How to survive a wet and wintry week in Glen Coe, Scotland

January 11, 2023 Trip reports aonach eagach, britain, chris townsend, glen coe, hill walking, munros, scotland 3 Comments

For many years the idea of a week in Scotland at the end of December was far from my thoughts. There are only a few hours of daylight, a high chance of rain every day, howling winds and thick mist over the hills. But it’s still possible to enjoy yourself in these circumstances.

All 14 Welsh 3,000ers for the Queen’s jubilee

June 15, 2022 Trip reports britain, hill walking, peak bagging, snowdon, snowdonia, wales, welsh 3000ers 5 Comments

Our beloved monarch Queen Elizabeth II has now been sitting on the throne for 70 years. To celebrate this event, and because the people of Britain had been granted an extra day of public holiday to mark it, I decided to do something special.

Snowdonia’s Nantlle Ridge the hard way

May 11, 2022 Trip reports britain, cicerone guides, hill walking, moel hebog, nantlle ridge, snowdon, snowdonia, wales 1 Comment

The Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, is one of those classic mountain scrambles that has been lurking on my list for many years. Its 9km contained the right sort of terrain: narrow ridge walking interspersed with some short easy scrambles.

Plynlimon: traversing the five tops of the fruitiest mountain in Wales

April 27, 2022 Trip reports britain, cadair idris, cambrian mountains, cicerone guides, drygarn fawr, george borrow, hill walking, plynlimon, wales 1 Comment

Plynlimon, is a complex mountain of multiple rolling summits connected by broad ridges. It is the source of Britain’s longest river, the Severn, and its fourth longest, the River Wye. I have been meaning to climb it for many years, and over Easter I had my chance.

One and a half ascents of Ben Hope, Scotland’s most northerly Munro

January 26, 2022 Trip reports arkle, ben hope, ben klibreck, britain, cameron mcneish, foinaven, hamish brown, hill walking, munros, north coast 500, scotland 6 Comments

Sir Hugh Munro said of Ben Hope that he didn’t know any mountain of its height which could be climbed with less exertion. Surely a quick ascent on Christmas Day would be just the thing before our Christmas turkey? Ben Hope had other ideas.

The Scottish coastline and the secret village across the loch

January 12, 2022 Trip reports britain, scotland, scottish highlands 8 Comments

I’d never previously considered the far north of Scotland as a Christmas and New Year holiday destination. According to the daylight indicator on my Garmin watch, the sun rises at 9.07am on the summit of Ben Hope, Scotland’s most northerly

The Ben Lawers Five: peak-bagging perfection

November 3, 2021 Trip reports an stuc, ben lawers, britain, hill walking, munro bagging, munros, peak bagging, scotland, scrambling 2 Comments

You’ve heard of the Famous Five and the Jackson Five, and you may even remember the Dave Clark Five, but if you’ve never heard of the Ben Lawers Five then you’re missing out – it’s one of the great days out for Munro baggers.

The weirdness of a Highland heatwave: 3 strange incidents on Beinn Liath Mhor

September 15, 2021 Trip reports beinn liath mhor, britain, dehydration, glen carron, hill walking, munros, scotland, scottish highlands 5 Comments

Edita stood atop a pile of rocks, waving her trekking pole frantically in celebration. But I was in no position to celebrate. Between us lay about 100m of unspeakable, ankle-twisting boulder field. But it was the summit, and in a

The Glen Spean Nine: peak bagging and bet hedging in Central Scotland

August 20, 2021 Trip reports binnein beag, britain, creag meagaidh, glen roy, glen spean, hill walking, munro bagging, munros, peak bagging, scotland 1 Comment

Glen Spean is a good place “for those who want to hedge their bets with the weather” said the Walkhighlands guidebook. Given that the weather in the Highlands of Scotland is famous for being unreliable, this sounded like a pretty good recommendation.

Sgurr nan Gillean and Am Basteir: the Black Cuillin’s hair-raising finale

November 25, 2020 Trip reports alexander nicolson, am basteir, andy hogarth, britain, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, edita, hill walking, isle of skye, munros, scotland, sgurr nan gillean 2 Comments

We were facing a full day out in the Black Cuillin under sunny skies. Yes, that’s right. Beautiful sunshine in the Black Cuillin of Skye. I can’t believe I’m saying that. After two satisfying days on the ridge and another one to come, things were turning out well.