Grey Wethers - Double Stone Circles on Dartmoor

Near Sittaford Tor, north of Postbridge lie two Bronze Age stone circles that sit adjacent to each other.  Erected about 3500 years ago, they were 'restored' in 1909 and many feel that it was not done well.

However, I have to say that they present an impressive sight and provoke many questions.  Excavations revealed a thick layer of charcoal indicating repetitive fires within them, probably part of a ritualistic ceremony performed by our ancestors.

Sharp Tors and Blunt Houses in Dartmoor's Wilderness

Trekked around Hare Tor, Doe Tor, Chat Tor and the rather splendid, if rather commonly named, Sharp Tor on Dartmoor.  Between the squalls and hail it was a nice day.

I then found the old Tinners' Building at Wheal Frederick on the Doetor Brook.

A beautiful place, very bleak but peaceful.  The ruins show a water-wheel pit and where the water was laundered into the biggest buddle I've seen.

Human history crumbling into the wild landscape.

Sunset near Ingra Tor on Dartmoor

What amazing weather we have had this weekend, sunshine and mild temperatures; it's been wonderful.

We caught the last of the sun visiting Ingra Tor on Dartmoor this afternoon, and I saw this fabulous hawthorn lurching over an old cornditch.  The lighting was stunning and to top it, a skylark was singing in the upper branches.

Feeling warm and fuzzy.

Look, I've even succumbed to colour:

Hound Tor, Dartmoor - First Look at an Epic Tor

Hound Tor dominates the landscape with its massive granite stacks and impressive avenue.  It is a very pure 'tor granite' (ie with large feldspar megacrystals) outcrop without tourmaline intrusions and other mineralisation that would alter its shape in weathering.

I visited it at the end of a spectacularly sunny day (yesterday) which was a gift.

I eventually found the cairn circle and cost and will post on them later.

In the meantime, here are some of my photographs from Hound Tor:

I must say 'Hello!' to Sara and the lovely couple who I got chatting to whilst looking the for cist.  So nice meeting new people who love just being on the Moor.

Fjällräven Polar 2015 Arctic Expedition - Competition

Dear All,


This may seem odd, but I am applying to go on a Polar expedition next year!  It is a competition by Fjällräven and you have to submit a video and get people to vote for you. Dog-sledding in the Arctic tundra I know is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I really want to do it.  I mean, really really. 

I want to prove that ordinary people can do adventurous things with the right preparation.  I started skiing when I was 40, so why not start my Arctic Exploration at 48? Anyway, I would be so grateful if you would vote for me.  And if you feel so inclined, ask your friends to vote too. 

To vote, just go here:

http://www.fjallravenpolar.com/show-all-contributions/?fbid=100002538821103

Thank you!!

Scorhill Stone Circle, Dartmoor

Scorhill Stone Circle lies on the eastern edge of the moor, at GR654874, near Gidleigh.  It is one of the best on Dartmoor and has not been restored.  It is however, missing quite a few stones which were used for gateposts and leat bank reinforcement before their use was discovered and stopped.

A view on a wind-swept Autumn day:

Sunrise and mist over High Dartmoor

Set my son off on a solo ten tors trek first thing on Saturday morning, from Okehampton Camp.  Volatile weather which made for some very atmospheric photos:

Fistral Beach, Newquay - Blustery Beaches in Black and White

Spent the weekend in Newquay at Fistral Beach and acquainted myself with the coves, caves and rocks around the headland.  Rather blustery though; my plans for peaceful sunsets with long exposures did not materialise.  However, being so close to the greatest wilderness on Earth is always a tonic.

I probably should come clean now and admit that I'm in a deeply satisfying monochrome phase.

Beardown Man, Dartmoor - Still Standing after 4000 Years

Bagged a few more tors yesterday, in the dregs of Hurricane Gonzalo.  I have to say, trudging up to Beardown Tors and Conies Down Tors in 50mph gusting head winds was less enjoyable than I imagined.  Scooped six tors in a 10 mile walk from Two Bridges.

Beardown Man stands next to Devil's Tor and is pretty remote.  It is the second tallest menhir on Dartmoor and was placed there in the Bronze Age, about 4000 years ago.  I have to say that he is splendid.  In profile the 3.5m standing stone looks almost head-like (depends what's in your hip-flask), but really, it's only called "man" from the Celtic word "maen" meaning stone.  Either way, I felt obliged to bid him good morning and farewell.  Strange really.

Beardown Man on Dartmoor - Bronze Age

This next shot shows that there was a bit of a breeze blowing:

The River Lyd near Widgery & Brat Tor on Dartmoor

A very murky morning.  Missing the sun.  Tramped along the River Lyd which was flowing well from the recent rain.

I'm rather pleased with this one:

River Lyd on Dartmoor

Tavistock Goose Fair 2014 - The Funfair Returns

It comes around quickly doesn't it?  No sooner does the yellow grease chalk marks fade from the pavements, they are renewed for the Goose Fair stallholders again.

As before we shied away from Goose Fair proper (unlike the rain), except for spinning around the temporary one-way systems in Tavistock on a mad dash to taxi offspring from one destination to another, fortified with en route pasties.

No, we waited until the weekend before venturing into the world of bright colourful lights spinning around airbrushed images of 1980s movie stars and accompanied by musak and robotic DJ invitations to ride.

It seemed quiet this year...

Still, out came the tripod, camera and anorak for a few more photographs of blurred lines:

Tavistock - Goose Fair Funfair next to River Tavy

Great Staple Tor and Roos Tor after the Rain

The heavy rain on Saturday morning scuttled off to London and left crisp, clear skies over Dartmoor. Perfect clouds and cloud shadows made for some interesting landscapes.

Great Staple Tor, Dartmoor

View from Roos Tor, Dartmoor

Black Tor near Meldon and the West Okement River

Just a quick one, or I'll be late for work.

The mist started to lift so I thought I'd bag a couple of tors this morning; Black Tor and Shelstone Tor.  Splendid they were too.  All took a bit longer than I thought, but then I found lots to photograph.

These are literally thrown up here with a 10 second post production:

Anyone spot the 9 stop ND?

Tavy Cleave and the Start of Autumn on Dartmoor

A brisk walk up to Nat Tor at Lane End resulted in a few meagre shots of a meagre tor.  Descending into the bottom of Tavy Cleave was a lot more interesting.  I got to try out a new neutral density filter (9 stops) so that I can get long exposures in daytime.  Ideally, it would be better done with great quantities of river water gushing over the rocks.  Choosing one of the driest Autumns on record was not perhaps the best time for this, but hey ho.

I think a return visit is required when normal weather resumes.

Tanzania - Mobile Camping Safari in the Serengeti

I wanted to share our experiences camping on Safari, so have included excerpts from an article I've written.  Hope it's not too cheesey for high brows.

Our Light Mobile Camping Safari began at Ilboru Lodge in Arusha where we were briefed and introduced to our crew: led by Hassani whose knowledge and enthusiasm was inspiring, aided by Anthony, Goodluck the cook and William, a Maasai Warrior whose job it was to keep us safe.

We set off towards the Ngorogoro Conservation Area, stopping at a small supermarket to stock up on a few drinks for the evenings, and charcoal.  Goodluck, the cook, needs plenty of charcoal for cooking and ‘making bread’ in the Serengeti.  “Bread?”  In the Serengeti?  How cool is that?

Day 1 – Ngorogoro Crater

No wildlife documentary can prepare you for seeing this breathtaking natural wonder; the world’s largest unbroken caldera, it is about 20 km across, 600m deep and home to about 25,000 animals.  The views as we descend into the crater are spectacular.  As soon as we break through the trees on the rim, we meet zebra, close enough to touch. 

We are driven in our two open-roofed jeeps giving unhindered views over the umber earth roads that meander through the lion-coloured grassland.  Lions!  Right there in front of you; we are all transfixed at the rawness of it.  The teenagers scramble over each other to get a closer view and photograph them.  It is profound and quite unlike any other experience.

We see all we could hope for: lions, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, gazelles, warthogs, ostriches and elephants.  The boys’ jeep insist they also saw a black rhino, but we only saw a black dot.  It is still a talking point even after the holiday.  

These animals are majestic and free and protected.  How incredibly lucky we are to see them.

Leaving the crater we head towards the Serengeti, stopping briefly at Oldupai Gorge.  “Oldupai” is the name of the wild sisal plant that grows in the gorge; ‘Olduvai’ is actually a misspelling.  This is the ‘Cradle of Mankind’ where fossil remains provide the most continuous known record of human evolution and is a fascinating look back to our ancestors who walked the plains long before us.

After a few hours of ‘African Massage’ along the bone-shaking ridged earth roads of the region, we arrive at our ‘private campsite’ near Seronera as the sun starts to set.  We help erect the four dome tents whilst Goodluck prepares dinner.

Our tents stand between two beautiful umbrella acacias that hold what look like small bundles of hay, but which turn out to be weaver bird nests.  The setting is stunning and we eat our dinner as the sounds close in with the darkness.  In our beds we can only imagine which animals make which sounds.  The distant deep “eeyuh!” of lions, however, is unmistakable, and sends shivers of excitement and happiness down the spine.

Day 2 Central Serengeti

A 6:30am start (“You can sleep when you’re dead!” was my mantra to the seemingly sleep-deprived teenagers) ensured we saw the golden sunrise.  Watching it through the iconic shape of the umbrella acacia tree gave us a quintessentially African start to the day.  

Sausages, eggs and toast with tea, coffee and juice fortified our bodies for a day’s game viewing.

Almost straight away we saw four male lions dozing in the sun (perhaps their nocturnal calling wasn’t as distant as I thought).  More and more amazing sightings followed; hippos, giraffes, elephants, gazelles, antelopes, more lions, a serval cat and even a pair of cheetahs that crossed in front of us.  One of them even stopped and looked back at us; we nearly knocked each other out trying to capture that look on camera before it sauntered off.  Magic.

Back to camp for a lunch of delicious homemade vegetable pizza (yes pizza, with bread baked by Goodluck in his camping oven which is actually a metal suitcase).  We rest before the afternoon game-drive.  The children sit and play cards whilst we chat, read and write journals.  The Maasai call this area “Serengit” meaning “Endless Plains”.  It’s not hard to see why.  I see Thomson Gazelles from my camp chair amid the grassland that stretches off into the distance, dotted with acacia trees and distant silhouettes of giraffe.  The temperature is warm with a light breeze; a perfect interlude.

A highlight of the day for me was having a shower.  I cannot deny that Serengeti game-drives are dusty and so it was with relish that I stood in a canvas cubicle on wooden slats whilst washing off the grime.  Emerging from the canvas, squeaky clean and dressed in only a towel and sandals in the middle of the Serengeti is a joy to be had.

Our evening game-drive was very special.  We came upon a dead gazelle high up in a tree; closer viewing revealed a leopard sitting nearby.  Not something you see every day.

Day 3 Through the Serengeti

A giraffe ambles around the perimeter of the camp as we talk about the night sounds over breakfast.  Soon it is six giraffe that lollop among the acacias as we strike camp and head north on our morning game-drive.  We see zebras, topi, gazelle and elephants.  Lots of them.  We are close enough to photograph their eyelashes and compare shots.

We have a picnic lunch near a hippo pool.  Hippos create “low oxygen pools” by essentially emitting vast quantities of dung into the pool.  The burbling, puffing and grunting are mesmerising for a while until your sense of smell declares that you’ve seen enough.

Back on the journey north we see increasing densities of zebra and wildebeest.  The grass is greener and acacias flourishing.  The rains have come early to the northern Serengeti which means the great migration has stalled and returned back from Kenya into Tanzania.  It is an affect of global warming apparently.

We set up camp at a private site near Lobo.  We see no other people except us.  We sit around the camp-fire sipping cold beer that never tasted so good.  

Day 4 – Northern Serengeti to Kenya

Our morning game-drive starts before the sun erupts from behind the hills.  We wear fleeces over our safari clothes for warmth but the air is light and refreshing.  We drive around a hill and into the low golden beams of first sunlight.  They pull long shadows from the acacia trees and light up the zebras in the grass like spotlights.  

The landscape is undulating with acacias everywhere.  Granite outcrops (kopjes) punctuate the hills, their smooth giant boulders catch the light like beacons.  Low humps of granite poke through the grasses, smooth and dark, like giant hippos ducked under the Earth.

Our second game-drive takes us around the hills that edge a massive plain.  The landscape is just so big.  The views are awe inspiring; we feel like we’re in the middle of the best documentary programme on Earth.

Near the border we see hundreds of wildebeest crossing a small river.  They run through the water and then trot and walk into the bush making ‘gnu’ noises.  Being able to witness this little piece of the Great Migration feels such a privilege.

Sitting around the camp-fire that night, William our Maasai Warrior Guide talks to us about his family and the way of life of the Maasai people.  We chat, exchange stories and absorb our surroundings. 

The Serengeti feels like the birthplace of Mankind and being there set off a resonance deep within me that can only be described as being a bit like home-coming.  I feel a need to return.

Leaving the Serengeti was difficult.  Even though we were tired and rather dusty, I couldn’t bear the idea of not seeing these animals and landscapes every day.  We departed for a few days of relaxation on Zanzibar aboard a 14 seater plane, taking off from the gravel airstrip at Lobo; a mini-adventure in itself.  

Tanzania and Mount Meru - Altitude, Exertion and Exhileration

August 13th 2014 saw the Collingwoods and Colleys start the Mount Meru climb in Tanzania.  We were superbly guided and aided by The African Walking Company who were exceptionally good.

We walked through a variety of climate zones on our ascent, including the famous fig-tree arch:

The Famous Fig Tree Arch on Mount Meru Trail

I will write elsewhere in more detail about the whole trip, but in essence we climbed 9000 feet over two and a bit days, trudging constantly uphill with increasing gradient for about 12 miles.  Summit day started at midnight, setting off in moonlight and head torches at 1am climbing the last 3500 feet on loose ash scree and rock.

It was very hard.  There I said it.  I was struggling with Altitude Sickness from the previous day and was losing my battle with breathlessness, splitting headache, exhaustion and awful nausea.  As was Bella who also suffered horribly.  Needless to say we had all contents of our stomachs and bile reserves violently removed from our bodies at regular intervals whilst climbing.  Singularly, the hardest thing I have ever done.

However, having said that, there are two things that made it worthwhile.  The first is knowing that we all achieved it.  The second is the view at sunrise to the east.

I defy anyone to see what we did, even exhausted, and not be moved to tears at the most beautiful and welcome sight of the day dawning against the silhouette of Kilimanjaro; the last stars still hanging over it.

These photos were taken by Liz and Rob whose photographic skills I am grateful for sharing:

Sunrise over Kilimanjaro from Mount Meru

Sunrise from Mount Meru looking east to Kilimanjaro

The views from the top were incredible.  We were so very high above the clouds, and when a gap appeared, you could see some the plains stretching off in tiny detail 100 km off into the distance.

View from Mount Meru after Sunrise

Mount Meru Volcanic Ash-cone

The descent was long (another 8 hours down to Miriakamba Hut) and wobbly on the knees, but the Altitude Sickness started to recede and was replaced by a silent pride.

Josephine & Coll Descending Mount Meru

I must personally thank Coll as well as Florence and Simon from the African Walking Company.  I simply would not have been able to summit without them.

Sundown at Mawgan Porth, Cornwall

Spent a couple of days at Mawgan Porth, at The Scarlet hotel - a fabulous hotel for 'Grown-Ups'.  I rediscovered the simple pleasure of swimming alone in an infinity pool and chasing your own 'bow wave' as you swim...

A sip of Jameson's on ice and watching the sunset - not a bad way to end the day:

Sunset at Mawgan Porth, Cornwall

Cityscapes, More London and the Fabulous Borough Market

Spent a few hours in London yesterday fiddling with my a new camera whilst hunting down some good abstracts and cityscapes.  Hot and sticky in the city.

I love this office building at London Bridge:

More specifically, looking up from underneath:

Then of course, there is "More London" further down the river.  We found a great healthy eatery (Leon) with another cool up-view:

And another shot to noodle your noggin:

And finally, Borough Market; a favourite place of mine.  I wander through trying to persuade myself that I'm not hungry whilst looking up at the roof, arches and paraphernalia of London's underside.  It makes me think of Nick Harkaway's brilliant book "Angelmaker" and Joe Spork's domain.