Recently retired, but my life is still lived to the full. I ensure that every spare moment is used on all manner of pastimes. Some, close to me would say that I am somewhat obsessive about getting the most out of life.

I am interested in most aspects of life, however certain topics/pastimes have taken more than their fair share of my time.

Hill walking/mountain climbing is one of my two major passions. Around 1990 this had its roots in local Lakeland hikes and as experience was gained spread to the more testing hills of Scotland. In 1995 with two lifelong friends, we formed the "Half Mile High Club" .This is the name of our band of hillwalkers and takes its name from the height of a typical Lakeland hill. Munro bashing followed in 1996 and concluded on 18th June 2016 (after a twenty year effort) when the 282nd and final mountain Meall Nan Tarmachan was climbed. A total of 24 friends made it with Mark and I to this summit, which was a superb way of concluding the exercise. It was a long drive even to the nearest munro from my home in Yorkshire so this quest has taken much longer than I initially expected.

This passion for climbing has taken me abroad, with frequent trips to what I now consider my second home, Montana. I am lucky enough to have built a great friendship with my pal Mike who is just about the worlds most considerate host. Such Montanan trips allow me to excperience a good deal of what America has to offer. Climbing has also taken me to North Africa and various European destinations.

I suppose climbing also keeps me pretty fit. This is not just through the effort of the climb but the work at the gym or on the moiuntain bike that goes into maintaining my fitness. That being said I am currently banned by my wife from riding the bike on account of a catalogue of accidents that have broken far too many bones.

You might think that with the above I will have little spare time. You are correct, but somehow I manage to spend a fair amount of time taking railway pictures. Most of these are now preserved steam, however ever since I could pick up a notebook to write or a camera I have chased numbers or taken rail photos.

Further still I have a healthy interest in all travel related matters. This can be the destination, but also the method of travel, whether that be by boat, train, aircraft, motorbike or car.

This list could be endless as I tend to be an impulsive sort and will quickly take interest in all manner of new topics.

Overall I love capturing and recording life and period objects and have a desire to learn and improve my photographic capabilities.

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