My favourite place. I discovered the mountains as a student while studying industrial design at Newcastle-upon-Tyne polytechnic. Weekends I would travel with friends to the Lake District on the west coast to ramble the pathways of this spectacularly beautiful area of England. We had soon climbed every 3000' mountain, both in snow covered winters and warm, sunny summers. I was hooked and later ventured further to Scotland and the Alps. Weeks spent camping at high altitudes in snow gave me a sense of what it must have been like for real mountain climbers as they tackled some of the world's most famous mountains. I was never motivated by conquering mountains or being the first to reach the top. I was in awe of the stunning scenery and the feeling of being on top of the world, a euphoria only achieved by hard physical exercise and simple diet.