Current research projects
Mountaineering and heroic masculinity
This project examines the social, cultural and political meanings of heroism within the evolution of the British mountaineer. It charts the development of the mountaineer as hero, from the age of empire to the age of the indvidual. 
This project focuses upon the development and institutionalisation of a new urban non-competitive lifestyle sport - parkour.
The politics of recreational access
This project examines an enduring feature of sport in the UK - how access to outdoor environments for recreational purposes is constrained by law, propery relations, cultural attitudes and economic interests.
This project examines the cultural meanings, politics, economics and histories of coastal environments.
This personal research project relates to the literary recovery and biography of my 3x great-grandfather, Robert Gilchrist (1797-1844), a labouring-class poet and sailmaker from Newcastle/Gateshead.