Hello there

[rig]

Hello all

I'm Richard, from the southwest of England.

I started out backpacking, etc in the Scouts, who also introduced me to kayaking.

At University I took up climbing and continued that through my 20s along with backpacking trips.

Work as an IT consultant for a long time and managed to fit in lots of trips away to the UK's National Parks including lots of trips to Scotland. Trips to Europe including the Alps and eventually to Tasmania and New Zealand.

Nowadays I am a teacher we live 5 mils from the coast, ten miles from the surf and five miles from the Dartmoor National Park.

With a young family, trips are by necessity short and sweet. I am a strong advocate of the microadventure, an idea started by English adventurer Alastair Humpreys. If you've never tried them Id'd urge you to give them a go. A great way of getting an outdoor fix with minimal disruption to routine.

My next trip is just a week away, a summer solstice microadventure on Dartmoor with my son. This will be his first overnight trip and he can't wait. Nor can I!

Cheers for now

Richard

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Welcome to the site Richard!

[Bobo Uzala]

Hi Richard, nice to speak with friends from across the pond! Where is the highest point in England? Have you climbed Ben Nevis? Just wondering, what is the difference between the coast and the surf?

Cheers,

Bob

[rig]

Thanks for the comments chaps.

Bobo, to answer your questions, the highest hill in England is Scarfel Pike in the Lake District up in the Cumbria (NW England). In Walves the biggest hill is Snowdown in North Wales.

I've been up Ben Nevis quite a few times,my favourite route being via the Carn Mor Dearg whcih is a lovely steep and airy route. For mountain areas in the UK, I am a big fan of the Caingorns in Scotland. Wild and empty.

Where I live we are five miles away from the coast, but usually we don't get much surf here as the beaches face east and the prevailing winds (and swells) come in from the SW So, we only get surf on these beaches when there is an easterly gale or for epic winter swells which have enough energy to wrap around the headland (Start Point). For surf, I therefore usually drive over to one of the SW facing beaches, which usually have better waves and more reliable surf.

Anyhows, last week, my son and I spent the night of the Summer Solstice wild camping on Dartmoor. More on this later...

[Bobo Uzala]

Scotland is definitely on my bucket list, I mean... everyone's got to climb the Ben at least once, yes?! Now rig, isn't Snowdon the highest mountain in Britain - must you make an English/Welsh comparison,... lol - just kidding with you!

Slainte Va!