Outdoor
FOCUS
From the editor ...
David Taylor
Spring 2022
There ’ s something absent from this issue of Outdoor Focus and it ’ s Wordsmith , Kev Reynold ’ s regular column . As you ’ ll know by now , Kev passed away last December . I never met Kev but , judging by the many
To do
tributes paid since , he was a much-loved man , as well as a prolific and enthusiastic advocate for a life lived outdoors . All I can add is how encouraging Kev was and how much I looked forward to his emails both before and after Outfoor Focus went to print . He ’ ll be a miss .
Contents
3
4 6 10 12
14
Exploring Lake District Metal Mines In the 1980s and Early 90s
David Ramshaw goes underground
Kev Reynolds
Roly Smith pays tribute to Kev Reynolds , the best man at the best job
Ashes to Ashes
Paddy Dillon tries not to erupt when nature foils his plans
A Question of Stiles
Andrew McCloy gets his kicks from gates , gaps , ginnels and snecklifters
Three Months to an Amazon Bestseller
Julia Goodfellow-Smith shares her tips and tricks for getting to the number one slot
Book Reviews
Roly Smith reviews the latest outdoor books by OWPG members
If you ’ d like to contribute to the next edition of Outdoor Focus please send an email with your article idea to davidtphoto @ gmail . com . The copy deadline is 15 May 2021 .
Cover star Chiz Dakin www . peakimages . co . uk
The Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild is the only UK-based association of media professionals working largely or entirely on outdoor subjects . Our members cover every �ield of activity and all corners of the globe . They include writers , journalists , �ilm makers , photographers , publishers and editors , all with a passionate interest in the outdoors . For more information visit www . owpg . org . uk .
All images and text copyright the authors . Unauthorised use and / or duplication of this material without express and written permission is strictly prohibited .
Editing / design David Taylor ISSN 2043-8591 print ISSN 2043-8605 online
The chance to go caving at Malham AGM meeting last year brought back a lot of memories of expeditions into Lake District metal mines in my younger days . It all started when John Adams came to teach physics in my department at Trinity School , Carlisle . He joined our after school fell walking club and within a year or two became fascinated with the hundreds of holes in the ground seen on our walks . We joined up with local man Ian Tyler who ran a sports shop in Carlisle at the time as we were doing all of the half marathons and soon found that Ian was an avid mine explorer . He was a member of CAT ( Cumbria Amenity Trust ) in the south of the county who explored in particular Coniston Copper mines . Ian sold mining gear in his shop so within a short time we were �itted out with SRT gear , Oldham lamps , helmets and all the other paraphernalia for safe expeditions into the mines .
We went everywhere , descending down to Hospital level at Coniston from an entrance shaft at Levers Water and prussiking back to the surface several hundred metres down the valley . However , living at Carlisle , most of our time was spent in the northern fells . John Adams wrote a book Mines of the Lake District Fells , published by Dalesman in 1988 and later reprinted .
2 outdoor focus / spring 2022