About Me

Hi, I'm John and this is a blog about what I notice as I walk along; things and thoughts, objects and observations. In particular it’s about wild walks, wild camps and the history embedded in our beautiful landscapes.

I’m likely to walk along near my home in Bristol, or on Dartmoor, my favourite escape.

I've been a keen lightweight hiker for more years than my knees care to remember. Work and family life mean I spend far more time thinking about hiking than actually doing it. It also means more weekend jaunts than month long epics.

I've always been grateful to enthusiasts who make time to publish route guides, tips and outdoor gear reviews, especially those considerate of sustainability and UK walking conditions. In a noisy world of paid reviews, machine generated content and opinionated affiliate blogs these authentic opinions are rare and precious. I hope one day this blog will be of similar use to someone.

I’m also keen to promote small gear manufacturers in the UK, it’s easy for their voices to be lost and the social and sustainability advantages of their products to be overlooked.

I’m learning as I walk along and welcome any comments, especially if you spot anything inaccurate, misleading or missing.

Trekkertent Stealth 1.5 Tarp Tent Review

Trekkertent pitched on Dartmoor, not entirely blending in. As I walked along it occurred to me that I should sing the praises of the Trekkertent Stealth 1.5 , a lightweight double wall tent hand made by a small outfit in Perth, Scotland. I brought the Trekkertent to replace another fine British tent, the Terra Nova Solar Photon . The Solar Photon was ludicrously light for a free standing tent, and incredibly easy to pitch. I was always conscious that the materials were both very expensive and very thin, not that I actually had any problems or damage, even after a sketchy moment when the outer transformed itself into an expensive kite one particularly breezy evening in the Pentland Hills. Primarily I wanted a simple, robust shelter that took advantage of the fact that I was already carrying poles.

The Abbots Way Walk. Possibly.

The Abbots Way winds from East to West across Dartmoor from the small village of Buckfast to the small town of Tavistock. It starts and ends with quiet country lanes, bookends for the longer part of the walk across open undulating, and somewhat soggy moorland.

The Lych (Wrong) Way Walk

As I walked along I considered the rather high proportion of dead to alive that had, over long centuries, completed this forlorn path across Dartmoor. For some it was their last journey. This path is the Lych Way, a corpse road along which bodies were carried from all across the ancient Dartmoor forest, ready to be buried on consecrated ground in Lydford Church yard. The Lych Way is a day long, twelve mile taste of the magic, and occasional misery, Dartmoor has to offer. In between gorgeous views it passes through ancient woods, scrubby moorland, army ranges, soggy bogs, prehistoric and modern relics, fords and stepping stones. A keen eye will notice boundary stones, hidden crosses, wild flowers and wildlife. It doesn’t need a keen ear to realise how quiet and tranquil some stretches are. All this is strung between two quintessential Devon villages replete with pubs, coffee and conveniences.

Speedster Spirit Stove and Pot Stand Review

Simmer ring, burner, lid, simples. This isn’t so much a review as an honourable mention. The simple, reliable things in life are often taken for granted, especially when they work well and do exactly what they are intended to do every time. I term these ‘door handle products’. Not necessarily exciting, but rather important and only likely to be noticed when they don't work or get snagged on a coat. The Speedster spirit stove is one such product. Brought four years ago for the princely sum of £5.40 it’s proven to be a reliable practical burner. Speedster Backpacking Products are a UK company who offer all sorts of useful gear for UK hiking, from tick removers to spirit refill bottles, their stock is clearly based on experience.

The Dartmoor Two Tramways Hike: Section 1 - Ivybridge to Redlake

As I walked along the tramway stretched out for miles, I was walking for fun, pack lightened by decades of innovation, a stark contrast to the tough people who built and worked line, facing fickle Dartmoor conditions in heavy layers of cotton, wool and leather. This post is an overview of a point to point weekend route I tried between lock-downs. It was designed to be accessible by train, take in two of Dartmoor’s more substantial disused Tramways, a couple of nights wild camping and a brace of bracing wild swims.

Lightweight camp coffee, how to get a decent brew on the go.

No coffee, no walkee as they say. How then do you get a good coffee in the middle of nowhere? Is it worth a five mile detour to get a lovingly crafted flat white or is there something you can carry to satiate cravings until you throw yourself upon the sympathy and dubious charm of the local barista? I’ve pondered these questions over long drudgerous miles, when all that keeps me going is imagining the most exquisite coffee known to humankind waiting for me at the end. What follows is a few solo coffee options for ultralight hiking and wild camping.

All The Tors Book Review

All The Tors was one of my Christmas books this year, I must say it’s a perfect read for a chilly January, when one is feeling a few mince pies short of ultralight. It’s a time when, for some subjects, reading is better than doing, or at least a drier substitute. All the Tors describes Emily Woodhouse’s self-invented, self-supported and self-inflicted challenge to visit 119 of Dartmoor’s Tors consecutively. It has the spirit of an Alastair Humbreys micro adventure , albeit somewhat elongated at 10 days. It certainly does make the reader want to grab a pack and head into the wilds - safely. I say safely because Emily is a member of Dartmoor Rescue , something evident in the decisions in the book as the weather becomes...undesirable. Its interesting to see this sort of knowledge built into the story. The walk itself was timed to commemorate 50 years of their generous and brave work.

As I Walked Along

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