Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

For one reason or another, this past June has involved me pondering hill wandering treks rather than doing very many of them. That still means ideas for the blog but having them is one thing but making something out of them is yet another. In fact, an idea can transform into something very different on its execution. For instance, I still have do another part of my Argyll trip report for May and that has spawned thoughts of walking that I have done while on excursions based in Oban, an idea for another post. Then, there are thoughts of places where I haven’t visited for a while and those that I have yet to reach. Among the latter are the Western Isles (otherwise known as the Outer Hebrides or Na hEileanan an Iar) and the prospect of spending some time there this summer has prompted another idea for a posting on here. It’s amazing what can come from meandering through the countryside in the mind whilst comfortably seated in one’s armchair. Even so, I really need to get out in the countryside for real rather than using the virtual reality opportunities of the theatre of the skull. Hopefully, July will offer some chances.

The prospect of seeing something new has often been a great motivator for me when it comes to enjoying the outdoors. The sunny weather on Monday had me out and about locally only for me to discover a reservoir within the town of Macclesfield that I didn’t even know was there; I have been living around these parts for eight years and I still keep finding new things. Speaking of discoveries, I made one yesterday that I’d rather have not seen: a manifestation of the Internet Explorer "peekaboo" bug on my new thumbnail gallery pages. Some of the image caption text wasn’t being displayed and last night’s being dull allowed for a night in to quash the thing after a combination of googling and tinkering. Being a Linux and Firefox user, I suppose that I slipped up on my IE testing but that’s another reminder of an old lesson. Anyway, all’s well now and my mind is again free to turn its attention out of doors, opportunities allowing.

I mentioned at the end of April that the photo gallery was to get a new PHP/MySQL "engine". However, the fine May saw to it that I did a lot of walking rather than finishing it off. In fact, it was this past weekend when the weather was in a less clement mood that I managed to finalise things and let it loose on the public. There may be some spots of roughness remaining with the new underpinnings but I’ll be making any refinements that are needed. In any case, it should be a lot smoother than the previous Perl/PHP/XML edifice that served me well for so long.

With a blog, it’s a fact of life that some posts attract masses of attention and continue to do so while others gather dust on the back shelves. With this blog having passed the two year mark, there’s quite a few of the latter and, towards giving these a bit more of the limelight, I have added something that I have seen cropping up on other blogs: a listing of related posts at the end of an entry in single post view. I am hoping that it allows you, the reader, to see more of what’s here and in a way that could is much less formal than looking down a category list on a sidebar. Speaking of the sidebar, it now features an area devoted to listing those posts that many come to see. That may even prompt an enjoyable journey all of its own…

Usually I write my trip reports in the order in which the trips took place but I am considering making an exception to that convention and writing up last weekend’s excursion to Cumbria before the previous weekend’s visit to Argyll. The day trek should be quicker to share and I can devote more time to telling of the various walks I did in Scotland, perhaps over a number of blog entries. All of that has had to wait because yesterday evening provided yet another distraction from sitting in front of a computer: a sunny end to a day with a wet start coaxed me out for a local trot that further broke in my Scarpas. The cornucopia of recent hikes are making the old Salomons look more and more worn so getting the new boots ready for longer outings is becoming more necessary by the day. In fact, the thought has crossed my mind that it might be sensible to get another pair of walking footwear, perhaps a pair of lightweight boots, for summer walking. However, that might be a luxury too far in the current economic climate…

It was after a bank holiday weekend two years ago that this blog came into being and a goodly amount of water has flowed under the proverbial bridge since then. Since this time last year, the name of the blog has changed but the walking trip reports remain centre stage. Long distance trail bashing has continued with both the West Highland Way and the Gritstone Trail having been completed. In addition, I have made a start on the Rob Roy Way and continue to nibble at both the Pennine Way and the Offa’s Dyke Path. Speaking of the latter, Shropshire has started to see my footfall as has Staffordshire. With the onset of what I consider to be the best month of the year, I am hoping that those walking experiences continue as I continue to explore the British landscape. Also remaining in my mind are thoughts of wandering through Irish hill country, something that has remained on my to do list for far longer than it has right to do.