Trail talk

Trail talk: the Gritstone Trail

Backpacking along the edge of the Peak District, with hills to my left and the Cheshire Plain stretching far off to my right. It snowed, rained and (occasionally) shone brightly for this three day February trip. The Gritstone Trail went up, it went down, very rarely was it flat. Regardless of the gradient, mud was a frequent companion.

Trail talk

Trail talk: the Miner’s Way

The Miner's Way is a now largely forgotten trail that loops around the East Kent countryside, visiting the former collieries of the short lived Kent Coalfield. Once heralded as a fitting tribute to the miners who came to toil, live and die in brutal working conditions, local authorities now seem to be doing their best to ignore this trail.

books

Trail talk: Harvey maps

Harvey have been producing excellent maps since the 1970s. Convenient scales, waterproof paper, lightweight, what's not to like?

Trail talk

Trail talk: the ‘one in every village’ wall box scheme

In the 50s and 60s the Post Office enlarged the aperture on 1000s of postboxes. The results from this 'one in every village' scheme are to be seen on many a hike across Britain

Trail talk

Trail talk: Facilities on the Great Glen Way

The Great Glen Way is remarkable for the number of on-trail facilities provided. This is a simple account of those seen or passed by Three Points of the Compass on a six-day backpacking trip in November 2021

Trail talk

Trail talk: Slighe a’ Ghlinne Mhòir- six days in November. Part two

Three Points of the Compass backpacked the Great Glen Way in November 2021. My final three days take me the length of Loch Ness, to finish in Inverness

Trail talk

Trail talk: Slighe a’ Ghlinne Mhòir- six days in November. Part one

Thick with cold and unfit, what to do? It was obvious, go and backpack the Great Glen Way in Scotland. I waited a week to see if the aches and cough went away and the headache subsided. They didn't. It looked like one of those 'super-colds'. So I booked train tickets and was away within days.

Cooking

Trail talk: weighing fuel canisters

Three Points of the Compass believes there are two essential tools required when looking at fuel requirements for a backpacking trip. These are digital scales and a sharpie

Trail talk

Trail talk: Et mortuus est

Three Points of the Compass needed a walk- time to think about recent months and recent loss

Trail talk

Trail talk: Churchyard Yews

Visit many churchyards in England and Wales and you are very likely to encounter a yew tree. Spare these ancient trees a glance for some have witnessed turning points in history.

Organised outdoor

Trail talk: The ‘Ramblers’- a part history, through their badges

Since their creation in 1935, the Ramblers' Association has undergone various revamps. This is a glance at how the organisation has mirrored their changes in brand.

Trail talk

Trail talk: Golly badges- an unacceptable relic

The Robertson's Golly badges of the last century are now an uncomfortable and unacceptable relic for many people. Five 'Scout' and a Backpacker badge were produced

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Speyside Way

Three Points of the Compass hiked the 87 mile long Speyside Way in August 2021

Cooking

Trail talk: The Yorkshire Wolds Way- Four days of food

A four day food carry for the Yorkshire Wolds Way

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Yorkshire Wolds Way

Three Points of the Compass backpacked the Yorkshire Wolds Way over a handful of days in summer 2021

books

Trail talk: the Jubilee Walkway-resources

Some good, and some not so good, resources for anyone walking the Jubilee Walkway in London

Trail talk

Trail talk: a night wander of the Jubilee Walkway in search of elephants

Three Points of the Compass walks London's Jubilee Walkway, this time at night. I was looking for statues and public works of art, but found partying football fans and elephants

Gear

Trail talk: how to use the sun clock on the Silva Ranger SL compass

The Silva Ranger SL sighting compass has a sundial, or sun clock, that is simple to use.

Gear

Trail talk: Huzzah!- new notebooks delivered

Three Points of the Compass welcomed a recent delivery- a stack of notebooks waiting to become trail journals. A look at their respective merits

Trail talk

Trail talk: Statues on the Jubilee Walkway

A select number of statues seen on London's Jubilee Walkway

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