Reviews for 'Out There'

The first reviews of my new book have appeared and I'm delighted as they are very positive.

Nick Drainey in The Scots Magazine gives a good overview of the book and finishes by saying 'Townsend has achieved his aim of inspiring others with this book and if you don’t feel like going on a walk – no matter how long or short – after reading it, you never will.'

Alex Roddie, who I was very pleased to see at the book launch in Inverness last week, writes on his website 'I have read several books by this author but I think this is one of his most diverse and enjoyable reads yet – perhaps also his most important ....... the result is magnificent'.

Alex also contacted me with a few questions. My answers are appended to his review.

In Outdoor Focus, the journal of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, of which I am a member, Roly Smith describes the book as a 'highly readable anthology' and 'highly recommended'.

Harvey British Mountain Maps

My thoughts on Harvey British Mountain Maps have just appeared on the TGO website. http://www.tgomagazine.co.uk/gear-news/harvey-british-mountain-maps/

Interview in The Scots Magazine

There's an interview with me in the April issue of The Scots Magazine about my new book Out There. A note on Garry Fraser, the interviewer, next to a picture of me sitting on an igloo, says 'music is his forte but he'll write about anything he's asked'! Even strange men with igloos it seems.

Sunshine, Stars & Snow: A High Camp in the Cairngorms

Camp under the moon and stars

Last week the Scottish Highlands were glorious, the weather perfect. Snow and sunshine and stars, the mountains at their most magnificent. Conditions were ideal for a high camp so a friend, Mark, and I climbed up onto the Cairngorm Plateau then tramped through the snow to the northern slopes of Ben Macdui where we camped at dusk looking out across the Lairig Ghru to the tremendous skyline of Cairn Toul, Sgor an Lochain Uaine and Braeriach.

Stob Coire an t-Sneachda

As the last sunset pinks and reds faded to deep purple and black the first stars appeared and then a bright waxing moon, almost half-full. A gentle cool breeze swept over the snow. I spent several hours outside watching the stars and the mountains and the snow. To the north a hazy white curving cloud became the Northern Lights, a more subtle display than many but still magical.

A touch of the Aurora

Dawn came with a sudden burst of brightness as the sunshine hit the snow. Leaving the tents we climbed shady slopes that were still icy from the night’s freeze to the summit of Ben Macdui. To the south the glens were filled with cloud, the higher peaks poking through. We gazed and gazed before wrenching ourselves away and returning to camp.

Dawn view from the tent

View from Ben Macdui

Leaving our spectacular campsite was hard too but eventually we packed our gear and headed back across the white slopes. The mountains shone, the sun beat down, the snow began to soften. All too soon we were back at the car after a trip that will shine in our memories.

Braeriach & our camp

Windy & Thawing

The Cairngorms from Meall a'Bhuachaille, March 12

The Cairngorms from Strathspey, March 10

Frost and sunshine and snow dominated the early part of the last week, the days cold, crisp and clear. This all changed as the weekend approached. Temperatures rose, the snow shrank, clouds descended, the days became mild and wet and windy.

Wanting a hill walk despite the change in the weather two of us went up Meall a'Bhuachaille above Glenmore, always a good walk on days when conditions are unsettled. There were still large snow drifts across the path in places but most of the snow had gone and what was left was soft. The ground was saturated. As we climbed the wind picked up and picked up until it was threatening to knock us off our feet as we reached the summit. I recorded speeds up to 42mph on my anenometer. 30mph is when the wind starts to affect walking in my experience. The temperature up here at 800 metres was +5C.








 

A brisk descent took us down the at times icy path to the shelter of the forest. We were only out three hours. It was enough. Next week the weather is forecast to return to sunshine and gentle winds. A longer venture beckons.

Descending from Meall a'Bhuachaille

Book Launch for 'Out There'

The Great Outdoors April Issue: Munros, Igloos & Daypacks

The Mamores

The April issue of The Great Outdoors has just been published. This year being the twentieth anniversary of my walk over the Munros and Tops I've written a piece on this plus descriptions of three long Munro-bagging days - the Mamores, the Ben Lawers Range and the South Glen Shiel Ridge. My backpacking column describes this February's ski and igloo trip while in the gear pages I review 14 daypacks plus The North Face Momentum Thermoball Hybrid Jacket. Also in the gear section Will Renwick tries 9 softshell jackets.

Elsewhere in this issue David Lintern walks from Capel Curig to Beddgelert in Snowdonia; Daniel Neilson takes part in the Original Mountain Marathon in the Scottish Borders; Sharon Brennan tells a moving story of climbing her first ever hill, Cat Bells in the Lake District, after a double lung transplant; Terry Adby goes trekking in the Annapurna region of Nepal; Carey Davies considers millstone grit during a stormy walk on Kinder Scout; Roger Smith describes the threat of a housing development in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and Jim Perrin celebrates Irvine Butterfields's wonderful book The High Mountains of Britain and Ireland, reminding me that it's too long since I looked at my copy.