Category Archives: Uncategorized

‘By now i am used to suffering. I have endured so much in waves and war. Let this next adventure follow’ – OdysseusHomer’s ‘The Odyssey’ Not sure how Instagram found me @patsyshipley81 ‘s feed and from there the account of the @gbrsgroup gang and others. However, via those accounts i saw mention of this psychedelicContinue reading “In Waves and War”

Just a reminder to myself (and anyone else that’s on ‘ere) that for every negative encounter with people on the moors and paths hereabouts there’s 10, 20 or 30 positive ones. Chatting about the weather or routes with folks out walking, cycling, horse riding, birdwatching or running. Depleting my supply of biscuits for a fourContinue reading “Note To Self”

Popped towards the ranger base for a cuppa about 1030ish …. Heated conversation with some MTBers on the way claiming that ‘they don’t know where they are and are not allowed to ride’ as a reason for riding along a footpath. It’s a long time since someone invaded my personal space uninvited !! One toContinue reading “Any Given Sunday”

Winterised. The seasons turn a corner and so the lighterweight call-out sack get’s replaced with an Aiguille Guide 50 winter workhorse. There are other bags but i doubt their durability and accessibility (and i’ve probably owned /used / tested well over a 150).  My mindest is what is the worst likeliest situation i will needContinue reading “Winterised”

Story 1 With the benefit of hindsight this might be why – 30+ years later – my lower back hurts like hell and i walk like John Wayne in the mornings. Nobody tells you about the long term disbenefits when you’re young and mad fer it 💪🪂🙄. Story 2 Me and my first ‘company car’Continue reading “Planes. Cars. Feet.”

It’s a conversation we have round about the same time every year …. how do we dress for being a ranger at night in Autumn and Winter. We own some decent outdoor clobber but it’s not designed for long periods stood either still (eg flying a drone or observing wildlife through a TI) or limitedContinue reading “And So It Begins …”

Trigger Warning – Photos We three ‘musketeers’ sat at Bar Brook the other night still discussing the detail that has come out of phone ping analysis of visitation in the Peak District (have a look at the amazing ‘Landscape Observatory’ website) when one us said ‘i think it’s been quieter on the Eastern Moors thisContinue reading “Show Me The Numbers …”

She doesn’t know it yet but Sarah Rowley has just won a large quantity of whatever coffee and cake she wants … You see at about 74 minutes in to the October ‘Local Access Forum’ meeting for the Peak District National Park Authority she stood up and talked through some slides.  Not just any oldContinue reading “The New Normal”

I was going to post a trigger warning but if this subject triggers you then you’ve either not been in a National Park recently or if you have you’ve walked round with your eyes closed. Shit. Increasing quantities of it. Dog and Human. Mostly unbagged. Often accompanied by soiled toilet paper. A health risk toContinue reading “A Shit Story”

‘The Oxford English Dictionary’s earliest citation for “Chew the fat” is from 1885 in a book by J Brunlees Patterson called Life in the Ranks of the British Army in India. He implied it was a kind of general grumbling and bending of the ears of junior officers to stave off boredom, a typical partContinue reading “Chewing The Fat”