Left with a few days of spare holiday for the year, I took a solo long weekend trip to the southwest Highlands. I drove up as far as Ruth’s house after work on the Wednesday, then set off fairly promptly on Thursday to drive up through the Southern Uplands where I had chosen Tinto as the objective for the day’s short walk. Although the summit was just in the cloud, this proved to be a fairly attractive hill, with a few crags on the south side and good views up and down the Clyde valley.
Looking up the Clyde valley past Dungavel Hill
In the afternoon I pottered onwards to the Islay ferry terminal at Kennacraig, pausing briefly at Inveraray on the way to stretch the legs. On arriving at Port Askaig just before 8pm, it was only a couple of miles’ drive to my comfortable AirBnB accomodation in Ballygrant.
On board the MV Finlaggan to Islay
The next morning dawned cold, crisp and sunny – just what I had hoped for for my long-awaited first visit to Jura. I was the only passenger on the 7:55am ferry across to Feolin, and pretty much the only car on the road around to the Three Arch Bridge. After a rather boggy approach to Loch an t-Siob, I was glad to get onto the steeper, drier ground of the first Pap, Beinn Shiantaidh, and was able to avoid most of the scree in picking a route up to the summit. This was a fantastic viewpoint over the northern reaches of the island, and to the other two Paps waiting ahead.
Beinn a’ Chaolais and Beinn an Oir, from near the summit of Beinn Shiantaidh
The short descent down the west of the hill required care as the frosty rocks were still in deep shade and very slippery. I was happy to get onto warmer and grippier ground for the ascent of Beinn an Oir, the highest of the three Paps and just high enough to be a Corbett. Then it was a steep descent on a small path wiggling through the crags of the south ridge, followed by a very steep climb up reasonably secure scree to the third Pap, Beinn a’ Chaolais – another fine viewpoint for the other Paps, and towards Islay. On the descent I particularly enjoyed the views east over the Kintyre peninsula to Arran.
Beinn an Oir and Beinn Shiantaidh
Saturday was more of a travelling day: I took the 9:45am ferry from Port Ellen back to Kennacraig, then drove the couple of hours up the road to Oban. This didn’t really leave time for a hill walk, so I opted instead for an attractive 13.5km run along the coast to Dunstaffnage Castle and back!
To end the trip, I took a Sunday-morning walk up another Corbett, Creach Bheinn above Glen Creran. It was another beautiful sunny morning and the hill offered superb views of the water to Mull and Kingairloch and up Glen Etive. Back off the hill at noon, all that remained was the seven-hour drive back to Derby, with a dinner stop at Ruth’s.
Loch Creran, with Mull and Kingairloch beyondGlen Etive
Only two Corbetts (and three Grahams) to show for four days in the hills, but the amazing weather on Jura and Creach Bheinn meant it was very much worth the long journeys. 204 down, 18 to go!
I organised Rolls-Royce (Derby) Band’s fifth biannual hillwalking trip, this time to the Brecon Beacons, with seven others joining me for the weekend this time. We stayed at the remote and rustic but friendly YHA Brecon Beacons hostel near Libanus.
Saturday started with a spot of parkrun tourism at Bryn Bach just outside Tredegar (of brass band fame, appropriately!). Despite being the UK’s highest-altitude parkrun (based on start location), this was a flat and fast course, two and a half times around an attractive lake.
We then headed a few miles northwest for a horseshoe walk from Taf Fechan Forest up Pen y Fan, the highest peak in the National Park. Construction works on the lower Neuadd Reservoir forced us onto a boggy diversion path below the dam, but we soon reached the more solid ground of the steep pitched path up to the Graig Fan Ddu ridge. The morning mist gradually rose to give good views up the valley to Cribyn, with Pen y Fan itself coming into view as we continued up the gentle ridge path.
The group on the ridge below Graig Fan Ddu: Alex, Ian, Jo, Jeff, Helen, Amina and Heather
Sadly the cloud had dropped back down onto the tops and a few showers passed by as we traversed Corn Du and Pen y Fan, so we didn’t linger long at the top. However, conditions improved again as we descended above Craig Cwm Sere, giving great views back across the northern cliffs of Pen y Fan and ahead to our next objective, Cribyn.
The grassy cliffs of Pen y Fan
Once over Cribyn, we continued east to Fan y Big before retracing our steps to the bwlch and descending the good track south across Tor Glas to the cars. Then it was back to the hostel for a few welcome cups of tea, a hot shower, and then a feast of chilli, spag bol, sticky toffee pudding and jam roly poly kindly prepared by Helen!
Sunday’s forecast was wetter, but the reality was actually drier than Saturday! After a leisurely start and breakfast, we opted for a shorter walk up the Sugar Loaf above Abergavenny. We ascended by the Rholben ridge then traversed west before approaching the summit from the southwest, enjoying views most of the way but entering the cloud near the summit. Our descent route was along the Deri ridge then down through the attractive oak woodlands to Twyn-yr-allt.
All-in-all, this was the dampest band hillwalking trip yet, but this did nothing to dampen spirits and we had a relaxing time in great company exploring these attractive hills. Only six months until the next one!
I visited my parents in Minehead for a long weekend. On the Thursday, we enjoyed good weather on a ten-mile walk on Exmoor, starting at County Gate and heading down the East Lyn valley and over Shilstone Hill, then back through Doone Country along the Badgworthy valley.
Dad and Mum in the Badgworthy Valley
Friday was wetter but we managed a stroll in Minehead before the rain arrived. Dad and I also went for an 10km run around town in the drizzle later. Saturday was also showery, so we just did a short walk from Bossington on the pebble beach and up to Hurlstone Point.
On Sunday, Dad and I ran the Burnham-on-Sea Half Marathon, and I was pleased to set a PB time of 1:26:00 over the very flat (but windy!) course.
As I was taking part in another Mini Mountain Marathon in the Lake District on the Sunday, I spent August Bank Holiday weekend in the northwest of England. Having broken the drive up with a dash around Preston parkrun – in an attractive park beside the Ribble – I met up with Ian and Emma (and Ellen) mid-morning and we chose to head to the Howgill Fells for a walk away from the crowds. Starting in Sedbergh, we ascended by Settlebeck Gill to Arant Haw and Calders, returning via Winder, and enjoyed sunshine and very clear views over the Dales to the Three Peaks. Then it was back to Kendal for dinner and chat.
Descending from Calders
On Sunday I took part in the King Mini Mountain Marathon, a four-hour score event, starting in Loweswater and heading up onto the Grasmoor fells. Tough going on a hot sunny day, but great scenery and a great challenge. No time for photos though!
On Monday I was tempted back into the Yorkshire Dales by MWIS’s suggestion that higher summits may be above the cloud. I opted for a round of the Gragareth group from Ireby. Unfortunately these hills proved not to be quite high enough, and I was in damp mist most of the way! On Great Coum, I could see a hint of blue sky above, but still didn’t emerge from the cloud. I descended via Bull Pot Farm and then along the scenic Ease Gill.
After the AV2, and before flying back to the UK, we spent a couple of nights in Venice. The numbers of tourists were a bit of a shock to the system after two weeks in mostly-quiet mountains, but it was good to see the famous sights and enjoy some good meals and gelato!
Looking towards Basilica di Santa Maria delle Salute, from the CampanileThe Grand Canal, near Rialto market
This year’s main summer holiday was to the Dolomites in northern Italy, a region of the Alps that I had not visited before and very distinctive in terms of its geology and character. Rather than drive down and set up a base camp for day walks as has become our norm, this year Ruth and I opted to tackle a hut-to-hut tour, the ‘Alta Via 2′. This route of around 160km runs through the western ranges of the Dolomites, starting in Brixen not far from the Austrian border and finishing in Feltre much nearer Venice. We opted for an eleven-day itinerary that was a little more ambitious than the book suggestion but still in practice gave us lots of easy days of only around five hours’ walking at Pettit pace.
With no need for a car to get around during the trip, we instead flew from Manchester to Venice, taking only cabin bags to force ourselves to keep the bags light and compact and not take any unnecessary extras! An extremely early start in Kendal to catch the 6am Sunday flight proved unnecessary thanks to a departure delayed by around 90 minutes. Our onward journey to Brixen then involved a short bus journey to Mestre station and then a direct train (bound for Innsbruck and Munich!). This got us into town around 5pm where we had a walk of around a mile to the Youth Hostel where we would stay the night. In the evening we had a bit of a look around town and cathedral and got dinner at a pizzeria in the main square.
Brixner Dom
The next morning we stocked up on lunch supplies at a supermarket then embarked on our almost-entirely-uphill walk to the Plosehütte, an ascent of around 1900 metres. Views of the Austrian Alps gradually opened up as we climbed up through the forest, and the final stretch along the ridge gave our first proper Dolomites views towards the limestone cliffs of the Odle massif. We were lucky to end up in a private room and had a good night’s sleep at around 2450m.
The Odle group, from the Plosehütte
Tuesday was a cloudier day with many of the summits in the cloud, but we still enjoyed plenty of grand views of close-up limestone cliffs on our walk down to Passo Rodella, then around Sas de Putia and the Odle group to the superbly-situated Rifugio Firenze. The approach to Furcella della Roa gave a good taste of typical AV2 paths, traversing below towering cliffs on and zigzagging up and down surprisingly stable scree gullies to dramatic cols. We arrived well before the afternoon thunderstorm and enjoyed a tasty hut dinner. Surprisingly there were no snorers in the 25-bed dorm and we again got a reasonable night’s sleep!
Furcella della RoaThe pretty valley above Rifugio Firenze
Wednesday morning’s walking took us across the wild Puez altipiano (high plain), the route making its way around the head of the dramatic Vallunga valley, then over a couple of rocky cols and down to Passo Gardena. Then we had a very steep ascent onto the Sella altipiano, including some straightforward scrambly passages aided by fixed cables, up to Rifugio Pisciadu and beyond to Rifugio Boè for the night.
Vallunga and the Puez altipianoLooking ahead to the Sella massif from Forcella Cier
On Thursday we started the day with the short ascent to Piz Boè, the highest point of our trip at 3152m. This was a superb vantage point with the Sella altipiano to the west, the Marmolada and its glaciers to the south, and a cloud inversion to the east. We spent a while on the summit just enjoying the surroundings in perfect conditions, then continued over the plateau to the lower peak of Sas de Pordoi, and from there steeply down to Passo Pordoi. The rest of the day was spent traversing the Sas de Ciapel ridge with awesome views of the Marmolada, then walking alongside Lago di Fedaia to our guest-house for the night, Rifugio Capanna Bill – a night of relative luxury with a private en-suite room and scenic balcony views!
Looking over Rifugio Boè and the Sella altipiano from Piz BoèThe Arabba valley and MarmoladaLooking east from Sas de Pordoi
Friday’s walk took us down the pass to Malga Ciapela where were able to re-supply with lunches for the remainder of the expedition, then up and over Forca Rossa to the tourist hotspot of Passo San Pellegrino. There was lots of pleasant walking through forest and pasture, but the scenery was generally not as dramatic as the preceding few days. Saturday took us back among the high peaks, with a short traverse to Passo Valles followed by an exciting climb into the Pale di San Martino massif, traversing around Monte Mulaz to reach Rifugio Mulaz, nestled below the amazing Focobon ridge. After dropping off most of our gear at the hut, we made a lightly-laden ascent of Monte Mulaz, often in cloud but still giving awesome fleeting views of the surrounding peaks.
The path traversed below the north and east sides of Monte Mulaz towards the spiky Focobon ridgeThe very impressive Focobon – Vezzana ridge, from Monte Mulaz
We enjoyed more inversion conditions on Sunday’s stage, crossing a couple of high cols then making a gradual descending traverse into a remote basin, and up over the altipiano to Rifugio Rosetta. After a short detour up nearby La Rosetta, sadly in mist, we continued below on more exposed ledge paths with cabled sections to Passo di Ball, surrounded by more towering peaks. Our destination for the night was Rifugio Pradidali, another stunningly-situated hut at the base of huge limestone cliffs.
Sunrise over the inversion in Val di FocobonLooking back from Passo di BallRifugio Pradidali
Monday began with a short cable-aided climb up to Passo delle Lede followed by a long descent down the remote Vallon delle Lede the other side to Rifugio Treviso. A second steep climb over Forcella d’Oltro took us out of the Pale di San Martino group to end the day at Passo Cereda, where the eponymous Rifugio was our least favourite of the trip, with high prices for a gloomy room and disorganised service!
The very colourful bivvy hut, Bivacco Minazio, in Vallon delle Lede
The final couple of days of the expedition was through the Dolimiti Bellunesi National Park. This began with a steep and exposed ascent to Passo del Comedon giving access to a high level traverse path below the Cimonega peaks to Rifugio Boz for the night. The next day we continued along the Vette ridge with more dramatic cloud conditions all around to end the day at Rifugio Dal Piaz, which definitely had the feeling of being at the edge of the big mountains and a fitting place for our last hut night.
Ruth on the exposed ledge path leading up to Passo del ComedonRuth below Sass de Mur and Piz de MezSpectacular inversion conditions below Passo di FinestraAn exposed but straightforward traverse below Monte Zoccare Alto
That just left a half-day descent through the forest to Feltre for the final Thursday morning. From there a bus and train took us easily to Venice for a couple of nights… which can be the subject of a separate blog post!
Many more of my photos, giving a much fuller representation of the walk, are available on Google Photos in the following albums:
Overall we were very impressed by the Alta Via 2 and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a rugged mountain expedition through incredible and distinctive scenery, but without technical difficulties requiring anything more than confidence on rough, loose ground and good head for heights. Although the huts were mostly fairly busy, the majority were not totally full, and only a minority of the guests were actually following the AV2. Away from the tourist hotspots around lifts and road passes, the paths were delightfully quiet and we often walked a couple of hours without passing anyone else.
We move fast through the mountains and were generally able to complete the stages in about 70% of the guidebook time, which meant even our lengthened stages were mostly not very strenuous. With hindsight we might have cut down the number of days by a couple more, although the locations of huts are not always amenable to this, and it was definitely no hardship to spend a few hours relaxing in stunning scenery each afternoon before dinner! We may well return to tackle one of the more technical AV routes further east in the Dolomites, and perhaps some proper vie ferrate.
From Glen Feshie it was less than an hour’s drive down the A9 and over the hill to Kinloch Rannoch where Alison had booked us bunkhouse accommodation at the Outdoor Centre for her Munro completion weekend. I was first to arrive and checked us in with the caretaker, but didn’t have to wait long before various others started arriving from Edinburgh.
Saturday started fairly early as the chosen final hill was a remote one: Beinn Bheoil, on the shoulder of Ben Alder about half way up Loch Ericht. Six of us hardier walkers opted to walk the entire way and set off walking up the track at around 8:30am, initially through forest and later along the loch shore. Superb air clarity made for great views east and north to the adjacent hills, and over Rannoch Moor towards the Glen Lyon and Bridge of Orchy hills. The remaining 19 saved time and effort by cycling as far as the end of the track, which petered out in the bog about 3km short of Benalder Cottage.
Looking along Loch Ericht to Beinn BheoilThe walkers paused at Benalder Cottage while we waited for the cyclists to arrive
Once we’d all convened at the bothy, we ascended together up the reasonable path to Bealach Breabag, then up the ridge to Sron Coire na h-Iolaire and on to the summit of Beinn Bheoil, arriving around 2:30pm. It was great to be there to celebrate with Alison as she completed her ten-year project, and to ensure that CUHWC had a representative. I had the unique honour of being the only person to have accompanied Alison on both her first and her last Munro (and quite a lot in between)!
Looking back to Sron Coire na h-IolaireAlison, becoming the latest Munro ‘Compleatist’
After some celebratory fizz near the summit, we all made our way back the way we’d come, in smaller groups now so we could travel at our own pace. Keen to get the many miles behind me, I yomped ahead once we reached the track, and reached the road just as the last of the cyclists were loading their car. I was glad to be able to hitch a lift back to the bunkhouse with them rather than waiting with the midges for the other walkers to catch up!
A big day out at around 38km in total! Thankfully the weather was ideal, dry throughout with sunny spells and the cloud staying above the summit of Beinn Bheoil. Once everyone was back at base, we enjoyed a celebratory late-evening meal of chilli and cheesecake together.
On the Sunday, I opted for a short (90-minute) walk up Blath Bhalg, a Graham just east of Pitlochry, before the drive back to Derby.
As I was heading up to the Central Highlands for Alison’s Munro completion weekend, I decided to make the most of the long drive by tagging on a couple of days’ holiday beforehand to go backpacking from Glen Feshie over four remote Corbetts.
I drove up from Kendal on the Thursday morning, and set off walking from Auchlean at around 3pm for the shorter ‘half’ of the expedition. A few heavy showers passed over as I ascended to Carn Dearg Mor and then traversed to Meallach Mhor, but they weren’t long-lasting so I didn’t get seriously wet. As expected, these proved not to be particularly dramatic hills, but did give good long-distance views over the Gaick Pass and Speyside, and south to the hills I would visit the next day.
I descended into Coire Bhran and found a good camping spot beside the river for the night on flat, dry and soft grass. As I cooked my dinner, I enjoyed a double rainbow up the corrie.
A double rainbow in front of Leathad an Taobhain
The next morning started greyer, with the cloud base just below the hilltops at around 800 metres. It stayed dry-ish as I had breakfast and broke camp, but the light showers almost merged together for the next couple of hours as I ascended to Leathad an Taobhain and began the long, rough traverse to Beinn Bhreac. To be honest, I think this terrain was so indistinct that I’d have referred to the compass for reassurance even in good visibility! By mid-morning though, the cloud lifted and the showers became few and far between, and I was able to enjoy views south to Beinn Dearg and southeast to Beinn a’ Ghlo as I continued east.
The summit of Carn Ealar, looking towards Beinn Dearg
Having reached Beinn Bhreac, the going was a bit easier over short grass to Carn Ealar (a repeat visit to this remote Munro), with views north to the highest Cairngorm peaks now. This was followed by an easy descent to the River Feshie and a very long walk out on the tracks down the glen. The sun came out though, and the forests and crags in the upper glen were very attractive.
Overall, it was great to get out backpacking for the first time in 2019, to explore some unfamiliar remote country, and to tick off these four Corbetts bringing my total to 202 – just twenty remaining now!
I went for a couple of hours’ easy running in the White Peak, up Dovedale and back down the Tissington Trial. A few photos are available here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qsxc2XuALXp4As1h7
As usual, Ruth and I headed to the Highlands for a week’s bagging over Spring Bank Holiday week, focussing mainly on the Northwest Highlands. Also as usual, the trip started with a long, long drive north through the evening, our first destination this year being the comfortable campsite in Cannich – with the damp weather over the first two days of the trip we were particularly glad of the lounge and drying room!
Saturday’s objective, in persistent but very light rain, was Beinn a’ Bha’ach Ard above Glen Strathfarrar. Sunday’s, in persistent heavier rain, was Sgorr na Diollaid, above Glen Cannich. Both proved to be more interesting hills than expected, the former having a pleasant high level traverse between the tops, and the latter having a pair of dramatic rocky tors at the summit, and the relatively short walks suited the conditions.
Ruth at the summit of Sgorr na Diollaid
The next two days were drier and brighter, so we moved a few miles north to tackle two pairs of Corbetts in Strathconon, using the Riverside Campsite in Contin as a base. On Monday, Meallan and Uan and Sgurr a’ Mhuilinn offered attractive ridge-walking and excellent views north to the Fannaichs. Tuesday’s long walk to Bac an Eich and An Sithean was less dramatic in the foreground, but had a real sense of remoteness, with excellent views of the surrounding Munros north and south of Loch Monar. We also enjoyed more distant views of Glen Carron, Torridon and Fisherfield both days.
Loch Coire a’ Mhuilinn, from Meallan nan UanLooking south over Loch Monar from An Sithean
With more good weather forecast for the next couple of days, on Wednesday morning we headed over to the west coast to collect a few dramatic Corbetts in the Fisherfield area. First on our list was Beinn Airigh Charr, a superbly-situated rocky peak near Poolewe, with stunning views south over Loch Maree to Torridon and northeast over Fionn Loch to A’ Mhaighdean. Definitely a contender for my favourite Corbett, and we enjoyed it in perfect conditions, the excellent visibility also giving views of Skye and the Outer Hebrides. To make the most of the day’s fine weather, in the late afternoon we summoned the energy for a second walk, up beside the Ardessie Falls onto Sail Mhor, another fine peak with great views into the heart of Fisherfield Forest and north to Coigach.
Looking over Loch Maree to the Torridon hills……and looking over Fionn Loch into Fisherfield. What an incredible view from Beinn Airigh Charr!
Thursday was cloudier and dry for another long walk, this time in to Beinn Dearg Bheag and Beinn Dearg Mor from Gruinard. Although the long track approach was a little tedious, the northwest ridge of Beinn Dearg Bheag proved to be a very enjoyable route of ascent, with easy scrambling in places, dramatic crags and gullies, and some sections of narrow arete. A short traverse down and back up took us to Beinn Dearg Mor, its summit sadly just in the cloud, before the long walk out along Loch na Sealga and back along the track to Gruinard.
Approaching the summit of Beinn Dearg Bheag, with Ruth for scale
The rain returned on Friday for our final, shorter walk in the Fisherfield area, this time up the boggy and much less dramatic Corbett of Creag Rainich above Loch a’ Bhraoin. Not one I’m likely to revisit, although I dare say the low cloud deprived us of good views of the many surrounding Munros!
For the final weekend of the trip, we headed back east to Inverness, where a friend of Ruth’s had kindly offered us accommodation. Gavin also joined us for Saturday’s walk up Carn na Saobhaidhe in the north of the Monadhliath, perhaps the flattest-topped Corbett but not an unpleasant place to spend a bright and clear day. Then on Sunday morning we nipped up Geal Charn, a foothill of the northern Cairngorms, before the long drive back to Kendal and Derby.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable week despite mixed weather that was worse than the excellent average we’ve grown used to at this time of the year. I ticked off 13 new Corbetts, taking my total to 198. Only 24 to go, and I’ve pencilled in completion for Spring Bank Holiday weekend 2021, so there’s plenty of time to fit in the required trips to Jura, Harris and the Far North (among other less far-flung places) in the meantime.
I spent a long weekend visiting Alex and Ausma in Vögisheim on the edge of the Black Forest, a little over two years since my last visit. Although the forecast looked rather wet for much of the trip, the reality was much better with only a few short showers, all of which we managed to avoid!
Having flown out on Wednesday evening, I had Thursday to entertain myself while my hosts were at work. I went for a morning walk from Vögisheim through some of the nearby forests and vineyards, followed by an afternoon run on a shorter route. In the evening we took a short bike ride over the hill to Mauchen for dinner at a “Strausse” (seasonal vineyard restaurant). On Friday Alex was able to take the day off work, and challenged me to a run up the Blauen, the highest nearby major summit in the Black Forest. The run amounted to 25km, my longest ever, with over 1000m ascent, the most I’ve done without walking! After some well-earned pasta carbonara for lunch we had a more leisurely afternoon picking up provisions from some nearby farm shops.
On Saturday we headed north to the low hills of Kaiserstuhl just west of Freiburg. The highest point, Neunlinden, proved to be a good viewpoint with the Black Forest to the east and the Vosges mountains to the west. I also enjoyed ascending the distinctive terraced slopes with vineyards, and passing through an interesting arboretum on the descent, with many unusual trees from all around the world. We followed the walk with a late lunch at the restaurant of a free-range turkey farm!
Finally, on Sunday, we drove west to France for a walk in the foothills of the Vosges mountains, starting in Husseran-les-Châteaux. As well as some attractive mixed forest and the occasional rocky outcrop, we enjoyed looking around five ruined castles, and some great views over Colmar and the Rhein valley back to the Black Forest.
All in all, a lovely relaxing weekend and it was great to catch up with Alex and Ausma.
My parents visited me in Hilton for the long May Day bank holiday weekend. As Dad and I were taking part in the Woodhouse May Day Challenge, a 13.5-mile trail race, on the Monday, our walks the previous days were shorter and more leisurely than they might otherwise have been. The weather was dry and bright but with a cold northerly wind.
On Saturday, after a morning run at Markeaton parkrun, we headed to Blore for an afternoon walk through the Hamps and Manifold valleys, with good views of Dovedale and Thorpe Cloud for much of the time. On Sunday we walked from Thorpe on the Limestone Way through Tissington village, returning via the Tissington Trail. Both were areas I hadn’t previously explored very thoroughly, adding to the interest.
For the fourth biannual Rolls-Royce (Derby) Band hillwalking weekend, seven of us travelled to Keswick and the Lake District’s Northwestern Fells. We stayed at the very friendly and smartly renovated YHA hostel in Keswick.
On the Saturday, most of us started with a run at Whinlatter Forest parkrun, a good challenge as the hilliest parkrun in the UK with around 200m ascent and the finish 50m above the start! After coffee and bacon sandwiches in the cafe, we all headed to the Newlands Valley for a walk up Catbells and back along the shore of Derwent Water. A few heavy showers and windy squalls passed over during the walk, but it was dry for the majority of the time and we were low enough to remain out of the cloud with great views both east and west. In the evening we headed into Keswick for an excellent pub meal at the Packhorse Inn followed by drinks at the hostel.
On the Sunday, Jeff, Helen, Heather and I felt energetic enough for a longer walk in much better weather. Starting in Braithwaite, we did an anticlockwise round of the Coledale Horseshoe, taking in five Wainwright fells (Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head, Grasmoor, Crag Hill and Sail). We enjoyed excellent views of Skiddaw, the Vale of Keswick, the Loweswater Fells, and at lunchtime a particularly fine vista over Rannerdale (with bluebells) and the Buttermere valley from Grasmoor.
With Easter Tuesday being a fixed holiday at Rolls-Royce and Ruth being back at work, I took the opportunity for a morning walk in the Lake District before returning to Derby. The recent theme of warm but hazy sunshine continued for my brisk anticlockwise round of the Kentmere Horseshoe, a route I’d not done for a few years.
As usual, Ruth and I spent the Easter long weekend Corbett-bagging in the Highlands. With Easter being late this year we’d opted mainly to camp, a decision that was well justified by the excellent warm and dry weather throughout!
As I’d been out running with friends on the preceding Wednesday evening, I made an early start on Thursday to drive up to Loch Voil via Ruth’s, arriving around noon with plenty of time for an afternoon walk up the impressively steep and craggy Stob a’ Choin. We then continued north to Tyndrum to set up camp at By The Way for the first two nights. Friday’s walk was the biggest of the trip, taking in the five Corbetts east of the A82 above the pass to Bridge of Orchy in 21 kilometres packed with over 2000m ascent. This is the only place where five Corbetts can readily be bagged in a single walk.
After breaking camp on Saturday we drove around to Glen Lyon for a couple of days. Saturday’s walk took in two rounded hills above Innerwick, Cam Chreag and Beinn Dearg. The former was grassy and the latter heathery, with both offering hazy views south to Ben Lawers and north to Loch Rannoch. With no campsite nearby, we chose a semi-wild camp by the very quiet roadside just below the dam of Loch an Daimh. Sunday’s walk at the very head of the glen proved more interesting, with Meall Buidhe and Sron a’ Choire Chnapanaich offering excellent views of Beinn Heasgarnich, Beinn a’ Chreachain and Loch an Daimh.
For the final night of the trip, we enjoyed the relative luxury of Loch Voil Hostel, the spectacular lochside setting of which was just about worth the slow and very rough four-mile drive along gravel tracks on the south side of the loch to get there! This remote base gave us the opportunity for an unusual but attractive route to Monday’s hill, Beinn Stacath, ascending via Bealach Griseach and returning via the forestry tracks below Coire Odhar.
11 Corbetts over the course of the trip took me to 185 down, 37 to go.
I was taking part in the Kong Mini Mountain Marathon in Chapel Stile on the Sunday, so I headed to the Lake District for a full weekend based at Ruth’s house in Natland, where my parents also happened to be visiting. On the Saturday Ruth and I ran at Fell Foot parkrun near the foot of Windermere, then went for a couple of hours’ easy walk up nearby Marilyn, Top o’ Selside, which I had not previously bagged. This gave excellent views over Coniston Water to the Coniston Fells.
N.B. I didn’t take photos during the KMMM, but did just about have time to appreciate the great surrounding scenery as I ran through the Langdale and Easedale fells, in weather that was much better than it had been for my previous similar event last August!
A few years ago my parents and I were walking near Hanbury in North Staffordshire and saw surprising signs warning of unexploded bombs! We were skeptical, but a little research on getting home that day revealed that it was the site of the Fauld Explosion, in which an arms depot accidentally blew up in 1944, in the largest explosion ever seen in the UK. But I never got around to returning to the area to get a view of the crater… until this afternoon! It was more impressive than I expected, and the short stroll fitted the bill on a rest day before tomorrow’s Loughborough Half Marathon.
Loading my photo archive onto this blog over the past few weeks has inspired me to get back out into the Peak District more often. I devote more of my weekend time to running, orienteering and brass banding these days, but that’s given me a break from many local places that had become over-familiar and boring, such that I find myself with renewed interest in re-exploring!
With a good clear and dry forecast today, and following a couple of weeks of dry weather, it seemed a good time to head to the moors of the Dark Peak. I opted for a 28km circuit starting by Ladybower Reservoir at Ashopton Viaduct. I started by ascending via Crook Hill to Alport Castles – always a dramatic viewpoint – then dropped back down to Howden Reservoir and followed the track up to its head at Slippery Stones. Then I took the high moorland route back over Margery Hill, Back Tor and Dovestone Tor, with their interesting rock formations and great views over the Reservoirs to Bleaklow, Kinder Scout and Edale.
Dave, Jo and I enjoyed a sunny post-parkrun walk to Cheeks Hill, the highest point in Staffordshire, for CUHWC’s 30th anniversary round of the County Tops.
David Pettit's photo blog 