...in which we're defeated by weather, so shelter indoors to hear from one of the UK's great adventurers: Cockermouth-based James Forrest, who has bagged all 1,001 mountains in the UK and Ireland, and broke records walking both the 446 Nuttalls and 214 Wainwrights. An escape from the nine-to-five was, James tells us, the drive for his first challenge – to conquer every mountain in England and Wales in the shortest documented time. But his heart was always in Lakeland, which led to his 2020 self-supported round of the Wainwrights. In a reflective interview, we hear about the highs and lows of an epic walk; we ask whether 'adventure' can be a ruse to escape everyday life; we consider our changing relationship with the fells as we spend more time in them; and we learn why James is "never, ever, ever" returning to the Brecon Beacons.
James' book Mountain Man is published by Bloomsbury. Available from all local bookshops.
James can be found at amesmforrest.co.uk
123: Barrow-in-Furness – A tale of iron and ships, hair and shops
#122: Limestone of the Westmorland Dales
121: A history of paper-making on the River Kent
120: A history of boating on Windermere
119: The birth of Quakerism in Cumbria
#117: Above Great Moss: Stone axes of the earliest settlers
Countrystride #116: Review of 2023
Countrystride #115: A Cumbrian Christmas feast - With Helen Rebanks and Ivan Day
Countrystride #114: Fell Foodie - A feast on Silver How
Countrystride #113: Why we Run - Fell and trail running in the Lake District
Countrystride #112: Melvyn Bragg - Back in the Day
Countrystride #111: The Herdwick, with Will Rawling
Countrystride #110: Eliza Lynn Linton and The Lake Country
Countrystride #109: Aira Force - Lakeland pleasure ground
Countrystride #108: To the Lakes! The early days of tourism
Countrystride #107: Tales from Little Langdale
Countrystride #106: The lichens of Borrowdale
Countrystride #105: The Old Man and the slate
Countrystride #104: Eskdale - Living the Fisherground dream
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