Firstly . . .
. . . let me furnish you with a couple of quotes from an association you will probably have heard of called English Heritage:
‘We take the responsibilities of our different roles very seriously, whether as host to millions of visitors or conserving some of England’s finest historic sites and artefacts.’
Or how about this one:
‘We seek to be true to the story of the places and artefacts that we look after and present. We don’t exaggerate or make things up for entertainment’s sake.’
Lovely words. Shame they don’t adhere to them. It’s been reported in the Daily Telegraph, amongst other sources this week, that English Heritage deemed it necessary to carved the face of Merlin into the bedrock of Tintagel Castle.
(Photo: English Heritage)
Kernow Matters To Us (KMTU), an association dedicated to the preservation of Cornish history said,
“We are deeply shocked that the inappropriately named ‘English’ Heritage has installed a sculpture of Merlin in our Cornish Tintagel Castle.
‘This is nothing but ‘false’ history and diminishes our heritage. It is a disgrace. No doubt it will enhance tourist numbers for a season or two – but at the cost of further denuding the Cornish cultural and historical context of this location.’
You can read the Telegraph article here.
I don’t find the sculpture itself offensive. However, I don’t agree with what they have done. What about you?
Balancing on Blue . . .
The Kindle version of Balancing on Blue, my Appalachian Trail memoir, has been reduced in price for March only to celebrate the Appalachian Trail season. UK download is now just £3.99, or $4.99 if you live in the States. Click on the book for full details, reviews and ordering.
Talking of books . . .
. . . the new one by Chris Townsend called Out There – A voice from the wild has been released.
Drawing from more than forty years of experience as an outdoorsman, and probably the world’s best known long distance walker who also writes, Chris Townsend describes the landscapes and wildlife, the walkers and climbers, and the authors who have influenced him in this lucid and beautiful book – Book blurb.
I’ve not had a chance to read it although his previous offering Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles, detailing his Pacific Crest Trail hike, was a stonker. However, Alex Roddie has dived in already and you can read his review here.
Walking Blind
I sometimes get asked, in fact I get asked a lot, how do I, and others, walk several thousand miles to complete a thru-hike. Obviously it is difficult and many cannot comprehend attempting such an endeavour, let alone actually doing it.
In 1990, Bill Irwin became the first and only blind person to complete the Appalachian Trail without human assistance. Just one faithful friend, his dog called Orient.
Still think you can’t do a thru-hike?
Blind Courage is a movie based on this remarkable achievement.
Not using a Sawyer filter yet?
The people over at Sawyer must be pleased. According to Section Hiker survey, 39% of hikers now use a Sawyer Squeeze type filter. I’ve been using them since 2012, it’s a no brainer really.
Mountain Laurel Designs (MLD) expands their pack range . . .
Mountain Laurel Designs, the US based outdoor gear manufacturer, now offers all their packs in Cuben Fibre. Oops, sorry, Dyneema Composite Fabric as it’s now known. If Ron’s packs weren’t brilliant enough as they were, they’re now even better.
Dean Read and a waterfall . . .
Dean Read has taken one of his wanders around his favourite part of the world and visited Three Shire Heads and Shutlingsloe. As usual his camera gear got a decent work out as well, with some nice time lapses of the waterfalls at Three Shire Heads.
Alex times his trip to Scotland perfectly . . .
Alex Roddie just got back from a Scotish trip. We’ve had our fair share of the auroras boreales in the UK this winter, otherwise known as the northern lights. It’s not common to experience them on these shores and usually entails a trip as far north as we can get, namely north Scotland. However, they’ve crept down the country this year to everyone’s delight. Alex took this great shot at Stob Coire Claurigh in the Grey Corries.
A Welcome return from Stick . . .
Stick is back, in case you’d missed his videos. He’s and his hands full with family stuff, rightly so, but he’s posted a video.
Welcome back chap.