Why I prefer shooting with primes
A recent blog post by Chris Townsend on his camera setup prompted a Twitter debate last week on zooms vs primes for photographers who go hillwalking and backpacking. Since I’ve been planning to write about this for a while, I thought now would be a good opportunity to try
This month’s online writing for The Great Outdoors
It’s been my first full month as Online Editor for The Great Outdoors, although I spent the first ten days or so in the Alps! Here’s a selection of some of my recent writing for TGO (including one from August to bring it up to a full month)
A first taste of autumn on my journey towards 1,500 miles #TakeSomeoneOutdoors
We all have friends and family members who can’t always share our outdoor passions. Perhaps they don’t have the time, or they worry about trying something new. So why not take someone outdoors? Wherever you walk, mountain or lowland, #ItsGreatOutThere… Paid content disclaimer: This article is part of
Backpacking the Skye Trail
Few backpacking routes offer such varied rewards as this week-long walk through the Winged Isle Words by Alex Roddie / Images by James Roddie Photography This feature was first published in The Great Outdoors, October 2016. You have a week off work. You want to go backpacking, and you want to
Sidetracked Volume 10 is available for pre-order
Sidetracked, the peerless adventure travel magazine, has hit Volume 10. The new issue is up for pre-order now. It’s been quite a journey getting to this point. I came on board the team for Volume 4 in early 2015, and since then we have worked with amazing stories and
The Armchair Mountaineer Wild Writing Competition 2017
It’s my pleasure to introduce the Armchair Mountaineer Wild Writing Competition , run by Thomas Smallwood of the excellent outdoor blog Armchair Mountaineer. I’m one of the judges, and there are some great prizes, but more importantly this is a great chance to bring your mountain writing to a
Walk2017 – images from June to August
Mile 565 – 1,103 My habit of posting monthly photo blogs has lapsed recently, but that’s because I’ve suffered from a lack of photographic inspiration over the summer – as usual. Now that I’ve gathered enough images from this period to make a decent post, I thought I’
The ultralight experiment of 2017
This year, for the first time, I have completed a long-distance hike with an ultralight pack. Here’s how I did it, and why for me it’s only one tool in the toolbox, not the only way to enjoy the wild. I started cutting pack weight in 2014. Before
Review: ÜLA CDT ultralight pack
Unlike ÜLA’s larger Circuit, I don’t love this pack – but it gets the job done at a little over half the weight. Here’s my review of the ÜLA CDT ultralight pack. Specifications * Description: a frameless pack for ultralight backpacking * Volume: about 54 litres including all external pockets;