-lived and we soon arrived into the light on a big sun-drenched plinth in a spectacular position surrounded by the Altsos pinnacles and with huge trench valleys ahead and below: memorable. Back down, then round to the descent below the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. This led through an even more narrow cleft to evenutally pick up the standard Trinity Trail and then the first houses on the edge of Kalambaka. One of these was a delightful taverna, so we stopped for local sausages, Greek yoghurt, local honey and freshly-squeezed orange juice. Then back to the ladies in Kastraki. The day after this I did a longer early morning 15k running loop of a similar circuit: absolutely stunning.
Thursday, July 03, 2025
Deeside ORGP
Monday, June 30, 2025
Tal y Fan girdle
Saturday, June 28, 2025
Hope parkrun
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Wirral Seaside 5k
Sunday, June 22, 2025
Fan Frynych
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Pen y Fan
Friday, June 20, 2025
Tattenhall Tough Team
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Warrington 10k
Monday, June 16, 2025
Glyder Fach
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Colshaw Hall 10k
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Trafford 3k
Sunday, June 08, 2025
Meerbrook 15k
Thursday, June 05, 2025
Dunham Massey 5k
Sunday, June 01, 2025
Jubilee Bridge half marathon
Friday, May 30, 2025
Deganwy Dash
Sunday, May 25, 2025
Mynydd Myfyr
Saturday, May 24, 2025
Hope parkrun
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Crib Goch
Monday, May 19, 2025
Y Garn (Rhinogydd)
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Rhinogydd loop from Cwm Mynach
Friday, May 16, 2025
Christleton 5k
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Pandy Quarry climbing
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Berwyn loop
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Hope parkrun
Tuesday, May 06, 2025
White Coomb loop
Monday, May 05, 2025
Glen Spean peaks
Sunday, May 04, 2025
Loch Arkaig peaks
Saturday, May 03, 2025
Fraoch Beinn
Fort William parkrun
Friday, May 02, 2025
Gulvain
Thursday, May 01, 2025
Beinn Achaladair, Beainn a'Chreachain
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Beinn Chabhair
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Manchester Marathon
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Tryfan
Monday, April 07, 2025
Zarnesti Gorge
Even deeper into the heart of Transylvania, via the tiny branch line that allows Zarnesti to be reached from Brasov. Zarnesti is the end of the line, but also the start of the high mountain ridge of the Piatra Crailului. I emerged from the train into subzero conditions and a freezing wind: the forested high ridge caked in snow with all the trees draped in white. My guesthouse was just a room in a house and it was right at the far end of the fairly sizeable village/town (because it housed a secret weapons plant in the Communist era). After a quick chat with the owner, I settled in to the front bedroom and pondered my options. The high ridge looked unfeasible, partly for weather reasons and partly because I was conscious of the high bear population, by far the highest in Europe! Solo, at this time of year, it seemed wise to take precautions despite the extremely unlikely scenario (and in many ways I would have loved to have seen one). I also thought about running to Bran castle, which was entirely feasible. But in the end, the location of the house very close to the entrance of the Piatra Crailului National Park swung it, and I set off in a heavy snow flurry up a little road leading towards a valley splitting the high main ridge on the right, and a range of lower hills left. It was very atmospheric, the epitome of what you might expect the Transylvanian mountains to look and feel like. Native woodland on all sides, wild silence, icy blasts from the high peaks. The road became a track and it became quite eerie in the heavy snow for a short while, although higher up two or three cars were parked. Looking at the park map, I wasn't too far from Zarnesti gorge so after poking around a bit higher up I decided and out-and-back would be a sensible objective, so did this, through deep dark woods to the entrance to the gorge - a thin but decent covering of snow throughout, which continued a I rounded the corner in to the tight limestone walls of the gorge. This twisted and turned and was pretty wonderful, with wild mountain sides higher up and dark threatening skies above: memorable. I had walked up to this point, but ran all the way back down (between 5 and 6k back to the village) as the snow stopped and a tiny hint of sunshine peeked through. The rest of the trip was more urban and 'train based', up to Sighisoara via Brasov, and then back to Bucharest on the slow train from Vienna.