The Pentland Five Peaks Route
These images document a hike across the Pentland Hills Ridge, covering the five summits Turnhouse Hill, Carnethy Hill, Scald Law and East and West Kip.
“When the mountains call, I must go.”
This phrase above I hear often, so often in fact it has indeed become a cliche, though I’m sure it still means a lot to many adventurous folk. It instills hope and excitement. There’s this idea and truth around many wildernesses that we can set off and become lost. Up, up we go and then there at your feet are paths that lead far and wide. Here and there, we can walk in circles through forests, over rivers and up to the highest summits where we look out over everything.
Here at the oceans edge I feel as though I am at the edge of everything. There’s no more steps to take nor paths to follow. You can only skirt the edges of a beast that cannot be tamed. It humbles me and often I find myself more at peace down by the beach. Though I am happier in the woods and hills I find that this invisible barrier that stops me from walking and well stops me from going anywhere. I am forced to take it slow, listen and observe.
The waves rise and fall.
The sand sweeps and sways away in every direction, back towards the mountains that call out from the distance.
Birds call out, diving beneath the surface and circling the sky.
Dogs run and play just the same as the kids, bare foot in the sand.
The wind runs out into the open ocean to where I can’t follow.
Here at the edge of everything I am humbled more than I am at the base of any mountain fore out there I cannot stand nor finding my bearings. Out there I will fall slowly into an abyss from where I cannot ascend. There is no summit, no start nor end from where I can climb my way too. No forest to run and find shelter beneath. Out there past the edge of everything I am exposed and vulnerable.
I am very excited to be working on a project for Wayks Berlin over the next couple of months. Even since before I started photography I had an obsession with backpacks. They made me feel like I was going on an adventure or setting out on an expedition. I had a rather vivid and far off imagination. When I began pursuing photography, backpacks became a necessity and they had to be big. I took every ounce of gear I could take even though I didn’t need it.
Now I’m older and hopefully more wiser I require less. Not just for photography but also from life. I consumed so much that looking back on it I see how much waste I created, not only with money but with backpacks. Think of all the air miles, plastic wrappings, materials used and thrown away. Some bags I’d keep for a couple of weeks and move on to the next one.
Now I pursue a much more sustainable lifestyle and for a longtime I’ve been searching for a backpack that I can use for everything but that is also sustainably made. I’ve been aware of WAYKS for a couple of years now but it wasn’t until I reached out to them that I realised the potential behind their product. One backpack that can be used for everything from hiking, backpacking, street photography, picnics and daily commuting. It does everything and from my first unboxing I can tell that they have thought of everything.
Over the next couple of months I will be using this bag for everything. I’ll be taking it around the city and into the hills in the hope that it will turn into the only backpack I need to use ever again.
Fog is mysterious. It’s often seen as something that shrouds us, misguides us and leaves us feeling lost. It is dreary and claustrophobic to many but not me. I have always found it enticing and exciting. You can imagine yourself anywhere in the world now that the landscape has been painted over in shades of white. Here in the Peak District, when I was younger, the forests and woodland turned into the great pine forest of the Pacific North West. The hills morphed into Icelandic cliff tops and Highland fells. It allowed me to escape. It still does.
With all the uncertainty, bad news and...well everything that leaves you feeling worried about the future I’ve found that the early morning fog comforts me. I can escape to a new place again and imagine that it’s all gone away. I’ve always been introverted and need my time outside to recharge but ironically because of the worlds lockdown, outside has become busy. Early morning brings calm. The birds sing and everything is still. I can sit and listen to the world. I can let the worry drift off into the fog to get lost, hoping that it can’t find it’s way back to me.
I think that as we grow older we throw away our childish comfort blankets and replace them with something new. For me it’s the outside, the silence and the magic that the fog brings. I’m sure there are many other forms of “comfort blankets” and I think it’s important to find one to escape the chaos that is life. One that fills you with hope and happiness. One that calms you and allows you to breathe slow, listen and learn.
Here on this walk I had no plan. I set off up towards Lose Hill from Mam Tor but came to a stop only half way to Back Tor. I sat. I sat for about 15 minutes just looking out over the valley floor. Not only to clear my head but to remind myself that I am lucky and so often take it for granted. I watched the morning fog lift slowly up from the town beneath to the hill tops. I let the worry go with it.
As photographers we are all about chasing light, finding the right light and watching the magic unfold. I’ve found that as long you’re excited to shoot then the light doesn’t matter. Enjoy the moment and capture how you feel. These were taken just on the cusp of golden hour, I was simply excited to be out.
So I spent the day attempting to finish off university work. I had envisioned a sunrise hike before people were out for there one walk a day but failed to inspire myself out of bed. I thought I wasted the day. I spent most of it staring blankly at an essay that wouldn’t write itself and procrastinating. But a sunrise walk was just the thing to clear my head and get the good vibes flowing.
We are lucky to live in the countryside. We can escape to quite places and listen to the silence whilst others can’t. These images were taken on a 12 and a half mile walk from our home to Goytsclough Quarry and back. Our legs were tired by the end but our heads were clear. The silence that has been created from this period of isolation is honestly lovely to listen to. I hope to those that see this are staying safe and are well.
This time, this moment in our lives will be written in the history books. Our kids and grand children will learn about what we lived through. I hope they learn that we looked after each other and once everything had been sorted we continued to work together. We continued to live simply and look after the planet we grew up on.
Hope put aside I hope to those reading this that you are safe and well. I hope you’re living simply and looking after each other in these fearful days.
A selection of images from a simple walk through Hollrood. I’ve neglected these walks of late.
“It’s been dark and stormy for what feels like weeks. Today alone I’ve seen blue sky, snow covered hills, stormy looking clouds and raging rivers. Perhaps that’s just my commute but the world, or should I say the small part that I reside in feels different. It feels wild and unpredictable. Almost as if nature has decided to show us what she is capable of.”