Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

One thing that I cannot contradict is that it has been quiet on here for a while. An inspiring summer and my starting a new job both have had their part to play in that state of affairs. Even so, that isn't to say that I have been failing to get out and about. One such escapade was my spending an afternoon cycling from Macclesfield to Chester while managing to avoid passing through towns like Knutsford and Northwich as I went.

The August bank holiday weekend saw me heading to Aberdeen after not having visited the city since I attended a conference there the week following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. With a mixed weather forecast, a spot of urban exploration inspired by thoughts of making better photos than I did all those years ago. That was to get me a wetting at times but I succeeded in satisfying my wish regardless. It wasn't an entirely urban weekend because I ventured out to Braemar for the very first time and I reached the top of Morrone/Morven, enjoy sunlit vistas when they came between the hefty showers; those died away to leave a bright and dry if cool evening that foretold the coming of autumn.

Last week's Indian Summer had me cycling to and from work with the return journeys plying lanes around Mobberley and Great Warford. In fact, I am left why I left those around the latter unexplored for as long as I have when they make for very relaxing cycling and are not so narrow either. Yesterday had me sampling them too and it might have been the same today if I had more confidence in the day staying dry. In hindsight, the cycling option might have been the better one given that the A34 was packed because the M6 was shut and no rain fell anyway.

Leaves are changing colour and the lighting of the countryside is becoming more pleasing for photography. Depending on the weather, that leaves further scope for outdoor outings. To make use of any opportunities that come, I need not to be tied up indoors though there are photos to be added to online gallery and possible blog postings to be written. This is not a bad time of year to be savouring when there can be so many delights on offer. Going into hibernation now would be a waste.

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.

There may have been wonderful sunny summer weather visiting us over the last few weeks but goings on in my professional life have meant that I haven't made the kind of use of it that is habitual for me. That's not to say that there haven't been restive escapes during the hurly burly. In fact, lengthening my cycling commute on the homeward leg has afforded the spending of some quality time among still fresh greenery.

Not inappropriately given the prospect  of a major change to my work circumstances (a change of job is looming on the horizon), some of those peaceful interludes have had me poking around the National Trust property surrounding the escarpment that is Alderley Edge. The result was that some aimless exploration took me directions that I mightn't have followed while if I had a map with me! Even so, no harm came from them and you need to break out from the constraints of modern life from time to time anyway. The area is a confined one that I know well enough so not too much can go awry. Still, there's plenty to paths for a stroll and it's under tree cover much of the time too, a perfect antidote to the hot bright strong sunshine than occasionally makes its appearance around this time of year. Trees may be things with which I have a love/hate relationship but they have their plus points too and the National Trust's broadleaved collection near the edge offers plenty of shade when it gets as warm as it has been on the way towards midsummer.

Looking further ahead, it doesn't look as if this summer will get the customary longer break that has tended to happen every year in recent times. Nevertheless, there are some days' leave coming to me that I plan to use as well as I can. It's a matter of using what is available rather than having all that I'd like to possess. Ambitions may require control (the sort of Hebridean adventure that I enjoyed a few years ago is out of the question for now but you never know what the future might bring) but one or two possibilities are coming to mind regardless. Despite the constraints that I face, I should get more out of the summer than I did during the one when my career was first set on its faltering course a decade ago. Its next phase is ahead of me and I hope to keep up my wanderings through hill country. They have afforded respite from life's toils up to now and it is unlikely that the need will disappear.