Thursday 25 April 2013

Skiddaw 2011


This picture was taken on top of Skiddaw, in the Lake District National park mid March 2011.
It looks cloudy, damp and generally unpleasant up there on the top of the 931 ft peak. That's because it was!!! What the picture does fail to portray is the relentless wind, which expertly cut straight to the bone. It was a sharp contrast to the rest of the Lake District below us (somewhere through all that cloud), which was of course bathed in sunshine.
There was one cloud in the sky that day, and it decided to sit on top of skiddaw with us. Still - undeterred the Muffin clambered to the very top, and we had a celebratory picnic of mini Mars bars and Ribena cartons before heading back down.



As many of us are aware mountains can be difficult and challenging places. On this windswept foray up Skiddaw we discovered a completely new and unanticipated challenge – mountain vs. hair. As you can see the mountain won.

This look has since been called “Mountain Hair” and it’s a very common problem for the unicorn.

Mountain Hair. (noun) colloquial.
A phrase used to explain the dishevelled and excessively rebellious appearance of a persons hair after they have been on, up or anywhere near a mountain.

See more stuff on top of things here.

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Personal essentials



It came to my attention one morning whilst camping with friends, that every seasoned adventurer to has their own mug.
It’s almost expected from you, to emerge from your van or tent in the morning clutching your faithful companion filled with the steaming morning beverage of choice. Your mug goes on every adventure with you, and the more weathered and beaten the mug the more esteemed adventurer you are.


These are our mugs, and as the newest additions to the van, they are still pretty pristine and somewhat lacking in character. But they are now part of the essential kit that never leaves the van (alongside the thermal gloves and the Haynes manual). And with a long summer ahead of us, they can only get more beautiful.

The muffins mug after on use
Mugs are a very personal thing. The mug you own says something about you. Weather it’s your favourite colour, a testament to a hobby your into, or how creative the family were with the Christmas presents this year. Ours I think follow in the same vein as wrist bands with your blood type on them and simply state what to be filled with if found empty or in need, which I think says a lot about how we feel about our morning drinks!!!