Longform
Backpacking the Alder Trail – a mini-guide
E-BOOK DOWNLOAD LINKS: EPUB / MOBI The Alder Trail is a challenging 101-mile backpacking route between Fort William and Aviemore, taking in several Munros and a wide variety of wild country. It was first described in the November 2016 issue of Trail Magazine. Here is a brief guide to enjoying and
The Fujifilm X-E1 review
Although this camera is now considered obsolete, it’s only after a year of intensive use that I feel qualified to review it. Is the X-E1 competitive today? Almost certainly not. But is it a classic? My photographic background When I started to take my mountain photography seriously in 20151,
The most important thing
Update 21-02-18: Sadly, Dad passed away. Scroll to the end for an update. On the 17th of August 2016, life changed for my family. My dad, Ian, who is one of the fittest people I’ve ever known and who never gets ill, was admitted to hospital in an ambulance.
Hiking a section of the Haute Route Pyrenees and GR11
Welcome to my trail blogs direct from the Haute Route Pyrenees! As usual, these journals were composed on my phone from the field. Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors. For an introduction to the idea behind this route, please read A Haute Route Pyrenees section hike. The HRP / GR11
Lili Marlene and misplaced nostalgia
Today I’d like to welcome my dad, Ian Roddie, to these pages. He was born in the late 1930s and this essay provides an insight into the power of nostalgia – and how we cannot allow it to determine our future. Lili Marlene by Ian Roddie The other day, I
Retreat from Jotunheimen
A 47-mile backpacking adventure through the Jotunheimen National Park, Norway, in July 2010. Background In summer 2010, my life was at a crossroads. I’d been working as a barman at the Clachaig Inn, Glen Coe, since 2008, but I needed a change – I was getting bored of the same
Freelance editing and writing with the iPad and iOS 9.x
2017 update: I am no longer working with an iPad (in fact, I no longer own an iPad). I’ve come to realise that the Mac is simply a better fit for my needs. I leave this article online for posterity. In 2016, ‘real work’ on Apple’s iOS platform
Adjustments on and off the trail
That first night on the trail is an exciting one, isn’t it? The novelty of crisp air against your cheeks, hard ground underneath you. But it soon becomes part of life, and I think the longer you’re out the more you have to adjust when you return home.
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
Going paperless in the hills – how feasible is it?
In 2016, is it yet feasible to leave the paper maps at home when you go into the mountains? After a recent hardware failure, I don’t think we’re quite there yet. Paperless. It’s been the dream for decades, hasn’t it? At home, and in the office,