Search results for ""Mountain Media""

From Eric Robson’s Foreword: When Richard first mentioned this book to me and outlined the themes he hoped to address in it, I confess that I didn’t think he’d be able to carry it off. Surely we only ever scratched the surface of Alfred Wainwright’s complex character? Even after all the months of filming together, the passions that drove him remained locked in his private, silent world. Against that background Richard had surely set himself an impossible task. I was wrong. Richard has produced a book that’s entertaining and knowledgeable in equal measure. I should never have doubted him. It was, after all, the young Mr Else who persuaded AW to sup with the devil in the first place and against his better judgement agree to work with us television people. ***** It was the most unlikely of relationships. Britain’s most distinguished guidebook writer was in his late seventies and a young, inexperienced documentary film maker who was less than half his age. Yet Richard Else persuaded Wainwright out of the shadows and onto the nations television screens. In doing so, the highly reclusive Wainwright became the most unlikely of celebrities and his films with Eric Robson were amongst the most popular programmes on the small screen. Wainwright Revealed is not simply the inside story of those films - films that, Richard argues, did more than anything else to spawn today’s Wainwright industry. It also explores how, for the first and only time in his life, Wainwright agreed to work collaboratively with another person. Richard meticulously documents the 10 years they spent together and provides a new insight into AW’s achievement, his place in the tradition of guidebook writing and into a life that was essentially solitary. Richly illustrated with over 70 photographs (many seen here for the first time), Richard explores the forces that motivated Wainwright - forces which AW almost certainly did not fully understand. This book discovers a more complex individual than previously thought and is indispensable for both fans of Wainwright’s work and all those who enjoy exploring our fells, dales, moors, mountains and glens.

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Andrew Murray has been running since 2005 when he realised that it might be a good way to see a bit of the world. Since then he has been placed first overall in races in the Arctic, the Sahara, Outer Mongolia and the jungle, amongst others. But in 2010 he devised a challenge that put all his previous attempts in the shade - to run from Scotland to the Sahara in one continuous push with no rest days! It is 2,659 miles from John O'Groats at the northern tip of mainland Britain to Merzouga in Morocco and Andrew planned to complete the distance in 85 days. That's the equivalent of 100 marathons run end to end - and not a single day off to recover. With minimal support, and in the middle of winter, trying to run an ultra marathon every day was the challenge of a lifetime for Andrew. As a medic, Andrew knew exactly what that would do to his body...and it wasn't good news. Attempting to cram in a staggering 8,000 calories every day is extremely difficult and doesn't stop the body from beginning to break down. This book is the story of that run, interwoven between tales of extraordinary endurance events in some of the most extreme locations in the world. It answers the question, 'why do it?', and offers a gripping insight into what drives an extreme athlete to break new ground. Helped by family, friends, those he meets along the way, and a fiancee he's shortly to marry, this is the story of one man's determination to run in the history books. Andrew Murray's epic journey was the subject of a highly successful BBC documentary and this book is the inside story of what pushes one man to keep breaking the limits. Even a planned 85 days wasn't enough to satisfy Andrew - in the end he completed the distance in just 78 days. The book is introduced by Sir Ranulf Fiennes.

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Of all Scotland's islands none casts its spell quite as dramatically as the Isle of Skye. Celebrated in song and story, Eilean a'Cheo is a place of astonishing natural beauty and attracts climbers and walkers from all over the world. The 70-mile long Skye Trail connects two of the island's most extraordinary landscapes; the world-famous Cuillin, the most rugged mountain range in Britain, and the Trotternish ridge, a rolling escarpment of basalt hills that look over the sea to the tumbled landscapes of mainland Scotland. This long walk through the island, the 'Skitis' of the Celtic world, follows ancient byways, cattle drovers' routes, mountain footpaths and an old railway line, through a land where the first inhabitants sensed the presence of their gods in every nook and cranny, on every hill and crag, in every corrie and loch. Landscape and weather and an affinity with wild nature made up the very fabric of their lives. The route visits castles, takes in geological gems like the Quiraing and the Storr, follows rivers and loch-side paths and recalls those who were brutally removed from their homes during the Highland Clearances. It visits the site of the 'last battle on British soil' and climbs Bla Bheinn, surely the finest mountain on this island of fine mountains. The route then takes its finale along the old Marble Line to Broadford, and the end of a magnificent island journey. The Skye Trail is destined to be one of the most popular long distance walks in Britain. Adopted by the Highland Council as an official long distance walk, it was brought to life by BBC Scotland's often repeated "Skye Trail" presented by Cameron McNeish. This illustrated book is based on the broadcast and Cameron's experiences of the trail, the island, its people and its history and environment.

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"The Sutherland Trail - A Journey Through North-west Scotland", is the long awaited latest book by the UK's best known hillwalker and backpacker, Cameron McNeish. In partnership with award-winning photographer and film maker Richard Else, Cameron has developed a superb week-long walking route through one of the finest landscapes in Europe. Sutherland, in the far north-west of Scotland, has long been described as 'the empty lands'. Much of the land is magnificently untamed and unpopulated, and the grandeur of the landscape attracts hillwalkers and backpackers from throughout the world. The Sutherland Trail between Lochinver and Tongue follows ancient pathways, stalker's routes and hill tracks through one of the most geologically fascinating regions of the UK. It passes caves, chambered cairns and the remains of ancient shielings, follows river banks and loch-sides, climbs iconic hills and visits the highest waterfall in Britain. Along the way, the voices of the local people are heard loud and clear. The passions of the crofters, hoteliers, fishermen, climbers and hillwalkers give a new momentum to life in the region, looking forward to a positive future for these spectacular northern lands. Sutherland is revealed as a land rich in glorious scenery, wildlife and natural resources, a region that was once vastly more populated than it is today, but is slowly regaining some of its lost population - a region that belies its common perception as 'the empty lands'. This is the first guidebook to Scotland's latest long distance walking route. It is illustrated by top quality, original images. It is based on a highly successful BBC television programme. It features a foreword by Robert Macfarlane.

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