Kayaking around Hayling Island - July 2018

I'd always thought that one day it would be interesting to kayak around Hayling Island.  I also knew that it would be a very long paddle!
But there's nothing quite like a summer heatwave to provide the inspiration for such a trip.
And so I checked the tides to make sure I'd hopefully go with the flow, or at least not be going against it, and then set off anti-clockwise from Northney marina at 5.30pm, three hours after high tide.
The sunny paddle down Langstone harbour was Ok and I had slight tidal assistance of about 2mph which added to my regular kayaking speed of 3mph.  My GPS unit was very helpful throughout the paddle because it confirmed my forward speed, and that is very important to know when you are at sea with tides and wind.
Exiting Langstone harbour at low tide, there is a vast sandbank that stretches a mile out to sea which you have to paddle around, and then I had a steady off-shore breeze to paddle against for the rest of the trip.  As I entered Chichester harbour the tide was incoming but only by about 1mph.  If I stopped paddling, the evening breeze would blow me gently SW, thus this finally northwards section of the paddle seemed to take the longest, particularly as I was starting to get tired by now.  The sun set at 9.20pm and the last hour of the paddle was in darkness.  I missed the turn up Sweare Deep because I couldn't see any lights up that channel, only the Emsworth lights ahead.  But when my GPS said I was heading NE, I knew something wasn't right, so I got out my iPhone to see where I was on the mapping and had to backtrack nearly 600m, annoyed with myself that I'd added almost an extra mile to my already long journey!
In the end, I completed the 16 mile circuit in 5 hours, averaging 3.2mph, never paddling against the tides but going against the off-shore breeze for most of the time.
I carried plenty of snack bars and water which helped, but two things I would have liked to have had with me would have been my shower radio and my iPad mini (obviously in a waterproof case) so I could have seen my mapping in front of me in real time.
The best thing I took with me was my Garmin eTrex.
The thing I would have liked the most would have been a faster kayak!

Snowdonia trip - May 2018

Camping trip to north Snowdonia with the mission objective of climbing Tryfan via the steep north ridge, and then jumping the Adam and Eve stones.  Had heatwave conditions in what turned out to be the hottest May in over a hundred years.


Tryfan looms into view with its iconic steep-sided shape - a proper scramble if ever there was one.

Canon Stone makes a nice stop for a photo.

It was hot, but good photographic conditions.

Lake District trip - Aug 2017

Back to the Lake District in late August for some wonderful new walks, and to make some amazing flight videos...

 Cat Bells from Surprise View, Derwent Water

 Maiden Moor from Surprise View, Derwent Water

 Skiddaw from Surprise View, Derwent Water

Walking above Loweswater with views towards Grasmoor

Grasmoor from Loweswater

A friendly Lakeland horse that came up to me.

A toad that I found near the end of a long walk.

A Lakeland sheep on the summit of Dodd.

Walking across the Isle of Wight - Aug 2017

I'd always thought that one day it would be nice to walk across the Isle of Wight, East to West, finishing at The Needles, wild camping along the way.  So in early August I packed as lightly as I could and took the early evening ferry across to Ryde.  The plan was to catch a bus from Ryde to Bembridge on the east tip of the island, but as the buses were so infrequent, I decided I might as well walk along the coast to Bembridge.  

To keep the weight down I took a super-lightweight mesh tent which is a triangular ridge tent made out of mosquito netting supported by a single walking pole and guy strings; great for dry, mild weather camping, as forecast.

The next day I walked under perfect blue skies through fields and meadows, with the route passing through places such as Brading and Newport, past Carisbrooke Castle and towards Brightstone Forest where camp 2 was to be.  The next day was a more direct route along the top of Compton Down with wonderful views that lead down to a coffee stop at Freshwater Bay.  The final stage of the walk was the best; along Tennyson Down and finally to the Needles in the late afternoon before catching a bus back to Ryde via Newport.  A solar panel strapped to my rucksack had taken care of my power needs throughout the trip.

Bembridge Trail

Fine weather at about midway - looking SW

Highdown Cliffs and Compton Bay from just below Shalcombe

Grazing cattle on Tennyson Down

The Needles

Alum Bay

Brecon Beacons - May 2017

May seemed like a nice month to explore more of the Brecon Beacons...

The ever popular Sgwd Yr Elra waterfall

Sgwd Yr Elra waterfall

Henrhyd Falls - Southern Britain's highest waterfall (27m)

Snowdonia trip - October 2016

Tryfan

The Llanberis Pass

Walking the coast of Guernsey - August 2016

Having walked the coast of Jersey a few years ago, I decided it would be nice to walk the 40 mile coastline of Guernsey this time.  As with Jersey, I chose to walk the island clockwise and I correctly estimated that two complete days would be enough time to do it in.

Looking east towards the smaller islands of Herm and Jethou 4 miles away.  The ferry that dropped me off at St. Peter Port can be seen continuing on to Jersey 20 miles away.

South coast

South coast

South coast

South coast

South coast

South coast

West coast

West coast sunset

North west coast