The silence of the meadows
Years ago, as a child exploring the forests and heaths of coastal Suffolk, my summers were dominated by nature’s sounds. Wind sighed in the brittle twigs of the birches as I stalked the light beneath them; perhaps a curlew let loose its haunting cry over the marsh late one
Photography equipment upgrades for 2016
Photography is starting to play a more important role in my work, so I’ve invested in some better camera gear and I thought it was time I wrote a little about the equipment I’ve chosen for my outdoor adventures in 2016. My path to the Fuji X system
Availability update for freelance editorial work
I still have time to take on one or two projects over the summer, but slots are filling up fast and I am now fully booked for freelance editorial work until the first week of June. If you’d like to hire me, or would just like an informal chat
Mountain Podcast, Episode 5: The Angel of Camasunary
Mountain A Podcast About Adventure Hosted by Christopher Sleight The fifth episode of Mountain hit the interwebs last week, and I loaded it up on my iPod to accompany a long train journey to Scotland. It’s a great episode. One thing I love about Mountain is the diversity of
New Cape Wrath Trail feature in Top Trails
Top Trails is a yearly online magazine published by Outdoor Enthusiast, and the latest issue includes my new feature on the Cape Wrath Trail. It’s free to read online and you can find it here.
Gear Review: Grivel G1 New Classic crampons
These are some of the lightest full-service, steel crampons designed to stand up to the rigours of general mountaineering. But are they any good? My history of crampon use is fairly typical for a British mountaineer. I started off with Grivel G10s before soon graduating to traditional, heavy, twelve-point crampons.
The Lochaber Traverse in winter
After many years of dreaming and planning, I have succeeded in completing the Lochaber Traverse in winter. This week was all about good planning and astronomical odds coming together to create something I’ve been dreaming about for a decade now – something so good I’m still struggling to comprehend
Book review and interview: ‘Out There’ by Chris Townsend
Out There: A voice from the wild By Chris Townsend Published 17th of March 2016 Out There, the new book by Chris Townsend, is at once an anthem celebrating the wild places and a manifesto for protecting them. I have read several books by this author but I think this
Ten years ago, I chose adventure
An important anniversary has slipped past unnoticed. In February 2006 I chose adventure, and although it didn’t seem like the prudent course at the time, my priorities were the right ones. Back in early 2006, I was a first-year student at the University of East Anglia and had recently
First look: Out There, the new book by Chris Townsend
Out There: A voice from the wild By Chris Townsend Sandstone Press have sent me an advance copy of the new book by Chris Townsend. Out There is a collection of his outdoor writings, telling the story of how he grew to love the natural world – as well as some