We arrive at the top of High Cup Nick in the North Pennines. “It’s like the world starts just over there,” comments my friend Mark. He’s pointing down the U-shaped chasm of High Cup Gill, beyond whose

If we had to choose our “special place”, Andy and I would always choose Exmoor National Park. It’s a place we often escape to. Straddling the Somerset/Devon border, Exmoor’s coastline is littered with

For any cyclist, the name Fred Whitton sends a shiver down the spine. The annual Fred Whitton Challenge is among the most notorious sportives in Britain, serving its 2,000 participants with 180km of d

JB Smith goes searching for solitude in the forested folds of the Rhinogs – and finds himself falling under the spell of Eryri/Snowdonia’s quieter side

4 38.9km / 24.2 miles / 12-14 hours Ascent 2927m/9603ft

AS hotel names go, this one’s a little unusual. Across Church Street, where I’m standing in the Welsh Border town of Chirk, is the Hand Hotel. Parts of it date back to 1610, during the reign of James