Archive - About Mountains

Emily Bronte and the Bog Burst of 1824

A near-death experience for two little girls may have helped inspire 'Wuthering Heights'. [1800 words 7 mins

Jul 30 •

Ronald Turnbull

A boulder and a boulderer

Brought out of the mountains by a glacier to become the only 17b boulder-climb in southern England [short story 1500 words 6 mins

Jul 23 •

Ronald Turnbull

Gertrude Bell and the Finsteraarhorn

Diplomat, spy, photographer, activist, archeologist: oh, and she also put up a few interesting routes in the Alps. [2400 words, 10 mins

Jul 16 •

Ronald Turnbull

The Salt Path and author contract 'warranties'

I've signed more than two dozen author contracts. The clauses about untrue and harmful statements are fearsome.

Jul 9 •

Ronald Turnbull

The finest bit of Lakeland Writing so far

For any freelancer writing stuff about the Lake District hills today, it’s hard not to be intimidated by the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The Moss…

Jul 9 •

Ronald Turnbull

Watching waterfalls

A waterfall portfolio: paintings, prints and photographs all (water-) source material for last week’s ‘why watch waterfalls’.

Jul 2 •

Ronald Turnbull

June 2025

What’s with these waterfalls?

For well over 1000 years, we’ve been chasing around after falling water. So what’s so special about noise, frothy whiteness, and getting wet with the…

Jun 25 •

Ronald Turnbull

Celebrating the Cairngorms

Preparing the final reprint for my 2008 Cairngorms guidebook [800 words 4 min

Jun 18 •

Ronald Turnbull

Annapurna 1950 vs Everest 1953

This week sees the 75th anniversary of the French ascent of Annapurna. But we're British (well, I am)... [1000 words: 5 min

Jun 11 •

Ronald Turnbull

Sophia Delaval: 18th-century outdoor type

Aristocrat, influencer, and serious landscape appreciator [1300 words, 6 mins

Jun 4 •

Ronald Turnbull

May 2025

A bothy in the Bernina

Build in your imagination the ideal of bothy. A long walk to get to it; a huge view; and even some dry blankets to sleep under. And then head off and…

May 28 •

Ronald Turnbull

The Psychopathology of Peakbagging

Sigmund Freud’s insights on the Outdoors [1700 words; 8 mins

May 21 •

Ronald Turnbull

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