Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

Cheshire has seen many a fast moving spotty rain shower pass over it today and the Met Office's online rain radar shows more Ireland. In between those, there have been spells of alluring sunshine of the kind that makes wonderful photos. How is it that you need a session of rain for the sunlight to look better when it comes afterwards at this time of year? Well, good photos don't come without some cost.

That little mention of photographic endeavour brings me to an afternoon well spent in Chester last Saturday. What drew me away from home was the prospect of meeting with some sun without any dampness, something of a rarity in the last few weeks. There were other reasons too, such as the escape from what felt like a rut. The reason for choosing Chester was that I got to looking through the photos of the place that I have been sharing in the online gallery only to come to the conclusion that they didn't look the best. It was time to have another go and I came away with some pleasing results too when the clouds didn't get in the way of the lighting. Much of my urban stroll took me towards the less crowded parts of the city like Grosvenor Park where a miniature train was conveying families around a small circuit. Trotting along the banks of the River Dee and along the old city wall took me towards the Old Dee Bridge from where I found my way towards the more crowded rows where many were out shopping. These may be uncertain economic times but you wouldn't have known that from the bustle and a headline in the local rag about the place being a boom town.

The passage of a large wad of cloud in front of the sun meant that any designs on digital capture of landmarks such as Chester Cathedral or Chester Castle (the old County Hall looks an elaborate affair) had to wait for another time. While awaiting the return of the sun, I ended up in a shop or two though I wasn't really on a shopping outing. However, that didn't stop a visit to a branch of Field and Trek resulting in my coming away with a Berghaus Twister Softshell jacket having saved nearly £30 off the original price. My succumbing to the attractions of making a purchase might have been influenced by there being a sale in progress but I have toyed previously with the idea of acquiring a heavier duty counterpart to my North Face Apex Elixir (currently needing a spot of sewing to keep in the drawcord at the base of the jacket after the wrong thread came away) might have made me more vulnerable to this kind of thing, even though it was a thought that had slipped from my conscious memory. So far, it's got only a bit of a light wetting but I like the cut and fit. Exhaustive testing is not something that I do but the new acquisition is working well thus far.

The trying out of the previous day's extravagance had to await its opportunity when Sunday came dry too though with milky skies, thanks to a passing anticyclone sticking for long enough to give us respite from all the damp greyness that has been outstaying its welcome over the last few weeks. It was enough for me to take to lanes and highways on my bicycle. Though I was to spend some time around Lindow Common, the main motivation was the investigation of potential commuting routes but the level of traffic and the steepness of some inclines left me thinking the venture a work in progress. However, a chance perusal of a map afterwards at home revealed a possibility that went by Over Alderley, Hare Hill and Mottram St. Andrew. The promise of a sunny Monday had me taking a risk in the form of trying the route in the flesh and the experience convinced me of the need for tightening my back brakes though nothing untoward happened; then, any inclines can be tackled with greater confidence and there are a few such as the dip around Over Alderley or the hill on which Mottram is situated. Nevertheless, I sampled a glorious morning and pass someone harvesting "haylage" on my return in the evening; some of it was blowing in the air too. Other amenable days may get me passing the way more often.

Even with all of this, I remain on hiatus from walking in hill country though seeing how high the local reservoirs are now might be one draw. There's a bank holiday weekend at the end of the month too and thoughts of making something of it are just beginning to prod me into action. Autumn isn't far now and there's a certain coolness to be felt on some mornings as well. Maybe that's what's bringing more attractive lighting between those showers…

When I was coming home last night, rain started getting thrown down in torrents as can happen in Cheshire. It was almost as if a foretaste of Autumn was being put our way already. When you end up getting a wetting in that kind of deluge, you have to ask if reservoirs are filling up after the dry weather dominating May and June. Going for a look myself might be in order because I seem to have fallen into a rut of lessened activity exactly when the weather has fallen into a run of dampness.

In its own way, the cooler damper weather should encourage more activity and not the brace of lazy weekends that I have been having. Maybe, moving to a new job has broken my outdoors stride and I need to do a spot of restoration in order to break from the current flow. Lindow Common is not far from my new workplace so that may be a option for a spot of lunchtime exploration among trees even if the busy Wilmslow-Altrincham road may be making its presence felt. Then, there's cycling to and from work too when things are a little more settled and I did get out for a short run this afternoon.

Anything that breaks a sense of summertime slumber cannot be bad. It is tempting to blame to fatigue after a working week and unexciting weather but my outdoors mojo needs to be rekindled. There's a new month tomorrow so that might be a useful excuse. Light for outdoors photography is set to improve from now on for the remainder of the year so that may be what's need to get things going again. Then, there's a bank holiday weekend in England and Wales at the end of August that could have its uses. For those of you in Scotland and Éire, let's hope that something can be made of the one that you have this weekend. As for me, I'll be pondering the possibilities for the one that applies to me. It might be that what I see in the latest issues of Walking World Ireland (enticing articles on Scotland's Sandwood Bay and the Tour of Mont Blanc with a selection of shorter walks around West among all the usual features), Outdoor Photography and Photography Monthly might be the cause of something yet. After all, looking at forecasts for future weekends on Accuweather shows a hint of better things to come though all will become clearer as time wears onward.

July's often a month that sends me into a sort of hiatus. Maybe, for all the hopes of scorching summers that seem to circulate every year, it's because the weather isn't ever as good as what gets anticipated. This year, it's being a damp one after the very dry weather of May and June. Having rain now cannot be such a bad thing when reservoirs are low and the earth scorched and bone dry. That situation makes it hard to knock the dampness though it might make walking outings wetter.

Within the last few weeks, I was sent off on a business trip to Sweden where I got to feel the full force of a scorching sun on evening strolls around Södertälje and Stockholm. It made me glad of our maritime climate and reminded me of the realities of outdoor walking in hot sunny weather even if I was never in the middle of civilisation in comparison with some of my day walks through the British countryside. It often seems as if the trade off for summer walking is between uncomfortably high temperatures for walking or cloud cover that cuts down on photographic opportunities. Last month's escape to Arran and Kintyre saw times when both extremes were encountered. It's not so often that we get a happy medium like what I met on Harris a few years ago.

With a change of job next week, I am not sure what opportunities I'll be having for getting out in the countryside but it looks like being the occasional day trip for a while. As I opined on here before, the idea of a week long trip to somewhere in Scotland has to be placed on hold for this year though I still will see what may come my way as the year continues on its downward trajectory. Time may look limited but I've made do with that before. Autumn,  a season that at least some Swedes await after a hot summer, is on its way to us too and may offer good things as it did last year when an Indian summer was in order after the non-summer that we got. The future's not ours to see but hope springs eternal too.

A mid-week thumb through the latest edition of Web Designer magazine must have inspired because, on an otherwise lazy weekend, I got to doing some alterations on the appearance of this outpost on the web. Fatigue and work-related distractions aside, I still have it in mind to say say more about last week's trip to Arran and Kintyre. In fact, I have made a start on the Arran trip report so promises are beginning to made good. Looking ahead there even may be another window of opportunity for an outdoors escape later in the month but that is, to an extent, weather dependant too so we'll have to see what happens.

As I write these words, it is mostly grey outside my window and not the sort of alluring conditions that draw a soul fatigued after a working week out of doors. Nevertheless, we don't seem to be seeing that much rain in Macclesfield so far even if the current run of weather has an unsettled feel about it. Though everywhere is looking dry now, let's hope that the months of July and August aren't to be remembered for the deluges that beset us in previous years. If it continues like it has, the next complaints that will be heard will be about drought. Aren't we fickle?

Depending on where you were, this past weekend might have felt every bit a scorcher. However, if you were stood around Rest and Be Thankful on Sunday morning, it was not scorching sun that you would have experienced but a soaking from a conveyor belt dragging showers of rain through the surrounding hills. Having experienced this a few times myself, I can attest for the amount of rain that can come down on you when the mood takes the weather. Yesterday though, I was travelling in a coach through it all after spending a few days reacquainting myself with the Isle of Arran and getting to know a piece of Kintyre.

Having a few days of leave coming my way, my mind turned to returning to Arran more than four years after a first visit that took in the summit of Goatfell and a bus ride all around the island on a showery Easter weekend. The base this time was Lochranza rather than Brodick and the immersion in hill country deeper even if the heights were lower. The sun may have stayed hidden by cloud for much of the time but that may have meant cooler temperatures more suitable for walking so there can be no complaints.

After leaving Arran, there was time for a trot along part of the Kintyre Way between Claonaig and Tarbert. The views of Arran stayed with me much longer than I might have expected. It looked as if it was going to be a cloudy day's hiking until that cloud began to break up to give me a blast of sweltering heat on the final approach to Tarbert with views over Loch Fyne towards Cowal to my right.

From Tarbert, I travelled to Inverary for an overnight stopover prior to my coming south again the next day. The evening was perfect for lingering and, if you fancied the idea, al fresco dining on Inverary's shore line. A cheeky incursion into the surroundings of Inverary castle came to pass too and without any sort of rancour from the residents in the castle either; mind you, I wasn't making my presence that apparent. The sun may have been playing hard to get but it was the sort of evening that would keep you out of doors with its sense of quiet stillness.

Returning to the point on which I started this piece of mental rambling, the next morning was damper and that made departing not such a hard thing to do. Nevertheless, it always leaves open the idea of returning when better lighting is available, especially if you photographic designs like me. As is my habit with these things, I'll leave the wider musings on the landscape through which I traipsed for other postings. Even though I never was that far from Glasgow, everywhere I went had the feel of a quiet backwater so there was plenty of time for uninterrupted reverie with the theatre of the skull unleashed. Though others may be dazzled by thoughts of sights further north, there is plenty around Arran and Kintyre for anyone seeking restive and restorative peace and calm. All in all, it did feel as if the frantic pace of everyday living was far, far away.

Travel Details:

Return train journey between Macclesfield and Glasgow, with a change at Manchester on the northbound leg and changes at Preston and Manchester on the southbound one. Rail connection to Ardrossan for a ferry crossing (CalMac) to Brodick with a ride on bus service 324 to Lochranza. Ferry crossing (CalMac again) from Lochranza to Claonaig; all ferry travel used a handy Arran hopscotch fare. Scottish Citylink service 926 between Tarbert and Inverary and again between Inverary and Glasgow.