Jonathan’s Blog

"The finest 1 day challenge in England" As a mountain guide who lives in the shadow of the 3 Peaks and regularly leads walkers on the 3 Peaks challenge I felt I was in a unique position to write a book on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks. So I did! The Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge is on many people's bucket list, an achievable (but difficult) walk in an accessible part of the country. The fact the area...

I completed the Munros (the 282 mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet) nearly 15 years ago. It took up nearly 20 years of my life, regular visits/weekends from England to click off 4 or 5 summits. Sometimes I travelled alone, sometimes with my brothers and mate JP. It certainly became obsessive. The planning was fun, the walking hard but the satisfaction immense. There is no doubt in my mind that...

Climbing Snowdon is the most popular mountain challenge in Britain, upwards of 400,000 walkers head for the summit every year. I have only climbed Snowdon once before, that was the full Snowdon Horseshoe over 20 years ago. Therefore I was looking forward to my next visit with the family in which I planned to walk the southern part of the Horseshoe over Y Lliwedd, up the Watkin Path to the summit...

I have never completed an organized Challenge walk before. Yes I have walked enough 'challenges', day walks including many Yorkshire 3 Peaks, the 44 mile Lyke Wake Walk but nothing which had the size and scale of a "Challenge" walk. However Sadie and Michelle persuaded me to put aside any reservations about being 'organized and told what to do' and try a 50 km (52 really) walk in the Peak...

Any walk is made much more enjoyable if some element of planning goes in to it. I like to spread my map out the night before and try and picture what is going to happen the next day. It doesn't always work that way but it helps a lot. Here are my 15 top tips on planning a walk [caption id="attachment_40349" align="alignnone" width="801"] Heading up Whernside,[/caption] 1. Use Guide Books...

I love walking away from the crowds, exploring by myself and finding some 'Hidden Gems'. Avoid Malham and Horton, the central spine of the Lakes and the Yorkshire Coast and there are some absolute crackers just waiting for you to discover. You may not see a soul all day on these walks and if you do they will be few and far between. However one thing you will know about anyone you see...they...

The 'Dales 30' are the mountains in the Yorkshire Dales National Park over 2,000 feet with a 30 metre drop on all sides (100 foot when all said and done). The full list is here. Over the past few years increasing numbers of people are taking up the challenge of climbing these mountains, I know this from the number of 'Dales 30' books I am selling, a rough and ready guide which hopefully reflects...

If you’re thinking about whether you should go on that charity walk or run, the answer is to just go for it. Walking is one of the most effective cardiovascular exercises you can do. And if that’s not enough to convince you, here are five more reasons why you should definitely go on a charity walk. [caption id="attachment_39925" align="alignnone" width="752"] Walking for...

How many times have you sat around and discussed the best mountains or hills in Britain? Certainly I have. My favourite mountains are not what many would describe as the 'best' but more a subjective view of the mountains and hills that I have enjoyed being on more than others, memorable occasions. They cover most of the UK, there are not many mountains I have not climbed. Anyway no more...

The light was perfect as I completed a short walk along the slopes of Blencathra from Threlkeld. I have taken a number of photos along this walk but none in Spring. It completes the set! The walk itself starts and finishes from Threlkeld and involves very little climbing although the daunting bulk of the mountain dominates all. The walk details are here. [caption id="attachment_39672"...