Brown Willy. The highest point of Cornwall is called Brown Willy. The original Cornish name of the hill is Bronn Wennili, meaning the slightly more family-friendly ‘Hill of Swallows’. This was the first high-point ascent of the Shire Checklist. Once I parked up at the rocky deserted area of...
“We should turn back now; I can’t see anything, and you’ve left the phones in the car!” Half-way up the slope of Dunkery Beacon, the highest point of Exmoor at 520 metres, and it had appeared that my timings had been optimistic and preparations poor. Dunkery Beacon clearly isn’t...
I believe that the West Country really is very different to the rest of England. Greener, slower, healthier; the pace of life shifts down a couple of gears when you cross into the boot-shaped corner of Britain. This region of England is unspoilt, far less industrial and brings you...
On a snowy February morning two years ago, I woke up on a train in Siberia. Slowly opening my bleary eyes, I peered behind the curtain just above my head to be greeted by the bleak and beautiful plains of Russia. I looked out across an ocean of snow...