It has occurred to me that there have been several current or recent top fell runners who have studied at Loughborough University: Sam Tosh, Joe Dugdale, Billy Cartwright, Harry Bolton. Has word got around that Loughborough has the best fell-running facilities of any university in the Midlands, in terms of the hills that are available within a moderate-length run starting and finishing on the campus?

The Loughborough campus is not quite as well situated as my present abode for the delights of the Outwoods, Buck Hill and Beacon Hill; but at my peak I could sometimes manage a circuit including these three features within 60 minutes from the centre of the campus. Some of the gentlemen mentioned above would be pushing 50 minutes for that route, which has around 260m of climbing.