Alan's RamblingsPeak District

Rohan? Rubbish

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 18:22:00 GMT

Rohan clothing = expensive, utter junk. Over the last couple of years I've been bought two Rohan products as presents by my mother, a Rohan Daybreak down vest and a Rohan long sleeved shirt. About one inch of the vest zip has pulled clean out of the rest of the garment half way down the front. On careful examination I can see that about an inch of the back edge of the zip has been cut off during manufacture and as a result the zip fabric has shredded and pulled out of the garment. That's already in the bin. The shirt has turned into a pilled static-laden mess and is also destined for the bin as it's unwearable,

Considering how much the clothing costs the quality is awful. The products may look nice on a hanger, or if all you want is to ponce around in a wine bar, but if my experience is anything to go by they clearly aren't serious outdoor equipment. Anyone thinking about buying Rohan should save their money and buy something else, you can buy something for less than half the price and still end up with significantly better quality.

Save your money, avoid http://www.rohan.co.uk/.

Grouse chicks

Thu, 31 May 2012 22:50:00 GMT

I was out on patrol a couple of weeks ago on a rather blustery Saturday, and a hen grouse took off from right under my feet. Normally when they go up they call loudly, but this time the bird did the 'I have a broken wing' thing, so I guessed she might be on a nest. Sure enough, less than a meter away was a depression in the ground with around 8-10 chicks in it, all sitting perfectly still and quiet, and incredibly well camouflaged. I fumbled for my camera, but by the time I'd got it ready one of the chicks went 'chirup' and they all scattered from the nest. As it wasn't a particularly warm day I moved away quickly to let mum come back and gather them up, cursing my fumbling as I'd not got a picture.

About 15 minutes later, the same thing happened again - mum went up and there was another group of chicks, only about 4-5 this time, and I still had my camera out, took a quick shot and moved on as they'd already started to scatter. I think they are kinda cute :-)

Sprung

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:13:00 GMT

Spring seems to have appeared with a real rush this year - all of a sudden everything seems to have popped into life. Here's hoping for a good summer to follow :-)

It's that helicopter time of year again

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:40:49 GMT

The Moors For The Future project has been working since 2003 to repair the damage caused to the moorland of the Dark Peak, which I live on the edge of. Part of this work involves spreading heather brash over the areas of eroded peat, so as to provide a micro-climate that will enable the surface of the peat to revegetate. Because of the nature of the terrain, it's impossible to access it by conventional means so everything has to be airlifted in by helicopter. There's a short period when this work can be done, between the end of the shooting season and the start of the nesting season, so it's a pretty hectic time. This year the project is doing its biggest-ever airlift which will be using three helicopters to transfer 24,000 dumpy bags of heather brash onto the moors, which will be spread across 1,600,000 square metres of eroded peat. The Peak District Rangers provide ground support for the helicopters, so I'm going to be out at least a day a week for the next month or so helping out. There's a video below that I took a couple of years ago showing what's involved - the helicopter carries six bags at a time and drops them off in pairs at the places we indicate. It's a bit scary the first couple of times, but the skill of the pilots is really amazing, and so far nobody has been buried under a bag :-) The project been front-page news in the local press - yeah, it's quiet around here - see these articles in The Glossop Chronicle and The Glossop Advertiser

It's a secret

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:51:00 GMT

Went for a walk with the family yesterday evening after tea and took the following picture with the less than excellent camera on my phone but I rather like the soft effect. The location is less than 6 miles in a straight line from the house, and less than 200 metres from the nearest road, but I'm not telling you exactly where it is - it's a secret :-)