How to solve the problem of queuing for a summit photo on popular peaks like Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa

July 1, 2026 Humour hill walking, peak bagging, pen y fan, snowdon, summit fever, wales, yr wyddfa 5 Comments

I only bring you the really important stories on this blog, and here’s one that will have you choking on your Kendal Mint Cake. With the Everest season over, along with the usual stories about traffic jams, it seems like a good time to report on a far more heinous example of queuing on mountaintops that has emerged in recent years.

Bagging all 13 historic county tops in Wales

June 3, 2026 Opinion and advice aran fawddwy, britain, cadair berwyn, chwarel y fan, county tops, craig y llyn, fan foel, foel cwmcerwyn, great rhos, hill walking, holyhead mountain, moel famau, moel sych, peak bagging, pen y fan, plynlimon, snowdon, wales, walking 0 Comment

About four years ago, Edita and I decided to start bagging the highest point in each of the UK’s counties. A couple of weeks ago, we finished the last of the thirteen historic county tops in Wales. They contain some enjoyable hills that we may not otherwise have explored.

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.

UK readers: Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest available for less than a quid

May 11, 2018 My books and writing amazon, everest, mountain literature, old post, seven steps from snowdon to everest, snowdon, travel writing 2 Comments

A quick plug to UK readers of my blog and other writing. If you or friends have not bought my book Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest yet, then Amazon are currently running a promo and flogging it for the bargain price of £0.99.

5 reasons to buy the paperback of Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest

February 3, 2016 My books and writing amazon, everest, history of mountaineering, mountain literature, seven steps from snowdon to everest, snowdon, travel writing 8 Comments

The story of my ten-year journey from hill walker to Everest climber is out now in paperback. But why should you give a toss? Here are five reasons to buy the paperback.

Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest out on Monday!

November 6, 2015 My books and writing amazon, everest, mountain literature, seven steps from snowdon to everest, snowdon, travel writing 8 Comments

A quick note to let you know that those of you who pre-ordered my book from Amazon should receive it on your Kindle on Monday (9th). If you’ve bought it on Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo or Smashwords, then you should receive it the following Monday, 16th.

Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest: read the complete prologue

October 28, 2015 My books and writing book extract, everest, mountain literature, seven steps from snowdon to everest, snowdon, travel writing 5 Comments

I’m on track to publish my book ahead of schedule. If you pre-ordered it then it should appear on your e-reader early in November. If you haven’t pre-ordered it yet, here’s the complete prologue to whet your appetite and tempt you to buy the whole thing.

The Snowdon Horseshoe: Britain’s classic hill walk

October 7, 2015 Trip reports britain, crib goch, edita, hill walking, moel siabod, pen-y-gwryd hotel, search and rescue, snowdon, snowdon horseshoe, snowdon mountain railway, snowdonia, wales, y lliwedd 14 Comments

There are many great routes up Snowdon, but for hill walkers the Snowdon Horseshoe is the very best, crossing three of the Welsh 3000ers in three ridge scrambles of varying difficulty. Our circuit of it last month included a little bit of drama.

Snowdon’s Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel: a little piece of Everest history

September 30, 2015 History alpine club, britain, edmund hillary, everest, history of mountaineering, pen-y-gwryd hotel, snowdon, wales 6 Comments

I completed a long-held ambition when I stayed at the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel, at the foot of the Pen-y-Pass on the flanks of Snowdon. Staying for a couple of nights in a hotel may not sound like much of an achievement, but this one is extra special.

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