My First Feature, My First Long-Distance Walk

Searching through boxes for an issue of The Great Outdoors with a feature the editor wanted I came across a tatty old magazine that brought back a flood of memories as it contained the first piece I ever wrote for a commercial journal. This was the April 1980 issue of Camping World, which long since ceased publication. It mostly covered car camping but did run the occasional backpacking piece. Like most magazines back then it was black-and-white except for the cover. Unusually it was printed on newsprint and in tabloid newspaper format. The quality was not good!

My feature was about my first really long-distance walk (I had previously walked the Pennine Way), from Land's End to John O'Groats in 1978. That was the walk that triggered my love of long-distance backpacking and effectively set the pattern for the rest of my life. This feature was equally important. I was paid for it! Maybe, I thought, writing could earn me enough to fund more long walks. It has, just about. 

Peter Lumley, who published the article, also gave me some valuable advice - get a decent camera and learn to take photos, you'll find it much easier to get words published if you have good pictures to go with them. On this walk I'd started out with a cheap compact film camera that didn't make it much past Bristol. As I wasn't taking photography seriously I didn't replace it. The three pictures here, all from colour prints, were taken in the first two weeks. I'm pleased to see the one of my first camp as I have no idea where the originals are. 

Following Peter's advice I bought a second-hand Pentax SLR and taught myself photography. As it was a fully manual camera - no auto exposure and no auto focus, which didn't yet exist - I made many mistakes and found it very frustrating. Peter had also said ditch the colour print film and use black-and-white print and colour transparency film, which made learning even harder. I'm glad I persevered.