Running from the summit of Mullach an Rathain on Liathach at the age of six, is one of my earliest memories. Many similar days on the Scottish hills and notably the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye (pictured above) as well as the Lakeland fells followed. Those early experiences provided the foundation for a what would become a way of life.

These pages, which remain far from complete, are simply an attempt to capture at least some of those days, and will, I hope, provide a space to record those still to come. Perhaps others will find inspiration here and a resource of sorts, and possibly, a rebuttal to the reductive process of commoditisation that our hills have become subject to.

A runner first, my formative years were also influenced by classic mountaineering literature which led inevitably to the Lakeland crags and before long, to bigger walls in the Alps. Aspiration and reality do not always meet where we imagine and more than once I learned humility the hard way. Among countless memorable days, the best were perhaps those spent on Scottish sea stacks including the Old Man of Stoer and the more remote crags such as Carnmore, tackling the classics like Dragon and Gob, described by Paddy Buckley in Hard Rock.

No less committing, sea kayaking which offered a means to explore where few others could reach and among many notable trips I completed circumnavigations of all the major Scottish islands including the Isle of Skye in 2011 and Shetland in 2012. In 2016, I crossed the Minch via the Shiants, kayaking from Uig on the Isle of Skye, to Lochmaddy on North Uist. And in 2018 I kayaked around Cape Wrath, before running back from Durness to Scourie to close the circle. It was a turning point in more ways than one. What had been an obsession with individual pursuits, broadened into a greater passion for the wild places that the running, climbing and kayaking had taken me to.

In 2019 I completed my Bob Graham Round, fulfilling a long-held ambition, before focusing once again on the Scottish hills and a new project, Northern Horizons. Published in February 2025 it won the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival Guidebook Award.

In August 2025, I launched a new fell race: the Hartsop Hop and in 2026, took the reins from Kieran Carr, as RO for the Tour of Pendle.

Other projects documented here include articles published by Like the Wind, Sidetracked Magazine, The Fell Runner, Ocean Paddler and Canoe & Kayak UK, in addition to photography from selected fell races.