About me

I’m a keen recreational adventurer. That’s a very old picture of me above. I’d just reached the summit of the Matterhorn whilst climbing with two friends in the 80s. It was a very different activity from my job with the BBC, in television sound, in London.

Technology and mountains have been passions all my life, so GPS navigation is a good fit. I got my first GPS unit around 2000 and GPS devices have been my primary navigation aids since 2009.

Scouts, school and university saw early forays to the hills. Whilst studying for a BSc in Electronics and Electrical engineering at Loughborough University I went on a hang gliding course. I loved it. I bought a second-hand ‘Moyes Mega’ glider with a friend and we threw ourselves off our local hills without knowing what we were doing. The glider broke before we did and flying went on hold.

Weekends were often spent climbing and hiking in the UK mountains. Holidays featured long summer trips to the Alps and winter weeks in the North West Highlands. Other trips abroad included the Inca Trail in Peru, a little scramble up Pico Tesorero in the rugged Spanish Picos and Aneto, the highest peak in the Pyrenees.

The Arctic Scottish whiteouts revealed inaccuracies in my route-finding and helped hone my traditional navigation skills. I would have liked a GPS unit after getting knocked unconscious by lightning just after summiting the Aiguille du Chardonnet via the Forbes Arête. That is an experience I won’t forget.

In 1989 I returned to flying and learned to paraglide and have been flying ever since.

Good navigation makes these activities safer and more enjoyable. Having done them most of my life, I’ve got navigation basics gripped. Map and compass were the main tools for many years. However, phones and GPS units are very good indeed. I started using a moving OS map on an iPhone 3G in 2009. Since then the paper map has spent nearly all its time in the bag.

I enjoy knowing exactly where I am whatever the weather and have acquired a small collection of different GPS devices. I know my way around assorted digital maps and a variety of associated navigation tools.

It’s hard to imagine getting lost these days. GPS makes navigating so easy…

Keen to spend more time outdoors I retired early from the BBC and moved to Kendal on the edge of the Lake District. A wife and two children put up with me and occasionally join me in the hills.

I’m still hiking and paragliding and in recent years have been enjoying longer multi-day backpacks through the hills. The Fisherfield 6 mountains in Scotland were a good outing. This hill-horseshoe is home to the most remote Munro, A’ Mhaighdean. Known for it’s good views, we camped on the top and enjoyed great views in every direction.

Wild camping the 96 miles of the West Highland Way made for a relaxing week and keen for a wilder experience I have the 230 mile Cape Wrath Trail in my sights. Might have to head for the GR20 in Corsica too. That looks sunnier 🙂

I hope this site helps you enjoy your own adventures.