Features
The Features section is an ever so exciting collection of thoughts and stuff on long distance walking.
Alternatively, it is where we shove all the stuff that simply doesn't fit anywhere else, like some sort of horrible leaking bucket.
Take your pick.
Which walk should I do?
Published 7 July 2019
Every now and then, someone emails me to ask which walk they should do. Now there’s an open ended question, I think, because it totally depends on who you are and what you like. And if you fall into one these categories, you’ll find your answer here! And if you don’t fall into one of these categories, you might not.
Will the real length of the Pennine Way, please stand up?
Published 2 June 2019
When is a 268 mile long walk, not actually 268 miles long? When it’s the Pennine Way!
The 700th post on Rambling Man
Published 31 March 2019
When I celebrate a milestone, it’s usually walking related. But the other day I spotted that I was about to hit a moment in history of this site. The 700th post on Rambling Man.
The Rambling Man Review of 2018
Published 23 December 2018
Tis the time when we look back. To think what was. And what perhaps should have been. And what a roller coaster of a year it was. And there was some walking done too.
The Mam Tor bus stop
Published 16 December 2018
A hill that has its own bus stop. Although don’t go waiting for any buses to serve it.
The new and improved Planning a Walk section!
Published 20 October 2018
What’s new in the Planning a Walk section, I hear you ask? As well as "where have you been then?" And no, it can’t be both new and improved…
Pointless National Trail bagging stats!
Published 29 July 2018
Collecting National Trails like you would a Pog? Or a Pokemon? No? Oh well.
Driving to the Lake District and back in a day
Published 24 June 2018
Proving to myself that I can visit the Lakes for a day and be back for bed time.
If you love green signposts, you’ll love the Peak and Northern Footpaths Society
Published 6 May 2018
Dotted around the North West and North Midlands, the Peak and Northern have been helping walkers find their way for over a century.
At the end of the Southern Upland Way
Published 25 March 2018
What will you find at the end of the Southern Upland Way when you get there?
Living on OL1
Published 25 February 2018
It was incredibly exciting to realise that my house is on OL1, the Ordnance Survey’s first Outdoor Leisure map.
At the end of the East Highland Way. And the start of the Speyside Way.
Published 11 February 2018
To Aviemore, where you’ll find a simple sign and a toilet block.
The problems with long distance walking when you have young children
Published 4 February 2018
Is there a reason I haven’t walked a particular trail? Yes, absolutely. But that’s no indication on the quality of the the trail.
At the end of the West Highland Way, and the start of the East Highland Way
Published 28 January 2018
The point at Fort William where two walking trails with similar names, meet and say hello to each other.
Up a hill with nowhere to go
Published 21 January 2018
Get to the top, and launch yourself off into the wind.
Pointless Wainwright bagging numbers
Published 7 January 2018
Random numbers put on a page, about Wainwrights, and all for no particularly good reason.
Wainwrights in Numbers, 2017
Published 27 December 2017
Let’s all look at graphs that show how well I’ve been doing with my fellbagging in the Lakes!
Patterdale Village Store
Published 19 November 2017
There’s a shop that is an important one in the world of Wainwright bagging. It’s not a massively flashy shop, nor is it one that is particularly large in size. But size and image aren’t everything.
Bowden Bridge Car Park (or the absurdity of high car parking prices)
Published 22 October 2017
At least you won’t be bothered by cars when you pay homage to the Kinder Tresspassers.
Busing around the Lake District
Published 16 August 2017
If you’re a walker and in the Lakes, the bus is a great way to get to your fell of choice. Unless you want to get to Kentmere anyway.
An chapel with a view
Published 21 July 2017
A small chapel on a hill in Brittany. Just what you want at the end of a holiday.
You’re going the wrong way
Published 18 July 2017
France’s walking routes offer simple technique for telling people they’re going the wrong way.
A Grande Randonnée on your doorstep
Published 12 July 2017
Unexpectedly finding a major walking trail going right past your holiday home.
To Walk Is To Live
Published 7 June 2017
Put your best foot forward, and enjoy your journey once more.
Less than three hours to Patterdale
Published 10 May 2017
When you live not far away, better make the most of it.
Is the YHA still a friend to walkers?
Published 8 March 2017
With YHA deciding to withdraw a number of rural bunkhouses and camping barns from its network recently, does it still want to be somewhere supporting the great outdoors?
Which walking trail is the least direct one you can walk?
Published 1 March 2017
We’ve done the calculations, so if you want to know which the most, or indeed least walking route is, you can find out.
How far would the crow have to fly to get from one end of the Thames Path, to the other?
Published 22 February 2017
Finding out just how direct – or not – the Thames Path actually is.
When is a walking trail “done”?
Published 15 February 2017
When do you class walking route as “done”? It’s a question that was firmly on my mind as I sat on a train heading home a few hours after arriving at the western end of the Thames Path,
2016: A Year In Walking
Published 21 December 2016
It’s December and that can only mean one thing: a walking related review of the year.
A bad year for Wainwrights?
Published 14 December 2016
By pointlessly plotting the number of Wainwrights I have walked per year, I have spotted a link in the years I have bagged the least,
Updating the Planning a Walk section for 2016
Published 19 October 2016
Links, buses, pubs, shops and more; everything gets a full check in the annual review of the Rambling Man ‘Planning a Walk’ section.
The Coast to Coast National Trail
Published 12 October 2016
There’s a campaign to upgrade the Coast to Coast to National Trail status, and it probably can’t come too soon.
Is it safe to walk alone? (The answer is yes!)
Published 21 September 2016
It’s a question that gets asked a lot. Is it safe to go walking on your own? The answer is an absolute emphatic yes!
Who would sit on a bench like this?
Published 14 September 2016
Sometimes you just want to rest on a bench. But are all benches actually designed for sitting on?
At the start of the Pennine Way
Published 7 September 2016
What will greet you when you arrive at the start of the Pennine Way in Edale.
The Rambling Man Summer Break
Published 20 July 2016
There’s not going to be much happening here over the summer of 2016, and this is why…
Aching feet
Published 1 June 2016
If you see someone hobbling down the street, it might be be after a recent trip on the Trespass Trail.
Beware the flying sausage
Published 18 May 2016
A walk on the London LOOP gives an excuse to pay homage to Grange Hill.
