The Derwent Valley Skyline is a demanding Dark Peak circuit in the Peak District National Park, linking Ashopton, Crook Hill, Alport Castles, Alport Moor, Bleaklow Stones, Bleaklow Head, Featherbed Moss, Margery Hill, Outer Edge, and Back Tor. A 46–50 km moorland expedition with relentless navigation, bogs, peat hags, groughs and featureless terrain, it tests endurance across one of the UK’s most remote-feeling upland landscapes.

Helvellyn via Striding Edge and Swirral Edge in the Lake District, starting from Glenridding and climbing Birkhouse Moor before tackling one of the most iconic ridges in the UK. A perfect sunshine day taking in Helvellyn, Catstye Cam, Red Tarn, High Crag and Nethermost Pike, with time to pause, scramble, and soak in the views. A relaxed finish with a stop at Red Tarn and a scenic descent via Glenridding Common.

A day in the Wasdale valley exploring Scafell Pike and its surrounding fells. Fog forced a change of plan as Lords Rake vanished into cloud, redirecting the route through Mickledore. From there the day unfolded across Scafell Pike, Broad Crag, Ill Crag and Great End, blending quiet boulder fields with busy summit mayhem. Unexpected company, clear skies, and shifting conditions turned a planned scramble into a full mountain wander through some of the most iconic terrain in the

A wild day in the Lake District starting from Wasdale Head taking in Pillar, Scoat Fell, Steeple and Red Pike, including a turned-back attempt on a High Level Route near Looking Stead. The day ended with an exciting descent via the steep and loose Dore Head Screes and return to Wasdale Head Inn.

Circular hike from Crowden taking in the ethels Featherbed Moss, Black Chew Head, Black Hill, White Low. Also bags 3 trigs including Hey Edge. A summer-like day in April in the far north of the Peak District.

The Dambusters Challenge was long, committing, and intimidating, mapped in winter for “maybe June.” Nine hours later, 37 km and 1180 m of ascent done. From steep climbs to calm reservoirs, quiet moors and shaped tors, what sticks isn’t the distance or climbs but the feeling: exploring new areas, sunshine on my skin, endless views, and that sense of being fully alive. That is what I remember most.

After weeks of grey skies, a sunny day in the Peak District was too good to waste. Starting from Whaley Bridge, this walk delivered two more Ethels, a beautifully positioned trig on Sponds Hill, a shiny toposcope pointing to distant peaks, and an intense standoff with four very large cows. The only thing missing? The elusive Ladder Hill trig.

Blue skies, brutal gusts, and the stubborn streak that carried me through nearly 8 hours of the Edale Skyline.

A solo circular walk from Grin Low to Oliver Hill, featuring Solomon’s Temple, panoramic views, spontaneous route changes and the quiet freedom of hiking alone.

Clockwise Edale Skyline in January was a choice. 31.6 km, 1,306 m, 3°C (feels like -4), five hours of fog and savage wind with no views until km 20. Hope Station to Lose Hill wasn’t a warm-up, the Lose Hill trig was being hogged, Brown Knoll was bog theatre, and Kinder Low tried to exfoliate my face. Somehow it turned into a PR by 3 minutes. Unplanned. Unhinged. Loved it.

Six months earlier, I booked a place above a pub. When I arrived, I realised I hadn’t booked a room but the entire second floor of a 17th-century pub. Alone. After very little sleep, I set off at 07:20 on an endurance round that depended on a bus timetable I thought I’d researched properly. The day brought brutal wind, poor decisions, unsettling surprises, and a finish that nearly left me seven miles from my car. Somewhere in all that, I climbed 17 peaks.

A fog soaked November hike in the Peak District that turned bad weather into atmosphere. I set off from Tittesworth Reservoir and climbed the Ethel Gun, then wandered across the Roaches and over to Hen Cloud. Mist hid the world and revealed the landscape in a new way. Drizzle, silence and rock shaped the day, proving that visibility may disappear, but imagination and wonder certainly do not.

A violent-wind, bright-sky day in the Peak District ticking off four new Ethels: Mt Famine, South Head, Eccles Pike and Chinley Churn. A route from Hayfield with cow stand-offs, Highland cows, an overgrown “path”, a missing trig ripped out by a farmer, and a winter-grade wind that felt more like February than late October. Finished cold, feral and satisfied. Still convinced the Peak District is my endurance training ground and still full of surprises.

After five years and 214 fells, the list ended on Lingmell in Wasdale, in violent wind that tried to turn us back. It wasn’t the calm finale I imagined, but it felt exact. Above the worst of the wind the views opened: every chapter of the journey in one frame. I ran the last metres to the cairn and then synchronicity struck. The same two people I met three weeks ago arrived to finish their 214 Wainwrights journey at the exact same minute.

Fog, sunlight, and self-belief on the Edale Skyline. 32 km of calm focus, one sandwich, and a finish I never thought possible - 6h 58 min

A perfect Wasdale morning turned into one of my most memorable hikes yet. I abandoned my 9 km plan within minutes, wandered to Burnmoor Tarn in total silence, faced down two herds of cows 🐄🙈, and climbed Slight Side & Scafell. By pure chance, four of us hit our 213th Wainwright together 🤯. Sunshine, summit banter, and spooky coincidences made it feel like destiny. Some hikes tick boxes but this one made memories. 💚

Trip #8 of 2025 took me back to Wasdale, my favourite valley, for a solo climb of Yewbarrow. From the steep grassy nose that everyone says is horrible (I enjoyed it), to the scramble at Great Door, to the easy grassy ridge, the fell felt like a compact adventure. The real surprise was Stirrup Crag - a descent that looked fine from above but delivered two airy downclimbs. Calm in the moment, reflective afterwards, Yewbarrow proved that small fells can pack big drama.

Whetstone Ridge, Highland cows, and a surprise COM- two Ethels, a trig, and a perfectly timed Peak District adventure before the rain.

The Eastern Fells are officially complete! In true Mira style, it took an 11-hour ‘fell shift,’ 9 summits, and one phantom path disaster at Blea Cove that had me crawling on all fours and losing my glasses. The day brought sunshine, relentless heat, and the rare miracle of zero wind on every top. I crossed Striding Edge and Swirral Edge, lounged on Catstye Cam with a cheese sandwich, and wrapped up with fish and chips at Glenridding. Just four Wainwrights left - the finale is

This was my 7th trip to the Lakes this year and clearly, I can’t stay away. Day 1 was a mellow evening climb up Troutbeck Tongue, my last of the Far Eastern Fells, with rain on the drive giving way to sunshine, blue skies, and a pint by the water. Day 2 was a contrast: ridge views from Hartsop Above How, buzzards circling above, and a grassy plateau on Ullscarf. Two fells, two chats with inspiring older hikers, and another area completed.