Book review: Life on the Mountains by Terry Abraham

Terry Abraham's films on Scafell Pike and Blencathra are much loved and highly successful and the third in his Lakeland trilogy, Helvellyn, is eagerly anticipated. Before that film appears this book about Terry and his life will be published. It's a magnificent coffee table book, packed with Terry's dramatic and beautiful photography. Life on the Mountains is due to come out on May 9. Signed copies can be ordered in advance here.

I first met Terry Abraham over seven years ago when he approached me about making The Cairngorms In Winter DVD (which makes a cameo appearance in the book). We've been good friends ever since and I knew many of the stories in this book. Quite a few were new to me however and further increased my admiration for him and the struggles he's had to achieve his goals.

The book is an autobiography, told by Terry to John Manning, who wrote the text. I don't know how much editing was done but John did it well, Terry's voice coming through loud and clear. Reading it I felt I was in a pub listening to Terry talking. This really is his story, and it's a powerful story too, emotionally wrenching, passionate, and devastatingly honest.

Despite setbacks including illness and injury Terry never loses sight of his dream. Once he has found his desire, to make the films, he doesn't let up. Reaching this point is difficult too, with career changes, tragedies and redundancy along the way. In the mountains Terry overcomes appalling conditions - there are some exciting and dramatic adventures - as he puts together his vision for the films. Many nights are spent camping high in the hills in all weathers to get the shots he wants. He tells how his approach developed from film to film as his experience grew, and how he selected the people, including myself, who appear in the films. He gives sympathetic portraits of  many of them, with a little gentle fun poked at some of us.

Terry's story is fascinating and inspiring. This lovely book with its superb photographs does it justice. I'm biased of course but this really is an excellent book that should appeal to everyone who loves Terry's films and everyone who loves the Lake District.

Film Review: Life of a Mountain: Blencathra by Terry Abraham

For over a year Terry Abraham has been working on the second in his trilogy of films on iconic Lake District mountains. The first one, Life of a Mountain: Scafell Pike, was a huge success, breaking viewing records on BBC4 and receiving enormous praise. Could Life of a Mountain: Blencathra live up to its predecessor? From clips I’d seen, and knowing how hard Terry was working and how inspired he was, I expected it to be at least as good. I was wrong. It’s much better. Terry has surpassed himself.

The film doesn’t receive its premiere (long sold-out) until May and Terry wants to keep much of it a surprise until then so there’ll be no spoilers here. After the premiere I’ll review it again and comment on some of the aspects that really delighted me. For now I’ll just say that there are indeed surprises – despite having seen clips there was much I wasn’t expecting – but at the same time it’s what could now be called a typical Terry Abraham film in that it has the majestic sweeping landscape shots and awe-inspiring time lapse sequences we’ve come to expect. In this film they are more impressive than ever with what seem like richer colours and more depth. There are some very effective aerial shots too. 

The film covers a year in the life of the mountain though this isn’t explicit. It’s something you realise gradually realise as the film progresses and the landscape slowly changes. There are many fascinating people in the film, mountain people and local people though overall the emphasis seems more on the first than in the Scafell Pike film. The score, again by Freddie Hangoler, is evocative and fits the filming perfectly.

Perhaps the highest praise I can give the film is that, having noted its two-hour running time, and not liking watching movies on the computer monitor that much, I thought I’d take a break half way but ended up watching it straight through as the time just flew by. The pacing of the film is just right, each sequence not too short or too long.

Without doubt this is Terry Abraham’s best film to date. I want to see it on a big screen now!

A Stormy Trip to the Lakes

Terry on Threlkeld Knotts watching the storm approach

Outside it’s snowing heavily. The wind is whistling round the house. All day the hills have been shrouded in cloud and rain has turned to drizzle then sleet then back to rain and finally, after dark, to snow. The world is wet. But not as wet as it was in the Lake District just a few days ago. I was down there for the TGO Awards event, held in Kendal in the very nice Burgundy Bar, but travelling that far I wanted, as in previous years, to have a day or two out on the fells. When Terry Abraham suggested we have a wild camp before the awards I readily agreed. 

The forecast as I travelled down to the Lakes by train was not promising. Storms were predicted. I met Terry in Keswick and we conferred over beer and food in the Dog and Gun. Terry wanted the camp to be somewhere he could film for his next big project, Life of A Mountain: Blencathra, and had suggested the summit of Clough Head right across the valley from that hill. However 65mph gusts were forecast for the summit plus dense mist. ‘Threlkeld Knotts is a good alternative’, said Terry, ‘lower but still with a good view of Blencathra and there are lots of little knolls for shelter'.

Clough Head disappearing into the clouds

So to Threlkeld Knotts we went on a dull cloudy morning. The higher fells were clear when we set off but the clouds soon covered them. Arriving on the summit we felt the first raindrops. A reasonably sheltered site was quickly found. Or so we thought. Tents up I went off in search of water. It took a while as I scoured dips and gullies for a stream. The rain was now hammering down but there was no flowing water. The wind was strengthening too and when I eventually gave up the search and filled the bottles from a dark pool half the water was whipped away by the wind as I poured it from a wide mouth bottle into the narrow necks of the larger containers.

Stumbling back to camp dripping with rain, clutching heavy bottles with numb fingers and knocked about by the wind I began to wonder if camping here was a good idea. My tent appeared, one side pushed in and out by the gusts. Terry was outside, filming with his phone. His heavier more solid tent was moving less but he said the vibrating flysheet was really noisy. In my tent I’d have been hit repeatedly by the fabric. I held up my anemometer. The wind was 25-30mph with gusts to 54mph. We decided to seek a lower site and wrestled the tents down and into our packs. We were only at 470 metres here so there wasn’t much lower to go before reaching fields and farms though. The wind was strengthening as we descended. A prospective site was considered during a brief lull. Then the big gusts returned. No go, we decided. A full retreat was in order. Terry made phone calls and a B&B was booked in Scales. It took over an hour to walk there in the storm. Down in the valley the wind was as strong as it had been on Threlkeld Knotts. We’d made the right decision.

Terry on the wet walk from Scales to the Blencathra Centre

Scales Farm Country Guest House was warm and dry and welcoming as was the White Horse Inn a few yards away where we went in search of dinner and beer. Outside the storm raged on. Come dawn and it had not calmed down. There would have been no views, no early morning magical light, just wind and rain. We’d missed nothing. I realised Terry hadn’t produced his camera once, the first trip I’d been on with him where he’d done no serious photography. That remained the case as we walked through the wind and rain to Threlkeld and then the Blencathra Centre, where Terry was to stay while he continued his film.

That afternoon the Head of the Centre, Tim, drove us to Kendal for the TGO Awards. The rain

poured on. We drove through floods on the roads. Another room indoors to change again. Then an evening talking to old and new friends, a gathering of outdoors people. The rain was forgotten. I’d been wearing two of the garments that won awards – they’d performed really well. (You can see the full Awards list here).

Then came a dry day and sunshine and I was on the train back north with a rucksack smelling from the sodden boots and socks it contained.

It’s been a year for wet and windy trips. This was the wettest and windiest.

And now the snow has come.

DVD Review: The Lake District Upper Eskdale by Terry Abraham

Upper Eskdale is the wildest and the most spectacular valley in the Lake District, at least in my opinion. And now my good friend Terry Abraham has made a video about it that’s just come out on DVD. The video features local mountain guide David Powell-Thompson on three walks in the area – day trips on Harter Fell and Hard Knott and a two day trip with a high camp on Esk Pike and Bowfell. 

As expected from Terry the Lake District looks spectacular with wide sweeping shots of the landscape and quite a few dramatic aerial views. The highlights are the beautiful dawn and dusk shots from the camp near Esk Hause but there are also splendid scenes of the lush greenness of the Lake District in summer on the Harter Fell walk and the chilly snowy landscape of Hard Knott in winter. In just three walks in one area every aspect of the Lake District fells is captured by Terry, showing the huge contrasts that occur during the year. 

David Powell-Thompson proves an amiable and knowledgeable companion as he describes the walks and the magnificent views from each summit along with wide-ranging comments covering geology, mining, local history, Sherpa Tensing, Beatrix Potter and more. He also goes bouldering on the Samson Stones and visits Charnley Crag Cairn.

For anyone who loves the Lake District this is a superb DVD that will bring back many memories and inspire you to visit the hills again. It’s also a joy for the increasing number of Terry Abraham fans and a worthy addition to his growing body of work. Highly recommended.

The DVD will be £14.99, available from the end of October from www.stridingedge.com and their Amazon UK store 'OutdoorsIndoors'.

Note: I am of course biased, having made two videos with Terry myself and appeared in his hugely successful Life of a Mountain: Scafell Pike – winter camping in Upper Eskdale in fact. That said, I think he is one of the most original current outdoor film makers and gives a cinematic feel to treasured landscapes and brings out their real glory. Having had nothing to do with this video whatsover it was a real pleasure to be able to watch it simply as a fan.

Backpacking in the Lake District DVD: Good Viewing for the Summer

Anyone planning a backpacking trip this summer might well find the DVD I made with Terry Abraham last summer useful, especially if you're not very experienced (those who are may well enjoy it for different reasons). The DVD features Terry's superb landscape videography as well as choosing camp sites, tent pitching, gear, route choice and more.

The DVD is available from Striding Edge.

Campsite in the Lakes during the making of the DVD

Today! 9pm. BBC 4. Terry Abraham's Life of a Mountain: Scafell Pike

Tonight the BBC is showing an abridged version of Terry Abraham's wonderful film about Scafell Pike (I admit to a slight bias - I'm in it, though only a short bit). TV reviewers who've seen it in advance have been raving over it, with praise from The Guardian, The Observer, The Times, The Radio Times, The Daily Telegraph and more. Here's a couple of sample quotes:

"With its sweeping cinematography and sonorous score, there's a touch of the art-house Koyaanisqatsi about this enchanting documentary"

Pick Of The Day  The Guardian

"A moving, poetic film ... a vivid portrait ..... gorgeous photography ... a celebration which exudes gladness"

Picks of the Day: Choice The Observer

The BBC are only showing half the film though. To see it in its full glory you need the DVD. And don't forget Terry's other films - Backpacking In The Lake District and The Cairngorms In Winter, both with me, and Helvellyn, with Mark Richards - which are all available from Striding Edge.

Terry Abraham's Scafell Pike Film on the BBC, January 14.

Out Now! Backpacking In The Lake District DVD ...... & a Box Set & Other Terry Abraham DVDs

Backpacking In The Lake District, the DVD that I made with Terry Abraham last summer, is available now from Striding Edge, price £14.99 (as are all the individual DVDs).

Also available is another new video from Terry: Helvellyn with Mark Richards, in which Mark goes on three walks on the mountain.

If you fancy both of the DVDs plus Terry's magnificent Life of a Mountain:Scafell Pike the three are available as a box set entitled The Magic of Mountains at £39.99. The Scafell Pike DVD is also available separately.

Finally, with winter coming Terry's first full-length film, The Cairngorms In Winter, which he made with me last year, could provide much inspiration.

Backpacking In The Lake District DVD Cover & Label Finalised

Terry Abraham has finished the designs for the cover of the DVD case and the DVD label for our next video. Out soon!

Coming Soon!

This time the rain came: filming Backpacking In The Lake District with Terry Abraham

Camp on Seathwaite Fell

Our luck with the weather had to end sometime. This was my third trip with Terry Abraham to film Backpacking in the Lake District. The previous two trips, involving five camps and seven days walking, (see posts for June 22 and September 6), had been in fine weather with much sunshine and warmth, no rain and little wind. We could film anywhere, sit outside in camp and sleep with the tent doors open. Indeed, we could have managed without tents at all (and Terry did use just a small tarp on the first trip). For this final trip it all changed.

View back down Grains Gill

 

We set off from Seathwaite to head up beside Grains Gill and Ruddy Gill to rejoin the route near Sprinkling Tarn. Clouds swept across the sky and there were hints of rain and only brief touches of sunshine. As we climbed the breeze changed to a cool gusty wind. 

 

Terry catches the quad copter after its flight

 

Tony assembling the quad copter

At Sprinkling Tarn we found Tony Hobbs and his friend Claire who’d passed us on the way up while Terry was filming. Tony had brought his quad copter, as I believe it’s called ('drone' is the popular name - Tony calls it a chopper). This was the first time I’d seen one of these devices though Tony had already done some work with Terry for the forthcoming Helvellyn with Mark Richards video with it. Demonstrating how the copter works Tony launched it into the air above the tarn. I was startled at how fast it shot into the sky and how quickly it was almost out of sight. I was also impressed at the views from the camera, relayed onto a screen, and how easily Tony could direct it. I was less impressed by the loud buzzing noise, like a giant wasp. I wouldn’t like to encounter this in the hills very often. I wonder what the local ravens, which were never very far away, made of it. 

The quad copter successfully brought to earth Tony and Claire set off for Styhead and descent back to Seathwaite. Terry and I headed on a faint sometimes boggy path across Seathwaite Fell in search of campsites and, hopefully, somewhere sheltered from the wind where we could record me talking about backpacking and the route. Campsites were soon located with grand views down Borrowdale and of the surrounding fells, especially Glaramara and Great End. The wind was gusty but not strong enough to be a concern. The hints of rain had so far come to nothing. We were not successful in finding anywhere to record where the wind wasn’t too noisy though (planes passing overhead didn’t help either) so we abandoned that idea. Just in time too as it started to rain as we returned to the tents and the wind began to strengthen. I recorded gusts up to 26mph before retreating under cover and getting the stove going. The rain and wind both increased over the next few hours with some ferocious blasts and heavy showers rattling the flysheet. I slept intermittently until late in the night when the wind eased and I fell more deeply asleep. 

Camp on Seathwaite Fell with Great End in the background

Waking at dawn I peered out to mist drifting past the tent and a fine drizzle falling. Everything was damp. At 600 metres we were just in the base of the clouds and the views came and went. We now had a plan for doing the recording – in a quiet room in the Rohan shop in Keswick! The wonders of mobile phones had enabled Terry to contact Rohan and arrange this from camp – we could after all see Keswick so a signal wasn’t that surprising. A quick breakfast and we packed up and headed down the steep slopes of Seathwaite Fell. The rain came on stronger and waterproofs were needed as was care not to slip on the wet grass and greasy rocks. Down in the valley we strode down the track to Seathwaite and then the road to Seatoller and the bus to Keswick. Dripping and damp we stumbled into the Rohan shop where hot mugs of coffee awaited us. Thanks folks! Two hours later our work was complete. Now Terry has all the editing and production work to do and then the video will be complete. It should be available later in the month.

View from the tent at dawn